George El Mozahem ( cop, ⲅⲉⲱⲣⲅⲓⲟⲥ ⲡⲓⲍⲟϩⲉⲙ; 940 – June 26, 969) was a

Coptic Orthodox The Coptic Orthodox Church ( cop, Ϯⲉⲕ̀ⲕⲗⲏⲥⲓⲁ ⲛ̀ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ ⲛ̀ⲟⲣⲑⲟⲇⲟⲝⲟⲥ, translit=Ti.eklyseya en.remenkimi en.orthodoxos, lit=the Egyptian Orthodox Church; ar, الكنيسة القبطي� ...

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

and

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

. Born in

Talkha Talkha ( ar, طلخا ) is a city in Dakahlia Governorate, Egypt. The city is located on the west bank of the Damietta, a distributary of the Nile in the Delta region. Is about 120 km northeast of Cairo. Talkha is situated opposite th ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

, as El-Mozahem to a Christian mother (Mary) and a Muslim father (Jumaa Al Atawy), He was raised in his father's religion until he reached the age of twelve. He used to go to church with his mother until he told her that he wanted to receive the holy sacraments of the Eucharist, She however told him that he could not unless he was

baptized Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...

, and when he asked her to taste the blessed

Eulogia The term eulogia ( grc, εὐλογία, ''eulogía''), Greek for "a blessing", has been applied in ecclesiastical usage to "a blessed object". It was occasionally used in early times to signify the Holy Eucharist, and in this sense is especially f ...

bread (Qorban) he received it. It tasted sweet andHe said "If the taste of this bread that was not consecrated by prayers tastes like this, what will be the taste of the Offering?" according to his

hagiography A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies migh ...

. He tried to get baptized but priests were afraid of participating in such a dangerous act so he baptized himself by immersing himself three times. He later married a Christian woman and when he told her about his story she told him that his baptism was not accurate. They both fled to a city called Samanoud where he got baptized and was given a Christian name, George, because that day of his baptism was the feast of

Saint George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

. He and his wife lived together without any kind of marital relationship; then he was thinking of becoming a

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

but he heard a voice telling him not to go to a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

and encouraged him to seek martyrdom instead, He later was arrested for leaving

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

; he was burned but miraculously survived without harm, The governor of the area was very impressed and thought of freeing him but the people got angry and wanted to kill the governor, After the execution his wife received his relics, however Some Muslims tried to set his body on fire but it did not happen because God did not allow it, according to his hagiography.https://st-takla.org/Full-Free-Coptic-Books/Synaxarium-or-Synaxarion/Saints-Feasts/10-Bawoonah/19-Bawoonah-1-Gerges-El-Mozahem.html

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:George El Mozahem Coptic Orthodox saints 9th-century Christian saints Coptic Orthodox Christians from Egypt Executed Egyptian people Converts to Oriental Orthodoxy from Islam Christian saints killed by Muslims People executed for apostasy from Islam Egyptian former Muslims 940 births 969 deaths People from Dakahlia Governorate 10th-century executions People executed by Egypt