CONSECRATION OF THE CHURCH OF ST GEORGE IN LYDDA

On the day when exactly half of the last month of autumn has already passed, the Churches that follow the Julian calendar honor the memory of St George. This autumn commemoration of St. George is dedicated to the event of the consecration of the church in his honor, which took place in the 4th century under Emperor Constantine the Great (+337) in the Palestinian city of Lod. Previously, this place was called Lydda, as well as Diospolis and even Georgiopolis, that is, the “City of George”. Interestingly, the Israeli Ben Gurion Airport is located near Lod these days.

It is important to understand that the dedication of a church to one or another saint in Christian antiquity meant one of the forms of canonization. A similar act was the commemoration of the name of a deceased righteous person among the saints during eucharistic liturgy, as well as the discovery or transfer of holy relics. That is why such an event attracted so much attention and, as a rule, was fixed on the calendar. The ancient Church did not know those forms of canonization of saints that are filled with formalities and are practiced in modern times. In fact, this day is a remembrance of the canonization of St. George.

George is certainly one of the greatest saints of all Christian antiquity. According to his life, he suffered for his faith in Christ in 303 under the emperor Diocletian. The Eastern Orthodox tradition calls George the Great Martyr. This involuntarily makes many think that the word “great martyr” means a special multitude of sufferings endured. However, it is not.

It is important to know that the word “martyr” itself in the original Greek sounds like “witness.” Thus, word for word and without any translation, it entered French, German and other European languages. From Greek this word is translated as witness and has nothing to do with suffering. But in Slavic languages ​​it literally means “sufferer.”

In ancient times, as a rule, people were indifferent to the deserved suffering of other people. Especially if Christians suffered, endured torment, and died in agony. After all, like many of our contemporaries, the pagans did not know what Christianity believed and taught. Listening to all sorts of slander, they mistakenly considered Christians to be atheists, enemies of society and its values. The Roman pagans considered themselves exclusively believers. Therefore, in the eyes of society, the willingness of Christians to die for their beliefs was surprising.

Thus, the philosopher-emperor and at the same time one of the persecutors of Christians, Marcus Aurelius (121–180), in his notes could not find any explanation for this and considered it fanaticism. It is interesting that, unlike other persecuting emperors, he was “forgiven” by his Christian contemporaries, who spoke well of him despite the persecution. At the same time, Christians did not forget and honored their holy martyrs.

The faith of the Church is based on biblical revelation. This is where its key concepts come from, from the Bible. The search for the original meaning of things in the text of Scripture is a true theological archeology of thought, allowing us to better comprehend the essence of things.

Thus, in accordance with the Apocalypse, in its original and only unconditional sense, the word “martyr” is used in relation to Jesus Christ: “Thus says the Amen - the Witness (that is, literally: Martyr) Faithful and True - the beginning of the creation of God” (Rev. 13, 14). According to Scripture, the Lord Jesus Christ is the original and first martyr who testified to faith in God, faith in the Covenant and fidelity to the commandments. In the Lord Jesus there is an endless “Yes” and “Amen” to His God and Father.

Very little evidence has reached us about the life of the original apostolic community and the life of the first Christians. But one historical testimony of the Apostle Paul is extremely important: “Look, brethren, who you are who are called: not many of you are wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble” (1 Cor. 1:26). Christianity was originally the faith of ordinary people. There were few people of royal, noble, special origin among the Christians of the first centuries.

Therefore, the designation of some of the holy martyrs (by the way, very few) “great martyrs” historically, as a rule, does not mean a special amount of suffering endured, but nobility of origin. The testimony of the Christian martyrs of the imperial family was great, for it was visible to everyone. That is why the Church, as a Society of Believers, called them “great martyrs.” In the language of theological terms, the adjective “catholic” has become synonymous with this word. In the Creed, the Church is called “catholic,” because it is called upon to bear a worldwide, visible and convincing testimony to the Christian confession for all.

So, the ancient apologists said that the blood of martyrs is the foundation of the Church.

What was paradoxical in the feat of holiness of the great martyrs was that these richest and most influential people of their time chose not one of the rich and famous of this world as the hero of their confession, but the Great Sufferer, who was truly poor, a wanderer and alone. “And Jesus said to him: The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20). Or, as the Holy Spirit sings about this in the human voices of the Church on Good Friday: “Give me this Stranger, Who has no place to lay his head.” “If your pillow is soft,” it is written in some ancient editions of our prayer book, “then put a stone under your head for Christ’s sake.”

Even more surprising and paradoxical about the holiness of the great martyrs was that many of them served the Roman army, were imperial commanders and soldiers. The army of Rome does not need additional assessments, and therefore, logically, these “soldiers to the end” should have chosen Alexander the Great, Hercules, or even some kind of beast or dragon as their hero or patron. However, historical evidence and a significant number of martyred soldiers speak of the extreme popularity of Christ in the Roman army, of the amazing love of the Roman soldiers for the Lord Jesus.

This truly supernatural fact has another explanation. The fact is that, according to the conviction of the Romans of that time, participation in suffering, especially the ability to endure it without guilt and consciously, inaccessible to most mortals, introduced the sufferer to the truth, made him a participant in great mysteries. In this regard, faith was not just a concept, but was considered divine. The right palm when swearing, the raised right hand on the icons of martyrs also reminds of this in their new, Christian and biblical meaning.

So, many Roman soldiers turned their love, sincere human sympathy, precisely to the Lamb of God, the Great Sufferer, our Lord Jesus. Thus, human Roman virtue was united with divine biblical virtue. Thanks to the testimony of the great martyrs, among whom St George, the peoples of the world (cf. Matt. 28:18) turned their gaze to the Gospel of the King of Glory, the Great Martyr Jesus Christ.