Saint George of Kratovo ( mk, Свети Ѓорѓи Кратовски, sr, Свети Ђорђе Кратовац, bg, Георги Софийски Нови, translit=Georgi Sofiyski Novi) was a

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

and

silversmith A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exactly synonyms as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are or were largely the same but the end product may vary great ...

from Kratovo. Peja wrote the liturgical rite and biography (''žitije'') on Saint George between 1515 and 1523, in the Serbian recension of

Church Slavonic Church Slavonic (, , literally "Church-Slavonic language"), also known as Church Slavic, New Church Slavonic or New Church Slavic, is the conservative Slavic liturgical language used by the Eastern Orthodox Church in Belarus, Bosnia and Herzeg ...

, per Serbian sources, and in Bulgarian recension, according to Petăr Dinekov. The work was published by Serbian intellectual

Stojan Novaković Stojan Novaković ( sr-Cyrl, Стојан Новаковић; 1 November 1842 – 18 February 1915) was a Serbian politician, historian, diplomat, writer, bibliographer, literary critic, literary historian, and translator. He held the post ...

in 1867, transcribed from a

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...

held in the

National Library of Serbia The National Library of Serbia ( sr, Народна библиотека Србије, Narodna biblioteka Srbije) is the national library of Serbia, located in the capital city of Belgrade. It is the biggest library, and oldest institution in Ser ...

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

Milan Milićević Milan Đakov Milićević (Serbian Cyrillic: Милан Ђаков Милићевић; June 4, 1831 – November 17, 1908) was a Serbian writer, biographer, publicist, ethnologist and one of the founders of the Association of Writers of Serbia ...

also wrote a work on Saint George in 1885. In Bulgaria, where he is known as St. George the New of Sofia ( bg, Свети Георги Нови Софийски), he became especially honoured during the

Bulgarian National Revival The Bulgarian National Revival ( bg, Българско национално възраждане, ''Balgarsko natsionalno vazrazhdane'' or simply: Възраждане, ''Vazrazhdane'', and tr, Bulgar ulus canlanması) sometimes called the Bu ...

, after

Paisius of Hilendar Saint Paisius of Hilendar or Paìsiy Hilendàrski ( bg, Свети Паисий Хилендарски) (1722–1773) was a Bulgarians, Bulgarian clergyman and a key Bulgarian National Revival figure. He is most famous for being the author of ''Is ...

included him in the list of Bulgarian saints, in his ''

Istoriya Slavyanobolgarskaya ''Istoriya Slavyanobolgarskaya'' ( Original Cyrillic: Истори́ѧ славѣноболгарскаѧ corrected from Їстори́ѧ славѣноболгарскаѧ; ) is a book by Bulgarian scholar and clergyman Saint Paisius of Hilenda ...

'' (1762). In 1855 Nikola Karastoyanov from

Samokov Samokov ( bg, Самоков ) is a town in Sofia Province in the southwest of Bulgaria. It is situated in a basin between the mountains Rila and Vitosha, 55 kilometres from the capital Sofia. Due to the suitable winter sports conditions, Sam ...

printed the ''Life of St. George the New'', based on a manuscript kept in the metropolitan library of Sofia. During the first half of the 19th century St. George the New became popular also among Bulgarian painters and was depicted in many churches. In Serbia, it has been maintained that Saint George's father Dimitrije and mother Sara were of Serbian origin. However, Bulgarian sources claim he and his parents were

Bulgarians Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe. Etymology Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not completely understo ...

.Житие на Св. мъченик Георги Софийски Нови (Кратовски)
on Pravoslavieto.com. Saint George was burnt alive on a

pyre A pyre ( grc, πυρά; ''pyrá'', from , ''pyr'', "fire"), also known as a funeral pyre, is a structure, usually made of wood, for burning a body as part of a funeral rite or execution. As a form of cremation, a body is placed upon or under the ...

on 11 February 1515 in Sofia, after he refused to convert to Islam. His death lead to him being proclaimed a

New Martyr The title of New Martyr or Neomartyr ( el, νεο-, ''neo''-, the prefix for "new"; and μάρτυς, ''martys'', "witness") is conferred in some denominations of Christianity to distinguish more recent martyrs and confessors from the old martyr ...

. According to the Orthodox Church, George of Kratovo is celebrated on 11 February and 26 May (

Julian Calendar The Julian calendar, proposed by Roman consul Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was a reform of the Roman calendar. It took effect on , by edict. It was designed with the aid of Greek mathematicians and astronomers such as Sosigenes of Alexandr ...

References

Further reading