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In praise of ... Saint George Saint George's Day: in praise of our patron saint
(about 9 hours later)
According to religious tradition Saint George was martyred by the Roman emperor Diocletian on 23 April 303, although Edmund Gibbon disputed the hagiographic account of noble sacrifice and presented the historical George as an ambitious bishop from Cappadocia. Whatever the truth, such is the universality of the battle between good and evil that he represents, he has been regarded as patron saint of England at least since Agincourt, and he remains a saint of the broadest appeal, honoured as much by eastern Christian churches as those in the west. He is patron saint of the Hungarian police and the Portuguese army, as well as of Moscow, England and Georgia. On Wednesday in Barcelona couples will celebrate his anniversary by exchanging roses and books; on 6 May in Bulgaria some will remember him by cooking a whole lamb; and on 5 May – in a legacy of Byzantine rule – Palestinian Christians and Muslims will both participate in his feast day.According to religious tradition Saint George was martyred by the Roman emperor Diocletian on 23 April 303, although Edmund Gibbon disputed the hagiographic account of noble sacrifice and presented the historical George as an ambitious bishop from Cappadocia. Whatever the truth, such is the universality of the battle between good and evil that he represents, he has been regarded as patron saint of England at least since Agincourt, and he remains a saint of the broadest appeal, honoured as much by eastern Christian churches as those in the west. He is patron saint of the Hungarian police and the Portuguese army, as well as of Moscow, England and Georgia. On Wednesday in Barcelona couples will celebrate his anniversary by exchanging roses and books; on 6 May in Bulgaria some will remember him by cooking a whole lamb; and on 5 May – in a legacy of Byzantine rule – Palestinian Christians and Muslims will both participate in his feast day.