The Georgios Mystery

My own fascination with the Saint George began at the age of six or seven, with the ubiquitous picture (common in this part of the world) of the saint, when I held up the decorated umbrella as part of St. George Day procession at Thonackadu church. The elders had told me the fairy tale (the one we are all so familiar with) when asked who was in that picture: Geevarghese they named the hero. 
Until recently I didn't know that the names Varkey and George had the same root: “Gewargis” (In Syriac) and so both refer the same. The variants of this name are probably the most common names among the SyrChr.

In spite of being one of Christendom's best-recognized saints, with patronages of many European countries, the real character behind the icon is actually a mystery. It would be surprising to know that the Catholic Church had tried to relegate the status of this saint a couple of times in history, unsuccessfully. The fact is the icon could not be traced back to an actual event or a real character.

Even keeping aside the local variations of the dragon-killing lore (there is Georgian, English and others) there are conflicting traditions. Examine a few:

The Western and most-common version (the Golden Legend) a dragon resides in a nest at the spring that provides water for the city of "Silene" in Libya. To dislodge the dragon from its nest, to collect water, the villagers offer at first a sheep and if no sheep can be found then a maiden must go instead. The victim is chosen by drawing lots. One day, this happens to be the princess. She is offered to the dragon, but there appears Saint George on his travels. He faces the dragon, protects himself with the sign of the Cross, slays the dragon, and rescues the princess. The citizens abandon their ancestral paganism and convert to Christianity.

His father was a Greek officer in the Roman army and his mother was a Greek from the city Lydda. They were both Christians and from noble families. Year AD 302, Emperor Diocletian issued an edict that every Christian soldier in the army should be arrested and every soldier should offer a sacrifice to the Roman gods of the time. George objected and loudly renounced the Emperor's edict, in front of his fellow soldiers and Tribunes he claimed himself to be a Christian and declared his worship of Jesus Christ. After various torture sessions (bit fantastic) George was executed by decapitation on April 23, 303. As witness of his suffering Empress Alexandra and a magician Athanasius became Christians and so they joined George in martyrdom.

Known as El-Mezahem  in some Coptic circles. Martyrdom in 959AD. From Muslim Bedouin father and Christian mother. The Muslims tortured, beheaded and thrown into the sea

Historians have scoured past references and ancient texts to try identify the real person behind the icon and found something complicated. It turned out that the icon evolved over time; Understanding the mysterious origins was much like de-layering the onion but they may have come close.

The gist of the research is that the icon (the knight & saint George on a horse slaying a dragon) maybe a composite! A composite composed of multiple layers of fact-malignment done over centuries of his-story revisions and imagination.

I will go for a very quick rundown of the (his) story build (the details may bore/confuse who are not familiar with early christian history):

• At the council of Nicea (325 AD), presided by Emperor Constantine, Arius was banished as a heretic by the Trinitarian bishops. But he was later pardoned by Constantine and there was a brief period of promise for the Arians. The next emperor Constantius banished Arius’ main contender, Athanasius, and replaced him with a George of Laodicea (friend of Arius).
• The brief period of Arian glory crashed down with the next emperor Julian, an anti-Christian. In his sweep to restore polytheism, one of the victims was the George of Laodicea who was arrested, imprisoned and subsequently executed in AD 361. This George was the root of the St. George icon.
• In AD 381 with the next Emperor, Theodocius, Christianity was back with a bang only that by this time the catholic (Trinitarian-party) rebounded faster and stronger. Arianism was again heretical and all known arian texts were to be destroyed. However the public sentiment for the martyr-George was too strong and so therefore the catholic fathers seem to have invented a new character that conformed to the Trinitarian view. This is the George who was persecuted by (much earlier) emperor Diocletian at Nicomedia in AD 303 and whose headless body was enshrined in Lod. Laodicea became Lydda (Lod) in Palestine.
• The headless-martyr story maybe of a deacon Romulus who was buried in Lod. This is the current tomb of St George.
• Dragon was an epithet for a King who was introduced as the persecutor in later editions of the story. And the dragon stuck ever since.
• During the crusading era the story of Saint George put on more chivalrous colouring. Lydda became Libya; Saint George was a Roman tribune (military-man); He saves a princess Alexandra. This icon suited well for the militant crusaders.
• After which, the above story evolved in the different regions with their own version of the iconic Saint George.

Whatever the reality behind the character of the icon, the popularity of the same in Kerala is as interesting. Only a handful of churches fit the list of pre-Portuguese Gregorian churches (i.e. Aruvithura, Karingachira, Kadamattom and Edapally); the foreign influence (being patron saints of both Portugal as well as England) may definitely have bolstered the already existing patronage but they may not be the original introducers.

 With the legend supposedly strong in the Levant (oldest texts being in Syriac & Greek from the 5^th century), the icon plausibly have been brought into the Malsabha by the migrating-parties (the Knanaya?); and right-fittingly into the dark and exotic land in India. A shining hero was what was required for the pioneers into the demon-filled, disease-aired, serpent-infested but fertile-heaven (St. George is also the patron for land tillers and agriculturists). The icon would probably have enthralled the local communities too with hope of a saviour in a land obsessed with sarpa-dosham and rahu-ketu. The icon fitted perfectly for the SyrChrs and taken root ever since.

Mor Mysterious

Check if you have heard of any of these characters. Many of these names will normally be

• post-fixed with the word 'Sahada', which in Malayalam means saint or martyr
• pre-fixed by the title ‘Mar’ or ‘Mor’ if male and ‘Martha’ or ‘Mortha’ if female

 

 

Martha-Shmooni in whose name is there are Jacobite churches, one at Peroor, Kottayam. Dont blame you if you haven’t heard the name; there is only a couple in her name in the whole of India. Funny part is this saint is actually not even Christian (!) and is in fact the mother of zealous Maccabee martyrs.

Her glorification is centered on the fact that Martha-Shmooni, in defiance watched all her 7 sons (including her youngest a baby) and her teacher St. Eleazor be tortured and cast into a fiery pit. There is an ancient church in her name in Iraq near the Kadisha valley.

Name variants in which she is referred are [Shmuni, Shmouny, Salomone, Samone, Solomonis, Solomonia etc.]

 

 

 

Mor Kuriakose and Mortha Yulithi: The names would be reacted with better if pronounced as in the variants below. As others, Yulithi is one in the very big list of first-generation-Christian-martyrs. She was another mother who had to witness her child's death for her christian beliefs. A painting depicting the two can be spotted in the Puthupally Orthodox church.

 

Name variants [Julietta, Julitta, Quiricus, Kyrikos, Cyriac, Cyricus, Cyriakus etc.]

 

 

 

 

Mar Abo, an obscure Persian prelate who is also supposedly the mentor of the legendary Kadamattathu Kathanar. There is a lot of confusion on whether this character is the same as the Sapor part of the duo that landed later in Kerala.

This possible Chaldean reached Kerala sometime was back in the 4th century. Was he an occultist? An exorcist? An herbalist? Nestorian? Nobody knows but he is supposedy entombed at the Thevalakara Orthodox church near Karunagapally.

 

 

  

 

Bahanan sahada can be easily confused with Saint George except that this saint is mostly depicted without a beard and there is no dragon around in the picture. This handsome saint is of Assyrian origin and was Christianized by St. Mattai (Mathai/Mathew) of the 4 th century. Mor Bahanam, his sister Sarah and 40 others were massacred for giving up their old traditions.

 

[Bahnam, Behnam]

 

 

 

Mar Addai as per some records was a disciple of Saint (doubting) Thomas but Addai is also doubted to be Judas Thaddeus, one of the apostles. It is the liturgy of Addai and Mari that is used in the East Syrian Churches. This early Christian was among the first proselytizers; he converted the King Abgar of Edessa.

 

[Aggai, Jude, Addeus, Thaddeus, Thaddaeus, Tadeo]

 

 

 

Mor Sabor & Mor Aphroth, the legendary 'Sabor and Prot' mentioned in Kerala history through their mention in the Thareesapally copper plates. The plates state that they arrived in Kollam in 825 AD and established a number of churches in Kerala during that period (one of them the Kaadeesa church in Kayamkulam). The Kollam era 1 is incidentaly Chingam(Leo) 1st of 825 AD. Sabor & Afroth's affiliations are still not yet clear but all sects of Nasrani Keralites own them in their respective histories'. Some say that Mar Abo mentioned above is actually Mar Sabor.

Interestingly there is a clan of Orthodox christians in Chathanoor, Kollam(Quilon)that claims to be direct descendents of Mar Sapor...or it may be from one in his entourage :-) The clan surname is 'Muthalali'.

 

It is suspected that Mor Sabor and Mor Aphroth were Nestorian bishops sent by the Chaldean Patriarch Timotee I. If that is true the strangely the Nestorian archenemy, the Jacobites, own the famous church in their names at Angamali.

 

 

Gerwasius & Protasius, were 2nd century Milanese twins; just another in list of early Christian martyrs. In those days it was a sure shot death warrant if you were a Christian in Italy. Citizens of Rome loved the entertainment from 'infidels' being roasted, flayed, quartered or torn apart by lions. It was a house-full back then  at the local amphitheatre.

A few churches in Kerala are strangely named after these saints; the most ancient of these being the Catholic Church at Kothanalloor & Udayamperoor … highly probable that this church was renamed in order to cover up the so-thought 'darker' Nestorian affiliation with Mor Sabor & Mor Aphroth.

 

 

Mor Kaumo, a 5th century Syriac monk of Lebanon who meditated for 45 years in the standing position! 'Kaumo' is supposed to mean 'stand' in Syriac.

 

I feel this is none other than Saint Simeon the stylite who is mentioned in the thubdens (diptchs) of the Syriac Orthodox Qurbana (mass).

 

 

  

Alvarez Mar Julious: We must have heard of people being catholicized but rarely do we hear of Catholics converting to orthodoxy. And it is even rare that one of the latter remains a vehement adherent to the last breathe. Antonio Francisco Xavier Alvares was a Goan Roman catholic priest of 19th century who not only shifted to orthodoxy himself but also managed to bring a group of Roman Catholics along with him. Would have made some headlines back then in Goa, but his ministry was  efficiently hammered down, by the Catholic church, using inquisition-styled humiliation, imprisonment and ostracism.

Goa has managed to erase most history of this 'shameful' episode but the bishop can be proud of his dent on the Roman catholic stronghold: there still exist a group of orthodox adherents at Brahmavar...they were converted from the Latin rite by this bishop. He is supposed to have collected some orthodox elements together in Sri-Lanka too. The Ribandar orthodox church in Goa is mostly used to by the malayalees there.