Pages

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

On Eve of Saint George's Day, BBC Reminds Us of His Links to Palestine

Tomorrow, April 23, is Saint George's Day; St. George is of course a patron saint of England (and many other places including Georgia), and the BBC notes "Why St. George is a Palestinian hero." I suspect my readers may already know what the BBC may assume its listeners do not: because he was a local boy, of course.

The early martyr and reputed dragon-slayer was traditionally born to a father from Cappadocia and a mother from Roman Palestine, and closely associated with the town of Lydda (today known as Lod).

He is said to have been martyred under Diocletian in 303 AD, but remains a popular saint in Palestinian Christian tradition, and also venerated by Muslims due to a popular identification with al-Khidr.

Sorry, the dragon story seems to have come along later.

And I guess I should quote Henry V:
I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips,
Straining upon the start. The game's afoot:
Follow your spirit, and upon this charge
Cry 'God for Harry, England, and Saint George!'

No comments:

Post a Comment