Orthodox Church marks St. George`s Day today
06.05.12 18:22
The Orthodox Church of Georgia marks the St. Giorgi (George) Day on May 6. Georgian Catholicos Patriarch Ilia II conducted a holy mass at the Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi.
Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili also congratulated on the celebration to the people from Adjara Region. Mikheil Saakashvili visited the St. Nikoloz Church in the old district of Batumi. He stressed significance of the celebration and called it a historical day, as right on May 6 the constitutional order was restored in Georgia`s autonomous region Adjara in 2004.
Saint Giorgi (George) was a soldier of the Roman Empire and later became a Christian martyr.
Saint George is the Savior of Georgians. The traditional account of his life is considered to have originated in the 4th century. According to it, George was born to a Christian family during the late 3rd century. His father was from Cappadocia and served as an officer of the army. His mother was from Lydda, Palestine. She returned to her native city as a widow along with her young son, where she provided him with a respectable education.
Saint George was a commander of the Emperor Diocletian`s army but opposed to him due to oppression of the Christians. After various tortures, George was executed by decapitation in front of Nicomedia`s defensive wall on April 23, 303.
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