Glorious, wonderful and great martyr of Christ George lived during the reign of emperor Diocletian in 296. He came from Cappadocia and descended from a glorious and well-known family. He first shone in the order of Tribunes and then, when he was about to suffer martyrdom, he became a count (i.e. a prefect or a governor or even a victorious general). Then impious Diocletian started a persecution against Christians. He issued a royal order so that all the Christians who denied Christ should be worthy of royal honours while all those who would not be convinced to do so would be punished with death.

St. George happened to be present when these orders were issued. He declared himself to be a Christian, and he criticized the delusion of the idols mocking those who believed in them. The saint was convinced neither by the flatteries and the many promises of the tyrant nor by his threats and intimidation. Instead, he scorned all of this. So, they first hit him on his belly with a spear which pierced the saint's flesh so much that a lot of blood poured out from the wound but the head of the spear turned back and, thus, the saint was kept unharmed. Then, they tied him on a wheel which had sharp knives embedded in it. They let it roll down a slope and, so, the martyr's body was cut to many pieces. However, he was again made healthy with the help of a divine angel. Then, the saint was presented to Diocletian and his co-emperor Magnentius, who were offering sacrifices to the idols at the time.

Because he appeared to have been kept safe and sound from such a terrible torture, St. George attracted many Greeks to the faith of Christ. The emperor ordered them to be beheaded immediately. Then, even empress Alexandra came to the faith of Christ and confessed Christ to be true God in front of her husband Diocletian. Many more people believed in Christ seeing that the saint was kept unharmed when he was thrown into a pit full of lime. Then, they nailed iron shoes into the saint's feet and made him run. After this they whipped him mercilessly with dry bull-nerves.

Magnentius asked the saint to make a miracle and raise a man who had died many years before and was buried in a grave that lay in front of him. After the saint had prayed on the gravestone, what a miracle! the dead man rose and bowed before the saint, glorifying the divinity and power of Christ. The emperor asked him who he was and when he had died. The dead man answered that he was one of the men who lived before the coming of Christ, i.e. three hundred years before, and that due to his error regarding the idols he was being burnt in fire all these years.

When they saw this miracle, The Great Martyr George the Trophy-Bearer many Greeks believed in Christ and glorified God in one voice. Glykerios the farmer, whose ox the saint had raised, was with them. This miracle made him stand firm on the faith of Christ and, thus, he was cut to pieces by the swords of the unbelievers, receiving the crown of martyrdom. Moreover, many more men believed in Christ, when they saw the saint enter the temple of the idols and order a statue to say whether Christ is God alone.

Upon this word of his, all the idols shook and fell on the earth with a crash. However, the worshippers of the idols could bear with the saint no more. So, they caught him and brought him to the emperor asking from him to issue his decision against him. The emperor ordered the saint to be beheaded together with empress Alexandra. The saint was beheaded, while empress Alexandra prayed in prison and commended her soul to the hands of God.

• St. George the Victorious

• St. Anthony the Great

• St. Haralambos the Martyr and Miracle-Worker

• St. James the Brother of the Lord and First Bishop of Jerusalem

• Great Martyr Demetrius, the Myrrh-Streamer

• The Prophet Daniel

• St. John Climacus

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