St. George the Martyr (Mor Gewargis Sahdo)

St. George the Martyr (Mor Gewargis Sahdo)

November 3rd is the commemoration of the dhukrono of St. George the Martyr +303 (Mor Gewargis Sahdo) according to the Liturgical Calendar of the Syriac Orthodox Church. His feast is celebrated with great reverence by the faithful worldwide. Wishing everyone a blessed Feast of St. George the Martyr (Mor Gewargis Sahdo) especially to all with the name or baptized with the name George (including Geevarghese, Gewargis, Varghese, Varkey etc)! Oh Mor Gewargis Sahdo, plead for us at God's throne of grace amen! Biography: George (Gurgis/Jurjis) was born in Cappadocia, East Asia Minor in c. A. D. 283. His parents were of royal origin as describedby Meta Frastres (Moothedan, 2001). His Father is thought to be an army chief of Emperor Diocletian. George was also a high-ranking military officer in the army of Diocletian.There are several legendary and historical descriptions about St. George and it is difficult to distinguish between the two. However, most of the books refer to an incident which is described here. One day George was riding a horse in the province of Lybiain North Africa. He came upon a city named Sylene. Near the city was a marsh, in which lived a dragon. The people had attempted to kill it but were poisoned by the creature’s fetid breath. To placate the dragon, they offered it two sheep a day, but when they began to exhaust their supply of sheep, they were forced to substitute a human each day instead, casting lot to choose the victim. At the time of George’s arrival, the lot had just fallen to the King’s daughter Andromeda (Sophia?). No one volunteered to take her place, so she was dressed in bridal finery and sent to meet the dragon. Riding upon this scene on a (green) horse George attacked the dragon and speared it with his lance. He then fastened the princess’s girdle around its neck, and the girl led the dragon into the city. The people were frightened and started to run away, but George told them not to be afraid – that if they would believe in Jesus Christ and be baptized, he would slay the dragon.The King and the people agreed. George killed the dragon, and it was carried away on four ox carts (White, 1991). George accepted no reward for his service, but he asked the King to build churches, honour Priests, and to be compassionate towards the poor.George was martyred duing the persecution of Diocletian at Nicomedia in the beginning of the 4th century.The persecution lasted for about seven years. During that period about seventy Kings were associated with Diocletian and historians mention different Kings in their account of the persecution.The persecution was as a result of George’s refusal to worship Appalon and Hoclis, the pagan Gods. George performed several miracles. Diocletian’s wife Alexandria and his daughter Valeria believed in Jesus Christ. This resulted in the beheading of Alexandria on April 8 at Diospolis in Palestine (now, Lod, Israel). St. George was beheaded at the same place on 23 April (Britannica, 2001; Encarta, 2001).The writings of two Syrian churches, which date back to A.D.494, suggest that George was martyred at Lydha (now, Lod, Israel).There were churches in the name of St. George during the time of Constantine, the Great, at Nicomedia, Ludia, and Thessalonica.-Biography Courtesy of "Martyrs, Saints, and Prelates of the Syriac Orthodox Church"Tone for feast of a Saint: 8St. George in light of the Syriac tradition: https://goo.gl/VRXGWnActs of St. George: http://bit.ly/SyriacGeorgeBiography in Malayalam: https://goo.gl/SFsO83Malayalam Hymns on YouTube: https://goo.gl/QwYx4aMalayalam Hymns mp3: https://goo.gl/vTMmqzBL14503