Monday, May 6 marks the feast day of St. George the Great Martyr and Triumphant on the Orthodox religious calendar for 2024, as Orthodox Easter (Pascha) fell on Sunday, May 5 this year, meaning that the saint’s feast day was moved from April 23 to the day after Easter – known as Renewal Monday.
For the Greek Orthodox Church, as well as the other national Churches in Orthodoxy, St. George is one of the most venerated and popular saints.
According to early Church sources, he was distinguished for his steadfast faith in the face of horrendous torments during the reign of Diocletian, suffering until his beheading on April 23, 303 AD.
Depicted as a trophy bearer and champion, St. George is at the center of numerous parables and traditions, of which the one that refers to the slaying of a dragon and the rescue of the princess.
