Sunday 23 April is St George's Day! Come and join us at our Parish Mass at 10.30 a.m. with Fr Matthew, to celebrate England's patron saint. We know that George suffered martyrdom at Lydda (=Diospolis, now Lod) in Palestine around 303 AD. It is very likely that he was a Christian soldier of Greek/Turkish and Palestinian origin serving in the Roman army, since under the Emperor Diocletian, soldiers were particularly targeted for execution if they refused to sacrifice to the pagan gods - a requirement for soldiers at the time. The basilica at Lydda was built to house St George's relics, and though it was re-built in the 19th century, it contains an ancient stone tomb believed to house the saint's remains. He was celebrated very early on in both eastern and western Christian traditions, and unusually he is also celebrated in Islam. The earliest church in England to be dedicated to St George is at Fordington, Dorset, built on the site of an ancient Roman temple. The red cross on the flag of St George symbolises the blood of martyrdom, while the white ground symbolises purity.

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