Who was St George?
his property to the poor and he freed his slaves. When he appeared before Diocietian, it is said that St. George bravely denounced him for his unnecessary cruelty and injustice and that he made an eloquent and courageous speech. He stirred the populace with his powerful and convincing rhetoric against the Imperial Decree to persecute Christians. Diocietian refused to acknowledge or accede to St. George's reasoned, reproachful condemnation of his actions. The Emperor consigned St George to prison with instructions that he be tortured until he denied his faith in Christ.
It is said that St. George was first spread-eagled on the ground and a heavy stone was placed upon his chest. He was then whipped and subjected to being broken on a spiked wheel before being thrown into quicklime and forced to run in shoes inside which were sharp nails. The torture was extreme even by the standards of those times! Despite these tribulations, St. George refused to yield his faith. Finally he was beheaded in Nicomedia near Lydda in Palestine, on the 23rd April in the year 303 AD, the day of his Martyrdom.
Stories of St. George's courage soon spread and his reputation grew very quickly. He soon became known in Russia and the Ukraine as the Trophy Bearer and his remains are said to have been buried in the church that bears his name in Lydda. However, his head was carried to Rome, where it was preserved in the Church that is also dedicated to him.
He was beatified by the Roman Catholic Church and is recognised in the liturgy of the Russian Orthodox and Greek Orthodox Churches as well as the Roman Catholic Church. He has been revered in the Ukraine since Christianity was established in 988 AD by Volodymyr the Great the Prince of the Kyivan empire. The Romanesque Monastic order in Prague established St. George's Church in the Castle in the year 920AD and in the year 1119 AD the Cathedral of St George was founded in Novgorod. His reputation for virtue and chivalrous conduct became the spiritual inspiration of the Crusaders and by this time the pennant or flag with a red cross on a white or silver background became prominent as a means of recognition by English Knights. It was also worn on breast plates, but it wasn't until the year 1348 that 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.
The Insignia consist of a collar and badge appendant known as the George, the Star, the Garter and the Sash with the
Investment Badge called the lesser George. This is a gold and richly enamelled representation of St George on
horseback slaying the dragon.
A representation of this can be seen in our magnificent Charter and in the collar and appendant that officers of The Royal Society wear. In 1352 the [next page]