St George - Patron Saint of England

Submitted by: Steadfast news correspondent, 23rd Apr 10

St George Slays the Dragon

As many people know, St George is the patron saint of England.

He may not have actually existed, yet it is believed that the real St George was a Christian, born in Cappadocia – modern day Turkey – and served with distinction in the Roman army. When Emperor Diocletian began his persecution of Christians, George publicly declared his faith, was tortured in just about every way imaginable and finally beheaded at Nicomedia near Lyddia in Palestine on the 23rd of April in the year 303 AD.

St George was introduced to England by returning Crusaders, who had come across his cult in their Middle Eastern campaigns. Naturally it was his reputation as a ‘soldier saint’ that attracted them and he, apparently, appeared famously in the sky to encourage the Christian troops at Antioch in 1098.

St George’s Day was officially recognised at the Synod of Oxford in 1222, and by the mid fourteenth century he had ousted the Anglo-Saxon King Edward the Confessor as putative patron saint of England.

In the year 1348 King Edward Ill established the Knights of the Garter, which is the oldest order of Chivalry in Europe. The Order of the Garter was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Edward the Confessor and St George.

There are often calls for his replacement by a home-grown real-life saint such as St Edmund, St Alban or St Cuthbert. Yet while The celebration of St George's Day is currently fairly low key in England there are efforts to revive St. George's Day as the day on which to celebrate being English.

To learn a little more about the Patron Saint of England, why not visit the St Georges Day webpage HERE.