Abstract
April 23. ST. GEORGE, Patron Saint of England. Martyr under Diocletian, A.D. 285. Notwithstanding his widespread fame, nothing authentic is known of his life. According to the generally accepted version he was born in Cappadocia, son of a martyred father, served with distinction in the army, and, inheriting a great fortune on the death of his mother, declared himself a Christian before the Emperor, and was martyred with many miraculous incidents. According to Ammianus Marcellinus, however, he was born in Cilicia, and it is said that he acquired a fortune at Constantinople as a purveyor of bacon to the army by anything but honest means. On being found out, he fled to Cappadocia, where he professed Arianism and was promoted to the throne of St. Athanasius. As primate of Egypt he behaved with pride and insolence, while plundering the rich temples of the pagans. This led to his martyrdom at the hands of the heathen, but the date, A.D. 361, points to a confusion of two different personalities.
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Calendar of Customs and Festivals. Nature 121, 655 (1928). https://doi.org/10.1038/121655a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/121655a0