10/18/2022
SAINT GEORGE
by Dr.Augustine Sokolovski
On November 16, that is, when exactly half of November has already passed, the Church honors the memory of saint George. This autumn day of memory of George is dedicated to the event of the consecration of the temple in honor of the saint, which took place in the 4th century, under Emperor Constantine the Great, in the Palestinian city of Lod. Previously, this city was called "Lydda", as well as Diospolis and Georgioupolis, that is, simply "City of George". Interestingly, the Israeli Ben Gurion Airport is located near it today. So amazingly ancient intersects with modern and it becomes easy for us to remember it.
It is important to understand that the dedication of a temple to one or another saint in ancient times meant an act of canonization. A similar act was the commemoration among the saints, and the acquisition or transfer of holy relics. That is why such an event attracted so much attention, and, as a rule, was fixed in the liturgical calendar.
George is certainly one of the greatest saints of all Christian history. According to his life, he suffered for his faith in Christ in 303 under Emperor Diocletian. Orthodox Eastern tradition calls George the "Great Martyr". Such a name involuntarily makes many people think that the word "great martyr" means a special set of sufferings endured. However, it is not.
It is important to know that the very word "martyr" in the original Greek means "witness". Thus, literally and without any translation, it entered French, German, and other European languages. That is why, the Greek word “martyr” is translated exclusively as a witness, and, in itself, has nothing to do with suffering. Antiquity, in general, was indifferent to the suffering of people. Especially if Christians suffered, endured torment, and died in torment. After all, the pagans did not know what Christianity believes in and what it teaches. Listening to all kinds of slander, they mistakenly considered Christians to be atheists, enemies of society and its values.
Oddly enough, the Roman pagans considered themselves to be believers only. However, surprising, in the eyes of these "believers", was the readiness of Christians to die for their beliefs. So, the emperor-philosopher, and, at the same time, one of the persecutors of Christians, Marcus Aurelius (121-180) in his notes could not find any explanation for this, except as “fanaticism”. Interestingly, Christian contemporaries forgave their persecutor, and, unlike other persecuting emperors, they themselves wrote only good things about him. They forgave but did not forget their martyrs.
The faith of the Church is established on biblical revelation. From there, from the Bible, come its key concepts. The search for the original meaning of things in the text of Scripture is a true theological archeology of thought, allowing a better understanding of the essence of concepts.
So, in accordance with the words of the Apocalypse, in its original and only unconditional sense, the word martyr is used in relation to Jesus Christ: “Thus says Amen - Witness (that is, literally: Martyr) Faithful and True - the beginning of God's creation” (Rev. 13,14). According to Scripture, the Lord Jesus Christ is the true and first martyr, who testified to trust in God, faith in the Covenant and fidelity to the commandments. In the Lord Jesus - an infinite "Yes" and "Amen" to God and His Father.
Not many testimonies about the life of the original apostolic community and the life of the first Christians have come down to us. But one historical testimony of the Scripture is extremely important. “Look, brethren, who are you called: not many of you are wise according to the flesh, not many strong, not many noble,” writes the Apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 1:26). Christianity was originally the faith of ordinary people. There were few people of royal, noble, special origin among the Christians of the first centuries.
This historical evidence is extremely important. After all, the designation of some of the holy martyrs, by the way, very few, as great, or great martyrs, historically denotes not a special multitude of sufferings, but the nobility of origin. The testimony of the Christian martyrs of the royal family was great, for it possessed universality. Therefore, the Church, as a Society of Believers, called them "great martyrs."
Paradoxical in the testimony of the great martyrs was the fact that these richest and most influential people of their time chose not anyone from the rich and glorious of this world, but the Great Sufferer, Jesus, who really was poor, a wanderer and lonely, as the hero of their confession. “And Jesus said to him: foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20). Or, as the Holy Spirit sings about this in the human voice of the Church on Good Friday: “Give me This Strange, the Lord Jesus, who doesn’t have where to bow his head.” “If your pillow is soft,” our prayer book says, “then put a stone under your head for the sake of Christ.”
Even more surprising and paradoxical in the holiness of the great martyrs was the fact that many of them served in the Roman army, were imperial generals and soldiers. The army of Rome does not need additional assessments, and therefore, logically, these “soldiers to the end” should have chosen Alexander the Great, Hercules, or even some beast or dragon as their hero or patron. However, historical evidence, a huge number of martyrs of soldiers, speak of the extreme popularity of Christ in the Roman Army, of the amazing love of Roman soldiers for the Lord Jesus Christ.
This truly supernatural fact has one, only seemingly too human explanation. The fact is that, according to the Romans of that time, participation in suffering, especially the ability to endure it without guilt and consciously, which is especially inaccessible to most mortals, attached the sufferer to the truth, made him a communicant of great mysteries. In addition, and in connection with this, faith was not just a concept, but was considered divine. The goddess faith lived on the right hand of a person - hence the gesture of an oath by means of a raised right hand - and woe to those who have lost faith, at least once lying.
So, many Roman soldiers turned their love, or, in simple terms, sincere human sympathy, specifically to the Lamb of God, the Great Sufferer, our Lord Jesus Christ.
So, many Roman soldiers turned their love, or, in simple terms, sincere human sympathy, specifically to the Lamb of God, the Great Sufferer, our Lord Jesus. Thus, human Roman virtue was united with divine Biblical virtue, and, thanks to the testimony of the great martyrs, among whom was George, the peoples of the world (cf. Mt. 28:18) turned their gaze to the Gospel.
