Cappadocia was the birthplace of several saints, but the most famous among them is Saint George from the second half of the 3rd century. He was the son of wealthy Christians and when he was 20 he served in the Roman army under Diocletian.
Roman Emperor undertook religious repression against Christians and summoned his top officers. Young George confessed his devotion to Christianity and was thrown to jail and put under constant torture. He was praying all the time and when he was forced to sacrifice his beliefs for his life, George said he was willing to die for his religion as his father did when he was a child.
St George fresco in Yilanli Church
The story says that George was helped by God ever since and that he did not suffer physical damage, but was cured instantly of Roman tortures, over and over again. After various miracles he performed and the resurrection of the person from an ancient tomb, many were converted to Christianity, including the emperor’s wife Alexandra. Still, the emperor soon beheaded George in 303 AD, while the wife died before the execution.
Known for his miracles and great deeds to help people, he was often depicted with a dragon. The legend says that the dragon threatened the people of Athaliah town who were sacrificing a girl to him each year. Saint George subjected the dragon and saved the village.
In my home country, there is a tradition where every Serbian Christian Orthodox family celebrates one saint as a protector. It is passed from father to son and the celebration is called the Slava. Even though I am not that religious, I respect the tradition of my people and was sincerely thrilled to see the birthplace of Saint George – the saint my family celebrates and dedicates its Slava to.
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The full Cappadocia SERIES
wendy maes
Love your stories. I definitively come back to read more if I travel to Cappadocia.
WorldGlimpses
Oh, thank you, you’re very kind. Please do! 🙂
wyldfamilytravel
Fantastic tradition is the Slava we were recently in Belgrade and did a food tour with taste Serbia who took us to a slava
WorldGlimpses
Than you know what it means to a Serbian. Glad you’ve been to Slava. 🙂
neha
This is a lovely story. I always find it interesting to read and learn about the ancient cultures, their practices, their stories and their believes of justice, injustice and miracles. It is really a strong tradition that your family and your home country still follows!
WorldGlimpses
Thank you! It’s the only way to see the world, to travel and learn, in my opinion – only if one respects other cultures and traditions. And I’m astonished by the diversity of it all!
CreativeTravelGuide (@CTGTravelGuide)
An interesting story about a Saint I really didn’t know much about! It must have been an interesting place to visit, especially if you follow this faith.
WorldGlimpses
It’s always interesting to visit places like this, combining legends with religion etc. Thanks!
Tina Pik
Would love to visit Cappadocia one day – I keep seeing so many stunning photos. Interesting, I’ve never read much into the history, so you provided some great insights there.
WorldGlimpses
When you decide to go, come back and read some more, this whole month is about Cappadocia on my blog. 😉 Thanks!
jojo vito
This is the kind of place I dream of visiting in the near future. Hope I can materialize this dream soon to see also in real the Cappadocia 🙂
Danijela
Hope you do, and that this Cappadocia blog series here will be helpful. 🙂