On May 6, the entire Orthodox world honors the memory of St. George the Victorious.
George was the son of wealthy and pious parents who raised him in the Christian faith. He was born in the city of Beirut (in ancient times — Belit), at the foot of the Lebanese mountains.
Upon entering military service, George stood out among other soldiers for his intelligence, courage, physical strength, military posture and beauty. Having soon reached the rank of thousand leader, he became the favorite of Emperor Diocletian. Diocletian was a talented ruler but a fanatical devotee of the Roman gods. Having set himself the goal of reviving dying paganism in the Roman Empire, he went down in history as one of the most brutal persecutors of Christians.
Having once heard at trial an inhumane verdict about the extermination of Christians, George was inflamed with compassion for them. Anticipating that suffering also awaited him, George distributed his property to the poor, released his slaves into the wild, came to Diocletian and, declaring himself a Christian, denounced him for cruelty and injustice. George's speech was full of strong and convincing objections to the imperial order to persecute Christians.
After fruitless persuasion to renounce Christ, the emperor ordered George to be subjected to various torments. He was imprisoned, laid with his back on the ground, his legs were put in pads, and a heavy stone was placed on his chest. But George bravely endured suffering and glorified the Lord. Then the tormentors began to become sophisticated in cruelty. They beat George with cowhide veins, wheeled him, threw him into quicklime, and forced him to run in boots with sharp nails inside.
The martyr endured everything patiently with prayer on his lips. In the end, the emperor ordered George's head to be cut off with a sword. So the holy sufferer went to Christ in Nicomedia in 303.
Since ancient times, George has been revered by many nations. The holiday in honor of the saint was respected in all Slavic lands and was accompanied by many rituals in which George is the patron saint of agriculture and cattle breeding.
In Rus', the veneration of St. George the Victorious acquired special significance. Sitting on a horse and striking a serpent, he is captured in the center of the coat of arms of the Russian state.