Martyrdom and Miracles

Around 303 AD, St. George faced a bold test of faith before Emperor Diocletian and, tradition says, seventy subordinate rulers, likely governors or officials. These rulers, seated on wooden thrones, mocked him, demanding proof of his God’s might. “Let your chairs bear leaves and fruit,” they challenged. Some say George lifted his heart in prayer, and through his faith, God made the thrones sprout green shoots and bear fruit, a miracle hagiographies recount that amazed onlookers.

Tradition says the rulers, stunned yet stubborn, took George to a cemetery and commanded, “Raise the dead.” Some say through George’s fervent prayer to Christ, God opened the graves, and the departed rose, spoke with the living, and returned to rest, leaving witnesses amazed. This encounter showed Christ’s power over creation and death. The seventy rulers stood for earthly power, but George’s faith showed a greater King. In Coptic and Ethiopian traditions, these miracles mark George as a wonderworker, pointing all to Christ.