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Last night I was reading about St George, and the way the writer (Naomi Starkey) described him made me reflect on the way that some of you are facing difficult times at the moment. I’ve copied some of Naomi’s words below, along with some photos from round our home. I’m dedicating the post to family and friends who have their own ‘dragons’ to face right now, but even if there are no dragons in your life right now, I think you’ll find the story quite interesting – I didn’t know it properly before!
“George – an extraordinarily popular saint, particularly in the Eastern Church, considering how little is known about him. He is patron saint of not only England but also Canada, Ethiopia, Greece, Georgia and many other places or groups.
“Even if historical facts about his life are thin on the ground, his story has inspired generations and his flag continues to be flown whenever the England football team has another go at winning an international trophy.
“The convention is that George was born in third-century Cappadocia (part of modern-day Turkey) to Christian parents but grew up in Palestine, where he joined the Roman army.
“When the emperor Diocletian began persecuting believers, George resigned from his military post in protest. He was eventually arrested, gruesomely tortured and executed.
“George is best known for his legendary dragon-slaying. The story was first widely circulated in a 15th-century book, The Golden Legend. It presents a familiar series of events: hero comes to city besieged by monster, princess is next victim, hero deals with monster and saves princess.
“Rather than the usual ‘hero marries princess’ ending, however, George arranges for the baptism of the king and his people and builds a church where a healing spring then appears.
“As in the legend of George, we may be called on to ‘slay a dragon’. There may be a battle we are called to fight, a difficult task that we are given to do, and we can do it in the confidence that, if God has called us, he will give us the strength we need.”
“George – an extraordinarily popular saint, particularly in the Eastern Church, considering how little is known about him. He is patron saint of not only England but also Canada, Ethiopia, Greece, Georgia and many other places or groups.“Even if historical facts about his life are thin on the ground, his story has inspired generations and his flag continues to be flown whenever the England football team has another go at winning an international trophy.“The convention is that George was born in third-century Cappadocia (part of modern-day Turkey) to Christian parents but grew up in Palestine, where he joined the Roman army.“When the emperor Diocletian began persecuting believers, George resigned from his military post in protest. He was eventually arrested, gruesomely tortured and executed.“George is best known for his legendary dragon-slaying. The story was first widely circulated in a 15th-century book, The Golden Legend. It presents a familiar series of events: hero comes to city besieged by monster, princess is next victim, hero deals with monster and saves princess.“Rather than the usual ‘hero marries princess’ ending, however, George arranges for the baptism of the king and his people and builds a church where a healing spring then appears.“As in the legend of George, we may be called on to ‘slay a dragon’. There may be a battle we are called to fight, a difficult task that we are given to do, and we can do it in the confidence that, if God has called us, he will give us the strength we need.”Reflection
“The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack.”
2 Timothy 4:18a
“The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack.”
2 Timothy 4:18a
2 comments:
Wow! interesting stuff!! Love The photos. The map is super :o)
Hope you and yours have a lovely weekend x
sumea
Thanks for posting that - I know more than I did earlier!
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