Christ is risen! Truly He is risen!
St. George the Great Martyr and Trophy-bearer (http://www.ruicon.ru/exhibition/1x1.php?page_30=266&)
Always, and with each of the Holy
Martyrs, the feasts are radiant and proper. But more radiant and
proper, however, is today's feast that is celebrated, of George the
glorious great martyr, for this festival not only bears the character
of the imitation of the passion of the Lord, and adorns with the
athletic struggle of the Martyr, and shines with the beauty and grace
of spring, but beyond this, it bears the character of the radiance of
the two great feasts of the Master: of the Resurrection, I mean, and
the Ascension, and is found as a radiant moon between two suns, whose
rays shine from both sides, and thus receiving the same rays, shines
imitating Christ for the whole world, for though the Master's feast
of the saving passion, and the light-bearing and all-festal
Resurrection of Jesus Christ the true God, and Son of God, the
creator of all the martyrs, Who suffered for us and was martyred
under Pontius Pilate, according to the Apostle, and with His very
passion and death, granted to us victory over the passions and death.
I speak of the Resurrection of the Lord, which accordingly gives rise
to one portion of this feast of the martyr, which before it dawns
upon the church of Christ as a great sun. We proceed straightaway to
this fellow dawn of this feast of George, which shines also with that
of the radiant and most graceful season of spring. And with the
glorious Ascension of the Lord to the heavens, through which our very
nature was granted to be seated with the Father, thus follows
harmoniously the other latter portion of this feast of the Martyr.
And let not one think that it is by
chance that the memory of George is between these two great feasts of
the Master. No, but I say that this was accomplished according to
divine providence, and through the revelation of the divine closeness
(οικειότητα) of things, in other words, to reveal to us George, who was martyred
for Christ, and the extreme love which this George had towards Him
Whom he was martyred for, and how George not only become one with the
passion of Christ through his martyrdom, but also shared the same
season and days during which the Lord suffered. For, as the passion
and the Resurrection of the Lord exceeds all the other feasts of the
Master, thus, through the feast of spring, in a similar manner the
feast of the martyr George exceeds the other feasts of martyrs
throughout the year. For this feast is only celebrated after the holy
Resurrection, and is celebrated during the time of most-radiant
spring. And because those from the one side and the other are so
joy-bestowing from the festival of the martyr, it is worthy also to
present the beauty and radiance to one another. The festival is
beautiful, the message is saving, and the works and actions are
godly...
St. George the Great Martyr and Trophy-bearer (http://www.ruicon.ru/exhibition/1x1.php?page_30=200&)
Christ is risen from the dead, by death trampling down upon death, and to those in the tombs, bestowing life!
Truly the Lord is risen!
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