Stand for the reading of the Synaxarion.
Synaxarion
On April 23 we commemorate the holy and glorious Great-martyr George the Trophybearer and St. Martyr Polychronia mother of St. George the Trophy-bearer (303) [the Feast of St. George is translated to Bright Monday]
On this day we also commemorate the holy Martyrs Anatolius and Protoleon the Commanders, who believed in Christ through Saint George. (303)
On this day we also commemorate the holy Martyr Athanasius the former magician. (303)
On this day we also commemorate the holy Martyr Glycerius the farmer, who believed in Christ through Saint George. (303)
On this day we also commemorate the holy Martyr Valerius , by the sword.
On this day the holy Martyrs Donatus and Therinus of Bothrotus, in Epirus died by the sword. (250)
On this day we also commemorate the blessed George, the Fool for Christ’s sake of Shenkursk.(†1462)
On this day, the holy New Martyr George of Cyprus, who witnessed in the city of Ptolemaïs in the year 1752, died by being cut to pieces with swords.
On this day we also commemorate the holy New Martyr Lazarus the Bulgarian, who was hanged in Pergamum in the year 1802
The holy Hieromartyr Plato, Metropolitan of Chios, his deacon Macarius, and the 70 foremost citizens of Chios, who were hanged by the Turks in the Upper Shambles in the year 1822.
On this day, the holy New Hieromartyr Konstantinos Tulia from Sitaria Florina who suffered and received crowns of martyrdom from the godless satanic authorities of communism (+1943, Holy and Great Friday)
On this day, the sleep of Saint Makarius of Saharna, the confessor (1969) [honored on May 13/26].
Verses
George, cutting down all his foes in battles,
Is gladly cut down of his foes by beheading.
On the twenty-third, George’s neck was seized by the brazen blade.
Verses To Anatolios.
At sunset the head of Anatolios was cut off,
At sunrise he saw the noetic light of the Lord.
To Protoleon.
Protoleon the Martyr of Christ was beheaded,
Having confidence in Christ like a lion has in its tail.
Saint George the Great Martyr pedagogue in the Life of Saint Theodore Sykeote
St. George the Great Martyr played a pivitol role in the life of St. Theodore Sykeote, a sixth century Saint who is commemorated on April 22nd. In his Life we read the following:
When her full time was accomplished, Mary bore the servant of God; and after some days had passed, she carried him, as is the custom among Christians, to the Holy Church of the Orthodox and showed him to the priests who baptized him in the name of the Holy Trinity and named him ‘Theodore’, thus showing by this name that he would be the ‘gift of God’. When the child was about six years old, his mother wanted him to enter the Emperor’s service in the capital, so she made ready for him a gold belt and expensive clothes and everything else necessary, and then she prepared herself for the journey. On the night when she intended to start, God’s holy martyr, St. George, appeared to her and said, ‘What is this plan, lady, which you have made for the boy? Do not labour in vain, for the King in heaven has need of him’. And in the morning she arose and related her vision and wept saying, ‘Assuredly death has drawn near to my boy’. After this she abandoned her journey. She wore herself away with increasing care of her son, and when he was eight years old she gave him to a teacher to be taught his letters. By the grace of God he was quicker at learning than all the other boys and made great progress
He was beloved by all and in his daily life became known to all for his virtues; for when he played with the others he always beat them, but no oath or blasphemy nor any unfitting word ever escaped his lips, nor did he allow the others to use one. And whenever any dispute arose in their games, he at once withdrew and through his actions put an end to it….
When he came out of school he went up the rocky hill which lay near the village. Here there was a shrine dedicated to the martyr St. George. The Saint would guide him to the spot appearing visibly before his eyes in the form of a young man. Entering the shrine Theodore would sit down and busy himself with the study of the Holy Scriptures; and after midday he went back to the school and returned home in the evening.
As Theodore was sleeping at night with his mother and the women who lived with her, Christ’s martyr, George, came to him, and, steeping all the others in deep slumber, woke him up. The first few nights he came in the form of the Stephen whom we have already mentioned, and later, in his own person, and said to him, ‘Get up, master Theodore, the dawn has risen, let us go and pray at the shrine of St. George’. Theodore got up readily and with great joy and the Saint led him away from the house up to his shrine, while it was still dark, so that the boy beheld some of the temptations caused by the demons, for the wicked demons, the enemies of truth, appeared on either side of him in the semblance of wolves and other wild beasts, and with gaping mouths they rushed upon him as though to kill him, in order that they might cause him through fear to give up his good purpose. But Christ’s martyr took hold of him and, like a man wielding a sword, chased them from him, so that Theodore was no whit alarmed by the sight of the wild beasts but became even more zealous and never missed his visits to the shrine.
When he began to adopt this habit, his mother and the women sleeping with her would wake up in the morning, and not seeing him in his bed they suspected that he had crept out and was spending the nights in the martyr’s shrine; and they wondered how it was, since he slept between them, that he got out so successfully without anybody noticing it. They were afraid he might be devoured by some beast, since a fierce wolf, which carried off children, had lately been haunting the neighbourhood; so they tried to coax him not to go up to the shrine, at least before sunrise, as it was a wild, and fearsome place. However, the boy would not be persuaded and when awakened by the martyr at the appointed hour he went off to the shrine. When the women did not find him in bed in the morning, they became very angry and sent servants who brought him back dragging him by the hair. His mother whipped him and tied him to the bed with his arms behind his back, and gave him no food.
That night God’s holy martyr, George, appeared to Theodore’s mother and the other women, girt with a sword, which he drew as he came towards them saying threateningly, ‘Now I shall cut off your heads because you ill-treat and punish the boy and prevent his coming to me’. On their swearing solemnly that they would never do it again, he took back his threat and disappeared.
The women woke up from fright and loosed the boy and comforted him, imploring him not to be angry with them for their mistakes. They asked him how he dared go up to the shrine before dawn, to which he replied, ‘First I went up with Stephen and afterwards with a very handsome and fine young man’. So they concluded that that must be the martyr they had seen in their dream, and yielding to the martyr’s urgency they no longer tried to force the boy but said, ‘God’s will be done!’
Theodore had a tiny sister called Blatta who sympathized with him and loved him dearly. Her heart was set on doing God’s will and often she went up with Theodore to the shrine in the daytime, and she tried to imitate him in every act of self denial….
***
Mother Magdalen of Essex
“If children are conceived, born, and brought up surrounded by prayer and love, they will grow up as spiritual persons and thus fulfill their human vocation.”
“In the upbringing of children, a knowledge of child psychology, or even a fine intuition about one’s own children will not lead to eternal being unless we also ‘invite’ divine grace by prayer. We must pray in the morning, in the evening, and at any moment when we need God’s will, and learn to discern the inspiration of God. By the practice of prayer we achieve our highest aim: to be saved, and to help our children reach eternal life.”
The best educational methods make it a point, above all, to teach children how to learn. There is a saying that goes: “Give your son a fish and he will eat fine today. But teach him how to use a fishing rod and he will eat well all his life.” It is in the same way that we should look upon our role as Christian parents and educators. Let us inspire our children the love for God, whilst showing them at the same time how to find out for themselves God’s will. If we teach children to love God and his Saints, then “all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33).
Mother Magdalena – excerpt from Book: Children in the Church Today: An Orthodox Perspective, Sister Magdalen
St. Porphyrios of Kavsokalyvia: “We must see God in the faces of our children and give God’s love to our children. The children should learn to pray. And in order for children to pray they must have in them the blood of praying parents.
The secret is to be good and saintly and to inspire and radiate. The life of the children seems to be affected by the radiation of their parents.
But what does your child see in you? How do you live and what do you radiate? Does Christ radiate in you? That is what is transmitted to your child. This is where the secret lies.
Children want to have saintly people at their side, people with lots of love who will neither intimidate them nor lecture them, but who will provide a saintly example and pray for them. You parents should pray silently to Christ with upraised arms and embrace your children mystically.
A child needs to be surrounded by people who pray and pray ardently. A mother should not be satisfied by giving her child a physical caress, but should also coddle it with the caress of prayer. In the depths of its soul the child senses the spiritual caress that its mother conveys to it and is drawn to her. It feels security and certainty when its mother mystically embraces it with constant, intense and fervent prayer and releases it from whatever is oppressing it.
This is the most perfect way — for the mother to speak to God and for God to speak to the children. One way is the perfect way — for the mother’s and father’s holiness and love in Christ to speak. The radiance of sanctity and not human effort makes for good children.
St. George the New Martyr of Cyprus at Ptolemais (+ 1752)
By St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite
Verses
Now George is gathered with George,
New and old are placed together thither.
The victorious New Martyr of Christ, George, came from Cyprus. He was young, handsome, intelligent and moral. Leaving his homeland he came to Ptolemais (modern Acre of Palestine). There he entered the service of one of the European consulates, where he was hired as an attendant to one of its members. George would frequently purchase eggs for his employer’s household from a certain poor Turkish woman, who had a daughter of legal age. With the passage of time, the girl began to await his arrival. She spoke freely with him, but only in her mother’s absence. Several neighbors noticed that the youth would only buy eggs from this girl (as much as she had), and not from anyone else. They became envious and resentful. They, therefore, took counsel among themselves to make some mischief for George.
One day, as was his custom, he went to buy eggs; and again, the mother was absent and the daughter was alone. As soon as it was observed that the innocent George entered the house, the perverted neighbors hastened to take hold of the youth, screaming and accusing him of asking to become a Muslim that he might take the girl as his wife. A huge crowd of Turks immediately gathered and seized the Saint. They took him to the judge, still shouting the same false allegations. The judge asked George if the charges brought against him were true. The righteous one answered the judge candidly, stating that he had never uttered such a word, nor did he think it, but that out of malice his accusers made these accusations against him. Furthermore, he declared he was a born a Christian and wanted to die a Christian. They promised him expensive gifts, glory and rank; but all these transitory things did not prevail over George. They administered all kinds of punishments to persuade the youth. But the application of torments was unsuccessful, for George persevered in his Orthodox faith. The judge, consequently, issued a death sentence.
Since the following day was Friday, when the Muslims flocked to the mosque which was nearby the sea, they all stood outside the spacious courtyard. The martyr was brought in fetters to that very location. They stood him in the midst and read aloud, in the hearing of the entire assembly, his sentence. The spectators, thereupon, commenced flattering the youth and encouraging him to convert. The youth strenuously reproached them. Beholding his firm and unchanging resolve, they attempted to intimidate him into submission. The rabble surrounded George, waving their pistols, crying out with one voice, “Obey us! Agree to come to Islam or else we shall slay you instantly.” The valiant confessor of Christ, nevertheless, raised his chained hands heavenward and lifted up his voice, saying, “Lord Jesus Christ, receive my spirit and make me worthy of Your kingdom.” Immediately, the Muslims all emptied their pistols into the martyr. As he fell to the ground, they unsheathed their knives and set upon him, stabbing his entire body. Despite this, the scoundrels were not satiated with their evil deed.
Behold the wonders of God and that of the Martyr in the miracle which was wrought! Prior to this lawless assembly, the sea was completely calm. Then all of a sudden, the waves began to roil. Although the distance between the sea and the martyr was further than the range of a rifle shot, yet it raged like a wild beast. The sea exceeded its natural bounds and came up to the relics. The waters, as a servant of God, washed off the sanctified blood flowing from the martyr’s wounded body, dying the foam red. Thus, where men failed, the sea testified to the honor and reverence due the relics. The waves then rushed up against the walls of the mosque and the Turkish custom house. When the Ottomans beheld this fearful spectacle, they were terror-stricken; for perhaps the sea would submerge their city. At once, they forced the Christians to come quickly. The faithful, in turn, took the holy athlete’s body with honor and openly carried him to the church, where they buried him. Lo, the miracle! The sea immediately subsided and became tranquil again.
In order to glorify His servant and to reward George’s unshakeable faith, God, after the martyr’s burial, performed the following miracle: for three whole nights, a fiery column appeared out of the heavens and illumined the Saint’s grave. The entire city was lit by this most sweet light, which radiated from this pillar of fire. Therefore, in commemoration of the miracle and the indescribably light, every Friday evening to this very day the Christians – a multitude of men, women, children, and especially the infirm – gather at the tomb of the martyr. They light candles and lamps, and they offer incense. Innumerable miracles have occurred, to the glory of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one Divinity and kingdom, to Whom is due glory, honor and worship, now and ever and unto the age of ages. Amen.*
Notes:
* On April 13, 1967 the relics of Saint George were removed from the city of Acre and transferred to the Cathedral of Saint George in Saint Dometios, Leukosia (Nicosia) of Cyprus.
A mother’s prayer…. The sanctity of the parents saves the children.
https://iconandlight.wordpress.com/2022/05/03/a-mothers-prayer-the-sanctity-of-the-parents-saves-the-children/
Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone
Liberator of captives, defender of the poor, physician of the sick, and champion of kings, O trophy-bearer, Great Martyr George, intercede with Christ God that our souls be saved.
Troparion of St George the Trophy-bearer Tone 4
As the deliverer of captives/ and the protector of the poor,/ as the physician of the feeble and combatant of kings,/ holy champion and great martyr George,/ intercede with Christ our God to save our souls.
Αpolytikion for St. George the Trophy-bearer, Mode 4
As the one renowned for setting captives free, and for defending those in poverty, the physician of the sick and the champion of kings, do thou, o Victory-bearer and Great Martyr George, intercede to Christ our God for the salvation of our souls.
New Martyr Lazarus of Bulgaria
Troparion — Tone 3
Your holy martyr Lazarus, O Lord, / through his sufferings has received an incorruptible crown from You, our God. / For having Your strength, he laid low his adversaries, / and shattered the powerless boldness of demons. / Through his intercessions, save our souls!
Kontakion of St George the Trophy-bearer Fourth Tone
Thou Who wast raised up
HAVING been cultivated well by the Lord God, * as the most honored cultivator of piety * thou hast now gathered sheaves of virtues for thyself; *for, as thou didst sow with tears, * thou dost reap with rejoicing; * with thy blood thou didst contest * and thou now hast received Christ. * And by thine intercessions, O Saint George, * thou grantest all the forgiveness of trespasses.
Mode 4. To a brave one.
Guard me always and everywhere, * when I travel by any means, * walking, driving, flying, and when I sleep at night. * And when I wake, keep me safe and sound, all-blessed Great Martyr George. * Guide me to fulfill the will * and commandments of God my Lord, * so that I who run * to your mighty protection be forgiven of the sins I have committed * throughout my lifetime, on Judgment Day.
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