Who does George the Victorious kill? About ancient Russian icons

May 6 is the day of St. George the Victorious. Saint, who is depicted on the current coat of arms of Moscow

The Holy Great Martyr George is considered the patron and protector of warriors. Since the time of Grand Duke John III, the image of St. St. George the Victorious - a horseman slaying a serpent with a spear - became the coat of arms of Moscow and the emblem of the Russian state. According to legend, Saint George was born at the end of the 2nd - beginning of the 3rd century in the Asia Minor province of Cappadocia of the Roman Empire and grew up in a noble Christian family. Thanks to his military skills, he became the ruler of Cappadocia, then entered military service and became famous for his courage, becoming a Roman military leader. By professing the Christian faith, the valiant warrior incurred the hatred and wrath of Emperor Diocletian. The emperor tried to convince the martyr not to destroy his youth and honor, but George did not renounce his faith. In the dungeon, he was subjected to severe torture - he was beaten with clubs and whips, tied to a wheel with sharp knives, red-hot iron boots were placed on his feet, and much more, as evidenced by numerous icons. Since then St. George is considered the most perfect example of valor and courage. Having withstood all the torture, St. George remained faithful to the idea of ​​Christianity, and by order of the emperor, on April 23, 303 (May 6, new style) he was executed in the city of Nicodemus.

The custom of placing a portrait of the prince on seals and coins, as well as an image of the saint whom the prince considered his patron, was adopted in Rus' from Byzantium at the end of the 10th century. On the zlatniks (gold coins) of the Kyiv prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich, who baptized Rus', on the obverse of the coin there is a portrait of the prince and the inscription: “Vladimir is on the table and behold his gold,” and on the reverse is an image of Jesus Christ. At the beginning of the 11th century, on the coins and seals of Vladimir Svyatoslavich's son Yaroslav the Wise (reigned from 1016 to 1054), who took the name Yuri (George), the image of St. George first appears. Yaroslav the Wise contributed greatly to the spread and establishment of the cult of St. George in Rus'. In honor of his patron saint, he founded the city of Yuryev (now Tartu) in 1030 and founded the Yuryev Monastery in Novgorod in the same year; later St. George’s Cathedral was built there. In 1037, Yaroslav began the construction of the St. George Monastery in Kyiv and erected the Church of St. George in it, and established the day of the consecration of the temple as an annual holiday - “St. George’s Day”. The founder of Moscow, Yuri Dolgoruky, continued this tradition by founding the city of Yuryev-Polsky in 1152, where the famous St. George Cathedral was built in 1230-34. In the same 1152, he built the Church of St. George at the new princely court in Vladimir. On his seal there is also a saint, standing at full height and drawing a sword from its sheath.

On the front side of the seal of Yuri Dolgoruky’s elder brother, Mstislav Vladimirovich, in 1130 the image of the holy warrior-snake fighter first appears. The next most recent image of the holy warrior-snake fighter is on numerous seals of Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky (1252-1263). On some of them, on one side, there is Saint Alexander on a horse with a raised sword in his hand, and on the other side, Saint Theodore in the form of a foot warrior, with one hand leading a horse on the reins, and with the other, slaying a serpent-dragon. Fedor is the baptismal name of Alexander Nevsky’s father, Yaroslav.

Academician V.L. Yanin in his work “Act Seals of Ancient Rus'” describes a large group of princely seals, on the front side of which the patron saint of the prince is depicted, and on the reverse side - the patron saint of his father. Thus, on the seal you can read the name and patronymic of the prince. The seal of Alexander Nevsky belongs to this type. On most of these seals, the rider has a crown on his head instead of a halo. This gave reason to assume that they depict a prince, and not a saint, which does not contradict the ancient tradition.

In the Principality of Moscow, the image of a pedestrian snake fighter is first found on the coin of Prince Ivan II the Red (Beautiful) (1353-59). The seal of Dmitry Donskoy's son, Vasily Dmitrievich, depicts a horseman with a spear pointing down at the place where the snake should be. And, finally, on the coins of the same Vasily Dmitrievich and especially his son Vasily Vasilyevich the Dark, the emblem takes on a form close to what was later established as the Moscow coat of arms.

The final approval of the serpent fighter rider as the coat of arms of the Moscow principality occurred under Ivan III (reigned from 1462 to 1505) and coincided with the completion of the unification of the main part of the Russian lands around Moscow. A seal from 1479 has been preserved, on which a horseman slaying a dragon serpent with a spear is surrounded by the inscription: “Seal of Grand Duke Ivan Vasilyevich,” and on the back of the seal, which does not have a design, the inscription is repeated, but with the addition of “all Rus'.” From this moment on, we can assume that the coat of arms of the Moscow Principality for some time becomes the coat of arms of all Rus'. In 1497, another type of state seal of Ivan III appeared. On the front side there is still a horseman slaying a dragon with a spear, and the inscription: “John, by the grace of God, the ruler of all Rus' and the Grand Duke,” and on the back for the first time there is a double-headed eagle, surrounded by an inscription that is a continuation of the front: “and the great prince Vlad and Mos and Psk and TV and Vyat and Per and Bol." Judging by the location of the inscription (around the eagle is the end of the prince's title), the main symbol here is the horseman.

Under Ivan III's son Vasily III, this seal was completely preserved, only the prince's name was replaced. Only under Ivan the Terrible, the first Russian prince who accepted the royal title in 1547, on the golden bull of 1562 the double-headed eagle occupies the main position, and the rider, like the coat of arms of the Moscow principality, moves to the eagle's chest. This composition is preserved on the Great State Seal of 1583 and on all subsequent Great State Seals of Rus' and Russia. At the same time, the type of seal of 1497 was preserved and continued to be used until the 17th century in the form of a helmsman’s seal. This was the name of the seal that was attached to the royal charters for lands, lands granted to subjects for their service, “for feeding.” About how contemporaries explained the meaning of the figure of a horseman-serpent fighter on seals and coins of the 15th-17th centuries, written evidence was published that allows us to draw an unambiguous conclusion - Russian sources considered the horseman to be an image of a prince or king, and only foreigners called the Moscow horseman Saint George. The ambassadors of Ivan the Terrible, when asked by the Patriarch of Alexandria: “Is the blessed king on a horse on this seal?”, they answered: “The sovereign is on a horse.” There is a well-known quotation from the chronicle: “Under the Grand Duke Vasily Ivanovich, there was a banner on money: the Great Prince was on horseback, and having a sword in his hand and on his hand, he produced penny money.” In the old inventory of the Armory about the coat of arms of 1666-1667 it is said: “In a circle there is a double-headed eagle, crowned with two crowns, and on his chest “a king on a horse stabs a serpent with a spear.” Diplomat and writer of the mid-17th century Grigory Kotoshikhin in his work “About Russia during the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich” testifies: “in the true Moscow reign, the seal is cut out - the king on a horse defeated the serpent.” On the state coat of arms, placed on the title page of the Bible published in Moscow in 1663, the snake fighter on the chest of an eagle is given a portrait resemblance to the eagle. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich.

Peter I was the first of the Russians to name the horseman on the Moscow coat of arms Saint George. His handwritten note, presumably dating back to the 1710s, has been preserved: “This coat of arms (crossed out) This has its origins from there, when Vladimir the Russian monarch divided his empire among his 12 sons, from which the Vladimir princes took for themselves the coat of arms of the village of Yegor, but then Ts. Ivan Vas., when the monarchy collected from his grandfather, was again established and crowned, when he accepted the eagle as the coat of arms of the Russian empire, and placed the princely coat of arms in its chest.” However, during the entire reign of Peter I, the Moscow coat of arms continued to depict a secular horseman in a caftan with a crown or hat on his head. In many cases, the rider bore a portrait resemblance to Peter I. This is confirmed by the 1704 decree on the issue of the first copper kopecks, which states that they will bear “the imagination of the great sovereign on horseback.” During the short reign of Catherine I, a Senate decree on the production of a new state seal calls the snake fighter a “rider.” The coat of arms remained unchanged under Peter II.

In 1728, the need arose to draw up coats of arms for the banners of regiments stationed in different cities of Russia. In May 1729, they were presented to the military board and received the highest approval. The Senate decree on this followed on March 8, 1730. The first on the list of approved items was the state emblem. Part of his description is dedicated to the Moscow coat of arms: “...in the middle of that eagle is George on a white horse, defeating the serpent, the cape and spear are yellow, the crown is yellow, the serpent is black, the field all around is white, and in the middle is red.”

Coat of arms of Moscow 1730

From this moment until the beginning of the 20th century, the rider on the Moscow coat of arms was officially called Saint George. Why did such a change occur at this time? On the one hand, under the influence of foreigners, Peter I in 1722 invited Count Santi to serve as herald of arms. But, perhaps, the accession to the Russian throne of a galaxy of empresses contributed no less to this. The test copy of the kopeck from 1730 still shows the old Peter the Great type of rider, but it was not approved. Let us remember that 1730 is the year of Anna Ioannovna’s accession to the throne.

Coat of arms of Moscow 1781

In the decree of 1781 on the approval of the emblems of the Moscow province, the description of the Moscow coat of arms almost completely repeats the description of 1730: “Moscow. St. George on a horse against the same as in the middle of the State Emblem, in a red field, striking a black serpent with a spear.” The coat of arms of Moscow existed in this form until 1856, when, as a result of the reform in Russian heraldry carried out at the direction of Tsar Nicholas I, the coat of arms of the Moscow province was significantly changed by King of Arms Kene. The new coat of arms of the capital city of Moscow was approved only on March 16, 1883 and differed from the provincial one in its framing: instead of oak leaves there were scepters. "In a scarlet shield, the Holy Great Martyr and Victorious George, in silver armor and an azure robe (mantle) on a silver horse covered with crimson cloth, with gold fringe, striking a golden dragon with green wings with a golden spear with an eight-pointed cross at the top. The shield is crowned with an imperial crown. Behind two golden scepters placed crosswise on a shield, connected by St. Andrew's ribbon."

The main change in the coat of arms is that the rider was turned in the other direction. According to the rules of Western European heraldry, living creatures (horseman, beast) should be turned only to the right heraldic (left for the viewer) side. This ancient rule was established so that the horseman or, for example, the lion depicted on the knight’s shield, which he held at his left side, did not appear to be running away from the enemy. The rider's cloak became azure (blue) instead of yellow, the dragon changed from black to gold with green wings, and the white horse was called silver.

Coat of arms of Moscow 1883

In the decree of 1781, only the colors of the shield, horse and serpent were named, respectively - red, white and black. To find out what the original, primordial colors of the Moscow coat of arms were, its detailed description given in the statute of the Order of St. George, approved by Catherine II on November 26, 1769, helps. This is the closest officially approved description prior to the decree of 1781. In the middle of the order's cross was placed the Moscow coat of arms: "... in a red field, Saint George, armed with silver armor, with a gold cap hanging on top of them, having a gold diadem on his head, sitting on a silver horse, on which the saddle and all the harness are gold, black a serpent poured out in the sole, piercing with a golden spear." The compilers of the lists of coats of arms for the banners of 1730 probably had only color drawings of coats of arms without a detailed description of them, in which the gold was rendered with yellow ocher, so they called the color of the crown and epancha yellow. Silver in heraldry is represented by the color white.

The change from the yellow (golden) color of the rider's cloak to azure (blue) was perhaps a consequence of the heraldry's desire to bring the colors of the Moscow coat of arms into line with the colors of the national flag of Russia - white, blue and red (white horse, blue cloak, red shield). It is worth noting that the canonical, that is, approved by the church, color of St. George’s cloak is red, therefore on almost all Russian icons it is red, very rarely green, but not blue.

Order of St. George the Victorious - the highest military award of the Russian Empire

After the 1917 revolution, the coat of arms of Moscow was abolished. The new coat of arms of the city with Soviet symbols was drawn up by the architect D. Osipov and approved by the Presidium of the Moscow Soviet on September 22, 1924. This coat of arms consisted of the following elements:

Coat of arms of Moscow 1924

a) In the central part, a five-pointed star is inscribed in the oval shield. This is the victorious symbol of the Red Army.

b) The obelisk against the backdrop of a star, which is the first revolutionary monument of the RSFSR in memory of the October Revolution (placed in front of the Mossovet building). This is a symbol of the strength of Soviet power.

c) The Hammer and Sickle is the emblem of the workers’ and peasants’ government.

d) The gear wheel and the associated rye ears, depicted along the oval of the shield, are a symbol of the connection between the city and the countryside, where the wheel with the inscription “RSFSR” defines industry, and the rye ears indicate agriculture.

e) Below on both sides are emblems that characterize the most developed industry in the Moscow province: on the left is an anvil - this emblem of metalworking production, on the right is a shuttle - textile production.

f) Below, under the inscription “Moscow Council of Workers, Peasants and Red Army Deputies” depicted on the ribbon, there is a “dyna” - the emblem of electrification. Thus, in general, the coat of arms was a synthesis of the activities of the Moscow Soviet. By order of the mayor of Moscow "On the restoration of the historical coat of arms of Moscow" on November 23, 1993, its ancient coat of arms was returned to the capital. The regulation on the coat of arms says: “On a dark red shield (width to height ratio 8:9) turned to the right, St. George the Victorious in silver armor and an azure robe (mantle) on a silver horse, striking a black serpent with a golden spear.” So, again, St. George is on the coat of arms.

Coat of arms of Moscow 1993

The Christian legend of St. George has many variants that differ significantly from each other. In one of the variants, which received literary treatment in the Greek east (historians consider it the earliest and most authentic), the Roman emperor Diocletian (in 303) begins the persecution of Christians. Soon, a young military tribune, George, originally from Cappadocia (a region in Asia Minor, then part of the Roman Empire, now the territory of Turkey), appears to him; in a meeting of the highest ranks of the empire in the city of Nicomedia, he declares himself a Christian. The emperor tries to persuade him to renounce his faith, but to no avail. Then George is placed in prison and subjected to numerous cruel tortures - thrown into a ditch with quicklime, scourged with ox sinews, put on red-hot iron boots studded with spikes, poisoned, wheeled, etc., but he remains alive. In the intervals between tortures, George performs miracles (heals the sick, resurrects the dead, etc.), under the influence of which the empress, some of the emperor’s associates, and even one of his executioners believed in Christ. On the eighth day of torture, George agrees to make a sacrifice to the pagan gods, but when he is solemnly brought to the temple, “with the word of God he casts them into dust, after which, by order of the emperor, his head is cut off.” George was about 30 years old on the day of his execution.

In this life, as in all its other early versions, there is no “Miracle of the Serpent,” since at first there were two independent legends - his “Life” and “George’s Miracle of the Serpent.” They were united only in later retellings. The legend "George's Miracle about the Dragon" has many variants. Here's one of them. Near the city of Lasya in Palestine, a dragon settled in a lake, which devastated the surrounding area and devoured the inhabitants of the city. To avoid death, they were forced to sacrifice their children to him. When it was the turn of the royal daughter, a beautiful young man appeared on a white horse - George. Having learned from the princess that she was a Christian, George, with the word of God, made the serpent fall at his feet. The princess tied her belt around the dragon's neck and led him into the city. The residents of the city, amazed by the miracle, believed in Christ and were baptized, and George moved on.

Attempts to find a specific historical figure who could be the prototype of St. George were unsuccessful, but several interesting hypotheses were put forward about the connection of these legends with pre-Christian mythology.

For thousands of years, in the religions and mythologies of European and Middle Eastern civilizations, the dragon and snake were the embodiment of darkness and evil, and the gods, heroes and saints fighting them personified the bright beginning, good. In ancient Greek myths, Zeus defeats the hundred-headed fire-breathing monster Typhon. The sun god Apollo fights the monstrous serpent Python, and the legendary Hercules kills the Lernaean Hydra. The similarity of the Christian myth “The Miracle of the Serpent” with the ancient myth of Perseus and Andromeda, in which Perseus kills the sea monster and frees the king’s daughter Andromeda, who was given to be devoured by the monster, in order to save the kingdom from devastation, is especially noticeable. There are many more legends of this type, for example, the myth of Bellerophon on the winged horse Pegasus, who entered into battle with the offspring of Typhon - the Chimera. There are many beautiful images on ancient Greek vases, gems, and coins that illustrate these myths. With the advent of Christianity, the image of the serpent-dragon was strongly associated with paganism and the devil. There is a well-known episode of the Fall, when the devil took the form of a tempting serpent.

The Roman writer and historian (260-339), author of the Life of Constantine, Eusebius, reports that Emperor Costantine the Great, who did a lot to make Christianity the state religion, ordered himself to be depicted in a painting that decorated the imperial palace as a conqueror over a dragon. The dragon here also symbolized paganism.

The cult of St. George, which probably arose locally in the territory of Cappadocia in the 5th-6th centuries, by the 9th-11th centuries had spread to almost all states of Europe and the Middle East. He was especially revered in England, where King Richard the Lionheart made him his patron, and Edward III established the Order of the Garter under the patronage of St. George, on which the saint is depicted as a snake fighter. The battle cry of the British, similar to our "hurray", becomes the name of the saint.

In Rus', as already mentioned, the cult of St. George began to spread immediately after the adoption of Christianity, and not through Western Europe, but directly from Byzantium. His images in the form of a horseman-snake fighter are found already at the beginning of the 12th century. It is interesting to see its placement on a serpentine, on an amulet, on one side of which there is a tangle of snakes, and on the other - George, on the 12th century fresco “The Miracle of George on the Serpent” in the church named after him in Staraya Ladoga, on the icons of the 14th-15th centuries of the Novgorod school.

Under Ivan III in 1464, a sculptural image of St. George was placed above the entrance gate of the main Kremlin tower - Frolovskaya (later Spasskaya). This event is reported in the Ermolin Chronicle, compiled by order of the merchant and contractor Vasily Ermolin, through whose “representation” this image was installed. It would be very tempting to consider this sculpture as the coat of arms of Moscow, but here, most likely, this icon had protective functions, since two years later the same Ermolin placed an image of St. Dmitry above the gate of the tower on the inside. It is known that after the tower was rebuilt, the image of St. George was placed in the temple named after him, built near the tower, as a temple icon. In place of George, the image of the Savior Almighty was placed, from which the tower received its second name.

The plot of the “Miracle of the Serpent” in the form of a saint (warrior or hero-prince) continued to live in folk art for centuries, developing and acquiring new incarnations. In the oldest Russian epics of the 11th century, it corresponds to the feat of one of the most important Russian heroes, Dobrynya Nikitich, who served under Prince Vladimir. In the battle with the Serpent Gorynych on the Puchaya River, Dobrynya frees the prince's niece Zapeva Putyatichna (or his daughter Marfida). Some researchers draw an analogy between this episode of the epic and the activities of a historical figure - Dobrynya, the governor of Prince Vladimir the Saint (and brother of Prince Malusha's mother), in spreading Christianity in Rus'. In particular, the forced baptism of Novgorodians in the Pochayna River (in the epic - Puchai). A popular print illustrating the folk tale about Eruslan Lazarevich has been preserved. Below the picture is a brief summary of the tale: “Eruslan Lazarevich was traveling along the road, and Eruslan was attacked by King Zmeinski or the sea monster, who was devouring the people in the city of Debra... he defeated the dragon, and he went on his way.” In folk epic poems about Yegor the Brave, George is endowed with the features of an epic hero.

Many authors tried to explain the extraordinary popularity of St. George both among the people and among the princely warriors by transferring the features of Russian pagan gods to this saint. On the one hand, the very name of George, meaning “cultivator of the land,” made him the patron of agriculture and cattle breeding, the successor of Veles, Semargl, Dazhbog. This was also facilitated by the saint’s memorial days. Spring - April 23 - coincided with the beginning of field work, with which many ancient pagan rituals were associated in Rus', and autumn - November 24 - the famous "St. George's Day", when peasants had the right to move from one feudal landowner to another. On the other hand, as a warrior and victorious, he was the patron of the prince and his squad, since the cult of Perun, the main god of the pagan pantheon of Prince Vladimir, was transferred to George. In addition, the very image of George as a beautiful young man - a warrior, liberator and defender, attracted the sympathy of the entire people.

So who is depicted on the coat of arms of Moscow? Judging by official documents, this issue has not yet been finally resolved. In the “Regulations on the Emblem of Moscow” he is called “George the Victorious”, and in the provision “On the State Emblem of the Russian Federation”, approved by the President on November 30, 1993, it is said: “on the chest of an eagle there is a horseman slaying a dragon with a spear.”

We believe that no matter what the emblem on the coat of arms of Moscow is called, it remains a collective image that embodies our entire past - this is a saint, the patron saint of our princes and tsars, and the prince or tsar himself in the form of a snake fighter, and simply a warrior - the defender of the Fatherland, and most importantly, it is an ancient symbol of the victory of Light over Darkness and Good over Evil.

The icon “The Miracle of St. George the Dragon” is the image of the great martyr St. George the Victorious. The shrine is the protector of the hearth and helps in any troubles.

“The Miracle of George on the Dragon” is a well-known icon in Orthodoxy. The patroness of the military, intercessor against misfortunes and one of the most revered shrines in Christianity adorns many churches in Russia. The image of St. George has miraculous power: like other prayer icons, it works real miracles.

History of the icon “The Miracle of George on the Dragon”

The icon was painted in honor of the Great Martyr George. The saint was born in the city of Lydda, which was located in Palestine. At that time, the local ruler preached paganism and killed Christians. Father George preached the word of God, for which he was executed. His mother, being pregnant, managed to escape.

Saint George fell in love with Jesus from an early age and accepted the Christian faith. He had incredible willpower, courage and perseverance. The young man was accepted into the service of the emperor, where he defeated enemies and won every battle. But when the ruler found out what faith George professed, he ordered the Christian to be tortured, which lasted seven days. Then the saint was beheaded.

As the legend goes, many years after the burial of George’s body, a terrible snake settled in the city’s only source of drinking water. Once a month, local residents sacrificed young people to him in order to continue to use drinking water. When there was only one young girl left, who was the daughter of the emperor, she was brought to the lake, but then George appeared with a spear and killed the snake. Christians considered this event a miracle and began to venerate and glorify the great martyr even more strongly. The way the holy warrior defeated the monster in the lake symbolizes the victory of Christianity over paganism. The persecution of Orthodox believers stopped.

Where is the miraculous image located?

The miraculous face of St. George the Victorious can be found in almost every church in our homeland. The most revered icons of “George’s Miracle on the Dragon” are kept:

• in the Cathedral of St. George in Starye Luchniki;
• in the St. George Church (Odintsovo deanery);
• in the Cathedral of the Great Martyr George the Victorious in the village of Monino.

Description of the icon of St. George the Victorious

On the shrine “The Miracle of George on the Dragon” the holy martyr is depicted seated on a white stallion, dressed in military armor with a cloak flowing behind him. The saint pierces a huge serpent with a sharp spear, personifying the victory over the devil himself.

What does St. George the Victorious help with?

Saint George is the protector and patron of everyone who participates in hostilities or has a military rank. People pray in front of his holy icon for protection from enemies and for peace in the country and in the family. The saint also helps to heal from various diseases. They pray to him for victory over the enemy, circumstances and anger. This miraculous image can come to the aid of every Christian who believes in the power of prayer words.

Days of celebration

The day when Orthodox Christians pay homage to the holy martyr George, praising and reading prayers with even greater zeal before his miraculous image, falls on May 6 (April 23).

Prayer to George in front of his icon

You can pray in front of the icon of the Orthodox martyr both in church and at home. It is best to light a candle before saying a prayer. Strong prayer in front of the holy image:

“Oh, great warrior! Protector and Intercessor of all Christians, Saint George! Hear the words of our prayer from heaven, fill our souls with faith, our bodies—by force and give us
perseverance! Drive away diseases, keep our houses safe and sound. Protect from enemies and various misfortunes. May we glorify Your most holy name, O Great Martyr George! Let the will of the Lord be done. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. From now on and forever and ever. Amen".

Address your prayers to the saints and do not hesitate to ask them for painful things. Every saint of the Lord has the power to help you overcome internal weakness and external evil. The problem will not be solved in one day, but your faith will grow and become stronger. Therefore, never forget about words of gratitude to the saints. Strong is the one who believes and appreciates help from Above. We wish you happiness, success,and don't forget to press the buttons and

16.11.2017 05:42

The Kazan Icon of the Mother of God is widely known among Orthodox Christians. The intercessor and protector of all people is...

The image of Saint George the serpent fighter is widely known. In canonical form, this is a horseman striking a dragon with a spear. But such a canon did not emerge immediately.

The miracle of St. George about the serpent with life.

Some of the icon painters believed that St. George the Victorious subdued the monster with the word of God, and not with weapons, while others seemed at a loss in choosing what to use to strike the brave St. George, originally from Cappadocia, with the winged monster. An illustrative example here is the icon from the Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God in the village of Pogost-Sable, Batetsky district, Novgorod region, in the former Vodskaya Pyatina of Mister Veliky Novgorod. The icon is kept in the museum in the Novgorod Kremlin.

An icon from the Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God in the village of Pogost-Sable, Batetsky district, Novgorod region, in the former Vodskaya Pyatina of Mister Veliky Novgorod. Kept in the museum in the Novgorod Kremlin.

The work, created at the end of the 16th - beginning of the 17th centuries, somewhere during the reign of Tsar Boris Godunov, depicts the Miracle of St. George about the serpent with a hagiography. And there the future great martyr slays the serpent not with a spear, as we are all accustomed to seeing, but with a sword! Why is that?

Saint George slays the serpent with a sword, not a spear.

Let's start with the fact that the brave warrior George accomplished his main feat under the emperor Diocletian, when he did not renounce his faith, despite numerous tortures. Actually, the icon depicts not only the fight against snakes, but the last days of the life of the famous saint.

The image became widely known in the world.

When the persecution of Christians began, George distributed property to the poor and openly declared himself a Christian before the emperor. They arrested him and began to torture him for seven days; he was subjected to terrible torture, but his wounds were always healed miraculously: they stabbed him with spears, crushed him with a heavy stone, tortured him with a wheel studded with knives and swords, threw him into a pit with quicklime, broke the bones on his arms and legs, They were forced to walk in red-hot iron boots, beaten with whips and even poisoned.

Although this is not what the Christ-loving warrior accomplished his main feat.

George endured all this torment and did not renounce Christ. After unsuccessful persuasion to renounce and offer a pagan sacrifice, on the eighth day he was sentenced to death by beheading.

And because he accepted martyrdom, but did not renounce the Christian faith.

Where did the serpent come from then? And here is the most interesting thing. If the Greeks believed that George defeated the serpent before his death, going to Diocletian, but the Slavs believed that Saint George accomplished the feat posthumously! But is it really that important? The main thing is that this story had a happy ending.

This happened more than 1,700 years ago under Emperor Diocletian.

In the vicinity of the city of Beirut, near the Lebanese Mountains, there lived in a lake a snake that attacked people. The city was ruled by a king “a dirty idolater, a lawless and wicked man, merciless and unmerciful to those who believe in Christ.” The people, frightened by the monster, came to him asking what to do. And the king proposed to draw up a list of townspeople and, one by one, give their children to be torn to pieces by the snake, promising, when his turn comes, to give his daughter to death. Having fulfilled his promise, the king “dressed his daughter in purple and fine linen, adorned him with gold and precious stones and pearls” and ordered her to be taken to the serpent.

Georgy Georgievich was tortured for seven days.

George, seeing the crying princess, asked her about the reason for her grief and, having learned about the monster, promised to save her. “Having made the sign of the cross and calling on the Lord, with the words: “in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit,” he rushed on his horse towards the serpent, shaking his spear and, striking the serpent with force in the larynx, struck him and pressed him to earth; The saint’s horse trampled the serpent underfoot.” Although we note that in some versions of the story, the snake was struck solely by the power of the saint’s prayer.

And on the eighth they beheaded.

However, more precisely, he is humble, since he was not struck to death. Then George ordered the princess to tie the snake with a belt and lead it to the city. The people were surprised by the princess's return and, seeing the snake, began to run away in horror. George addressed them with the words: “Don’t be afraid! If you believe in Christ, in whom I believe, you will now see your salvation.” And after that he beheaded a snake with a sword, whose corpse the residents carried out of the city and burned. This miracle contributed to the conversion of local residents to Christianity.

But in the people's memory, St. George the Victorious remained forever, thanks to the salvation of the princess and the entire city in modern Lebanon from the serpent.

The iconographic original gives the following lengthy description of the plot that should be depicted on the icon: “The miracle of St. George, how he delivered the maiden from the serpent, is written as follows: the holy martyr George sits on a white horse, having a spear in his hand and with it he stabbed the serpent in the larynx; and the serpent came out of the lake, great and terrible; The lake is large, next to the lake there is a mountain, and in another country there is a mountain, and on the edge of the lake stands a maiden, a royal daughter, wearing a magnificent royal robe, holding a serpent with a belt and leading the serpent with a belt into the city, and another maiden closes the city gates; the city is surrounded by a fence and a tower, from the tower the king looks, in the image of a Rus, the fortress is small and the queen is with him, and behind them are the boys, warriors and people with axes and spears.”

Having struck the serpent with a spear, George then killed him with a sword in the city.

However, in most cases, the icons depict an abbreviated composition: a warrior on horseback strikes a serpent with a spear, and Christ or his hand blesses him from heaven. Sometimes an angel with a crown in his hands is depicted above the head of George. The city is usually depicted in icons as a tower. A distinctive feature of Russian icons depicting this plot is that George strikes the dragon with a spear not in the eye, as in Western painting, but in the mouth.

And if on most icons he is depicted at the moment of defeating the dragon, then on some - at the moment of reprisal against him.

But, as we see, there was another image. Even more concise. Where it is depicted not the moment of the horseman’s victory, the pacification of the serpent, but his death from the sword of an equestrian, Christ-loving warrior.

The most famous miracle of St. George is the liberation of Princess Alexandra (in another version, Elisava) and the victory over the devilish serpent.

San Giorgio Schiavoni. St. George fights the dragon.

This happened in the vicinity of the Lebanese city of Lasia. The local king paid an annual tribute to a monstrous snake that lived among the Lebanese mountains, in a deep lake: by lot, one person was given to it to be devoured every year. One day, the lot fell to the daughter of the ruler himself, a chaste and beautiful girl, one of the few residents of Lasia who believed in Christ, to be devoured by a snake. The princess was brought to the serpent's lair, and she was already crying and awaiting a terrible death.
Suddenly a warrior on horseback appeared to her, who, making the sign of the cross, struck with a spear a serpent, deprived of demonic power by the power of God.

Together with Alexandra, George came to the city, which he had saved from a terrible tribute. The pagans mistook the victorious warrior for an unknown god and began to praise him, but George explained to them that he served the true God - Jesus Christ. Many townspeople, led by the ruler, listening to the confession of the new faith, were baptized. On the main square a temple was built in honor of the Mother of God and St. George the Victorious. The rescued princess took off her royal clothes and remained at the temple as a simple novice.
From this miracle originates the image of St. George the Victorious - the conqueror of evil, embodied in a snake - a monster. The combination of Christian holiness and military valor made George an example of a medieval warrior-knight - a defender and liberator.
This is how the Middle Ages saw St. George the Victorious. And against its background, the historical St. George the Victorious, a warrior who gave his life for his faith and defeated death, somehow got lost and faded.

In the rank of martyrs, the Church glorifies those who suffered for Christ and accepted a painful death with His name on their lips, without renouncing their faith. This is the largest rank of saints, numbering thousands of men and women, old people and children, who suffered from pagans, godless authorities of various times, and militant infidels. But among these saints there are especially revered ones - the great martyrs. The suffering that befell them was so great that the human mind cannot comprehend the power of patience and faith of such saints and only explains them with the help of God, as everything superhuman and incomprehensible.

Such a great martyr was George, a wonderful young man and courageous warrior.

George was born in Cappadocia, a region in the very center of Asia Minor, which was part of the Roman Empire. Since early Christian times, this region was known for its cave monasteries and Christian ascetics who led in this harsh region, where they had to endure the heat of the day and the cold of the night, droughts and winter frosts, an ascetic and prayerful life.

George was born in the 3rd century (no later than 276) into a rich and noble family: his father, named Gerontius, a Persian by birth, was a high-ranking nobleman - a senator with the dignity of a stratilate *; mother Polychronia, a native of the Palestinian city of Lydda (the modern city of Lod near Tel Aviv), owned extensive estates in her homeland. As often happened at that time, the spouses adhered to different beliefs: Gerontius was a pagan, and Polychronia professed Christianity. Polychronia was involved in raising his son, so George absorbed Christian traditions from childhood and grew up to be a pious young man.

*Stratilate (Greek Στρατηλάτης) is a highly titled person in the Byzantine Empire, the commander-in-chief of the army, who sometimes combined the management of some part of the empire with military activities.

From his youth, George was distinguished by physical strength, beauty and courage. He received an excellent education and could live in idleness and pleasure, spending his parents' inheritance (his parents died before he reached the age of majority). However, the young man chose a different path for himself and entered military service. In the Roman Empire, people were accepted into the army at the age of 17-18, and the usual period of service was 16 years.

The marching life of the future great martyr began under the emperor Diocletian, who became his sovereign, commander, benefactor and tormentor, who gave the order for his execution.

Diocletian (245-313) came from a poor family and began serving in the army as a simple soldier. He immediately distinguished himself in battles, since there were plenty of such opportunities in those days: the Roman state, torn apart by internal contradictions, also suffered raids from numerous barbarian tribes. Diocletian quickly went from soldier to commander, gaining popularity among the troops thanks to his intelligence, physical strength, determination and courage. In 284, the soldiers proclaimed their commander emperor, expressing their love and trust in him, but at the same time presenting him with the difficult task of governing the empire during one of the most difficult periods of its history.

Diocletian made Maximian, an old friend and comrade-in-arms, his co-ruler, and then they shared power with the young Caesars Galerius and Constantius, adopted by custom. This was necessary to cope with riots, wars and the difficulties of destruction in different parts of the state. Diocletian dealt with the affairs of Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, and made the city of Nicomedia (now Ismid, in Turkey) his residence.

While Maximian suppressed uprisings within the empire and resisted the raids of Germanic tribes, Diocletian moved with his army east - to the borders of Persia. Most likely, during these years the young man George entered service in one of Diocletian’s legions, marching through his native land. Then the Roman army fought with the Sarmatian tribes on the Danube. The young warrior was distinguished by his courage and strength, and Diocletian noticed such people and promoted them.

George especially distinguished himself in the war with the Persians in 296-297, when the Romans, in a dispute for the Armenian throne, defeated the Persian army and drove it across the Tigris, annexing several more provinces to the empire. Georgy, who served in cohort of Invictors(“invincible”), where they were placed for special military merits, was appointed military tribune - the second commander in the legion after the legate, and later appointed committee- this was the name of the senior military commander who accompanied the emperor on his travels. Since the comites formed the emperor’s retinue and at the same time were his advisers, this position was considered very honorable.

Diocletian, an inveterate pagan, treated Christians quite tolerantly for the first fifteen years of his reign. Most of his closest assistants, of course, were like-minded people - adherents of traditional Roman cults. But Christians - warriors and officials - could quite safely move up the career ladder and occupy the highest government positions.

The Romans generally showed great tolerance towards the religions of other tribes and peoples. Various foreign cults were freely practiced throughout the empire - not only in the provinces, but also in Rome itself, where foreigners were only required to respect the Roman state cult and perform their rites privately, without imposing them on others.

However, almost simultaneously with the advent of Christian preaching, the Roman religion was replenished with a new cult, which became the source of many troubles for Christians. It was cult of the Caesars.

With the advent of imperial power in Rome, the idea of ​​a new deity appeared: the genius of the emperor. But very soon the veneration of the genius of the emperors grew into the personal deification of the crowned princes. At first, only dead Caesars were deified. But gradually, under the influence of Eastern ideas, in Rome they became accustomed to considering the living Caesar as a god, they gave him the title “our god and ruler” and fell on their knees before him. Those who, through negligence or disrespect, did not want to honor the emperor were treated as the greatest criminals. Therefore, even the Jews, who otherwise firmly adhered to their religion, tried to get along with the emperors in this matter. When Caligula (12-41) was informed about the Jews that they did not sufficiently express reverence for the sacred person of the emperor, they sent a deputation to him to say: “We make sacrifices for you, and not simple sacrifices, but hecatombs (hundreds). We have done this three times already - on the occasion of your accession to the throne, on the occasion of your illness, for your recovery and for your victory.”

This is not the language Christians spoke to emperors. Instead of the kingdom of Caesar, they preached the kingdom of God. They had one Lord - Jesus, so it was impossible to worship both the Lord and Caesar at the same time. During the time of Nero, Christians were forbidden to use coins with the image of Caesar on them; Moreover, there could be no compromises with the emperors, who demanded that the imperial person be titled “Lord and God.” The refusal of Christians to make sacrifices to pagan gods and to deify Roman emperors was perceived as a threat to the established ties between the people and the gods.

The pagan philosopher Celsus addressed Christians with admonitions: “Is there anything bad in acquiring the favor of the ruler of people; After all, it is not without divine permission that power over the world is obtained? If you are required to swear in the name of the emperor, there is nothing wrong with that; for everything you have in life you receive from the emperor.”

But Christians thought differently. Tertullian taught his brothers in faith: “Give your money to Caesar, and yourself to God. But if you give everything to Caesar, what will be left for God? I want to call the emperor a ruler, but only in the ordinary sense, if I am not forced to put him in the place of God as a ruler” (Apology, ch. 45).

Diocletian eventually also demanded divine honors. And, of course, he immediately encountered disobedience from the Christian population of the empire. Unfortunately, this meek and peaceful resistance of the followers of Christ coincided with increasing difficulties within the country, which aroused open rumors against the emperor, and was regarded as a rebellion.

In the winter of 302, co-emperor Galerius pointed out to Diocletian the “source of discontent”—Christians—and proposed to begin persecuting the Gentiles.

The emperor turned for a prediction regarding his future to the temple of Apollo of Delphi. The Pythia told him that she could not make a divination because she was being interfered with by those who were destroying her power. The priests of the temple interpreted these words in such a way that it was all the fault of Christians, from whom all the troubles in the state originated. So the emperor’s inner circle, secular and priestly, pushed him to make the main mistake in his life - to begin persecution of believers in Christ, known in history as the Great Persecution.

On February 23, 303, Diocletian issued the first edict against Christians, which ordered "to destroy churches to the ground, burn holy books and deprive Christians of honorary positions". Soon after this, the imperial palace in Nicomedia was twice engulfed in fire. This coincidence gave rise to unsubstantiated accusations of arson against Christians. Following this, two more decrees appeared - on the persecution of priests and on the obligatory sacrifice to the pagan gods for everyone. Those who refused sacrifices were subject to imprisonment, torture and death. Thus began the persecution that claimed the lives of several thousand citizens of the Roman Empire - Romans, Greeks, people from barbarian peoples. The entire Christian population of the country, quite numerous, was divided into two parts: some, for the sake of deliverance from torment, agreed to make pagan sacrifices, while others confessed Christ to death, because they considered such sacrifices to be a renunciation of Christ, remembering His words: “No servant can serve two.” masters, for either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be zealous for one and not care about the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (Luke 16:13).

Saint George did not even think about worshiping pagan idols, so he prepared for torment for the faith: he distributed gold, silver and all the rest of his wealth to the poor, and granted freedom to his slaves and servants. Then he appeared in Nicomedia for a council with Diocletian, where all his military leaders and associates gathered, and openly declared himself a Christian.

The assembly was amazed and looked at the emperor, who sat in silence, as if struck by thunder. Diocletian did not expect such an act from his devoted military leader, longtime comrade-in-arms. According to the Life of the Saint, the following dialogue took place between him and the emperor:

“George,” said Diocletian, “I have always marveled at your nobility and courage; you received a high position from me for your military merits.” Out of love for you, as a father, I give you advice - do not condemn your life to torment, make a sacrifice to the gods, and you will not lose your rank and my favor.
“The kingdom that you now enjoy,” answered George, “is impermanent, vain and transitory, and his pleasures will perish along with it.” Those who are deceived by them receive no benefit. Believe in the true God, and He will give you the best kingdom - an immortal one. For his sake, no torment will frighten my soul.

The emperor became angry and ordered the guards to arrest George and throw him into prison. There he was stretched out on the prison floor, his feet were put in stocks, and a heavy stone was placed on his chest, so that it was difficult to breathe and impossible to move.

The next day, Diocletian ordered George to be brought in for interrogation:
“Have you repented or will you be disobedient again?”
“Do you really think that I will be exhausted from such a small torment?” - answered the saint. “You’ll sooner get tired of tormenting me than I’ll get tired of enduring torment.”

The angry emperor gave the order to resort to torture to force George to renounce Christ. Once upon a time, during the years of the Roman Republic, torture was used only on slaves in order to extract testimony from them during a judicial investigation. But during the Empire, pagan society became so corrupted and brutalized that torture began to be often used on free citizens. The torture of Saint George was particularly savage and cruel. The naked martyr was tied to a wheel, under which the torturers placed boards with long nails. Rotating on the wheel, George’s body was torn apart by these nails, but his mind and lips prayed to God, at first loudly, then more and more quietly...

Michael van Coxie. Martyrdom of St. George.

- He died, why didn’t the Christian God save him from death? - said Diocletian when the martyr completely calmed down, and with these words he left the place of execution.

This, apparently, is the end of the historical layer in the Life of St. George. Next, the hagiographer talks about the miraculous resurrection of the martyr and the ability he acquired from God to emerge unharmed from the most terrible torments and executions.

Apparently, the courage shown by George during the execution had a strong influence on the local residents and even on the emperor’s inner circle. The Life reports that during these days many people accepted Christianity, including a priest of the temple of Apollo named Athanasius, as well as Diocletian’s wife Alexandra.

According to the Christian understanding of the martyrdom of George, this was a battle with the enemy of the human race, from which the holy passion-bearer, who courageously endured the most severe torture to which human flesh has ever been subjected, emerged victorious, for which he was named the Victorious.

George won his last victory - over death - on April 23, 303, on the day of Good Friday.

The Great Persecution ended the era of paganism. The tormentor of St. George, Diocletian, just two years after these events was forced to resign as emperor under pressure from his own court circle, and spent the rest of his days on a distant estate growing cabbage. The persecution of Christians after his resignation began to subside and soon ceased completely. Ten years after the death of George, Emperor Constantine issued a decree according to which all their rights were returned to Christians. A new empire, a Christian one, was created on the blood of martyrs.