Our Patron Saint

Saint George is one of the most venerated saint in the Oriental Orthodox church. It is believed that the saint (called Geevargheese Sahada in Malayalam) protects believers against serpents, ailments, and any kind of danger in general. Feast of Saint George is celebrated on 6 May. There are various traditions and rituals associated with feast of Saint George in Indian Orthodox Church. Major pilgrim centres of Saint George in Kerala are St. George Orthodox Church, Kadamattam, St. George Orthodox Church, Puthuppally and St. George Orthodox Church, Chandanapally.

Life of St. George

St. George was born in Cappadocia, Libya to Gerontios and Polychronia, a Roman officer and a Greek native of Lydda. Both were Christians from noble families of the Anici and George. St. George was brought up as a boy, strong in faith. When George was old enough, he was welcomed into Diocletian's army. By his late 20's, George became a Tribunus and served as an imperial guard for the Emperor at Nicomedia.

On February 24, 303 A.D., Diocletian, who hated Christians, announced that every Christian the army passed would be arrested and every other soldier should offer a sacrifice to the Roman gods.

George refused to abide by the order and told Diocletian, who was angry but greatly valued his friendship with George's father. When George announced his beliefs before his peers, Diocletian was unable to keep the news to himself. In an effort to save George, Diocletian attempted to convert him to believe in the Roman gods, offered him land, money and slaves in exchange for offering a sacrifice to the Roman gods, and made several other offers that George refused.

Finally, after exhausting all other options, Diocletian ordered George's execution. In preparation for his death, George gave his money to the poor and was sent for several torture sessions. He was lacerated on a wheel of swords and required resuscitation three times, but still George did not turn from God. On April 23, 303 A.D., George was decapitated before Nicomedia's outer wall. His body was sent to Lydda for burial, and other Christians went to honor George as a martyr.

Saint George and the Dragon

One of the greatest legends about Saint George is the Golden Legend. There are several stories about George fighting dragons, but in the Western version, a dragon or crocodile made its nest at a spring that provided water to Silene, believed to be modern-day Lcyrene in Libya. The people were unable to collect water and so attempted to remove the dragon from its nest on several ocassions. It would temporarily leave its nest when they offered it a sheep each day, until the sheep disappeared and the people were distraught. This was when they decided that a maiden would be just as effective as sending a sheep. The townspeople chose the victim by drawing straws. This continued until one day the princess' straw was drawn.

The monarch was very sad, but the princess was strong and encouraged her dad to keep his word. She was offered to the dragon, but before she could be devoured, George appeared. He faced the dragon, protected himself with the sign of the Cross, and slayed the dragon. After saving the town, the citizens abandoned their paganism and were all converted to Christianity. He was given a large reward by the king, but he distributed it to the poor and rode away.