George was a Roman soldier, thought to have been born into Greek nobility in Cappadocia – modern Turkey – in 280 AD. He is said to have served the Emperor Diocletian as a Tribune in the province of Palestine.
A proud Christian, George refused to renounce his faith when Rome later chose to purge its ranks of outside influence during the Great Persecution.
He was imprisoned, tortured, dragged through the streets of the Palestinian city of Lydda and finally beheaded on 23 April 303 AD, rather than apostatise.
All very good but, as far as we know, he never visited Britain. So how did he come to be England's patron saint?
Well apparently George’s martyrdom inspired King Edward III to make him England’s patron saint in 1327 – replacing the local favourite, St Edmund.
George is also honoured as the patron saint of Bulgaria, Cyprus, Ethiopia, Georgia, Greece, Lithuania, Palestine, Portugal and Serbia; of the regions of Aragon and Catalonia in Spain; and of the cities of Beirut, Genoa, Istanbul, Moscow and Venice.
It seems to me he is spread a little too thinly! In view of the fact that we have now "Brexited" perhaps we ought to leave him to all these other countries and petition for the return of St Edmund.
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