SAINT GEORGE, BISHOP OF DEBOLTA, MARTYR - 22 JANUARY

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN JANUARY

Saints celebrated on the 22nd of January

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SAINT GEORGE, BISHOP OF DEBOLTA, MARTYR

Clement V., Pope

Saint George (Georgius), Bishop of Debolta, suffered in Bulgaria. The Bulgarians, who since A.D. 679 inhabited the land from the Dniester to the Danube, and from the Danube to the Haemus (i.e. today’s Bessarabia, Moldavia, Wallachia and Bulgaria in the narrower sense), already had brought about devastating consequences during the reign of the Greek Emperor Nicephorus. 

When Leo the Armenian was in power, they invaded the Eastern Roman Empire and advanced as far as Constantinople. After the capture of Hadrianople in 813, they led many Greek believers, including Bishop George, into captivity. However, many conversions were effected by these captive Christians, so that the Bulgarian princes Orummus, Dacumus, Ditzengus and Curtagan ordered a bloody persecution.  Bishop George was martyred, and many others died with him. Saint Archbishop Manuel of Hadrianople, Bishops Peter and Leo, Archpriest Gabriel, Priest Parodus, John, Leo, Sionius, and 377 others were killed for the faith in Jesus. Nevertheless, under the protection of God, the seed thus sown thrived until, through the efforts of Saint Methodius, even the Bulgarian prince Bogoris (Boris) in 850 was converted, baptised, and accepted into the holy Church of God. (II. 441).

(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, Volume 2, Augsburg, 1861, p. 383)

Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints - Sources and Abbreviations

PRAYER:

Grant, we beseech you, almighty God, that the venerable feast of Saint George may increase our devotion and promote our salvation. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Sources of these articles (in the original German): books.google.co.uk, de-academic.com, zeno.org, openlibrary.org