Saint George of Kratovo (, , ) was an

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

and

silversmith A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exact synonyms, as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are (or were, at least) largely the same but differed in that t ...

from Kratovo. In his 16th century biography, it has been maintained that George was of

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular **Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans ** Serbian language ** Serbian culture **Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...

origin. However, Bulgarian Church sources maintain his parents were

Bulgarians Bulgarians (, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and its neighbouring region, who share a common Bulgarian ancestry, culture, history and language. They form the majority of the population in Bulgaria, ...

Life

The priest

Peja Peja or Peć, ), is the fifth most populous city in Kosovo and serves as the seat of the Peja Municipality and the District of Peja. It is located in the Rugova region on the eastern section of the Accursed Mountains along the Peja's Lumbar ...

wrote the liturgical rite and biography (''zhitije'') on Saint George between 1515 and 1523. The work was published by Serbian intellectual

Stojan Novaković Stojan Novaković ( sr-Cyrl, Стојан Новаковић; 13 November 1842 – 18 February 1915) was a Serbian politician, historian, diplomat, writer, bibliographer, literary critic, literary historian, and translator. He held the post o ...

in 1867, transcribed from a

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has ...

held in the

National Library of Serbia The National Library of Serbia () is the national library of Serbia, located in the capital city of Belgrade. It is the biggest library, and oldest institution in Serbia, one that was completely destroyed many times over in the last two centuries ...

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

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

Bulgarian National Revival The Bulgarian Revival (, ''Balgarsko vazrazhdane'' or simply: Възраждане, ''Vazrazhdane'', and ), sometimes called the Bulgarian National Revival, was a period of socio-economic development and national integration among Bulgarian pe ...

, after

Paisius of Hilendar Saint Paisius of Hilendar or Paìsiy Hilendàrski () (1722–1773) was a Bulgarian Orthodox clergyman and a key Bulgarian National Revival figure. He is most famous for being the author of '' Istoriya Slavyanobolgarskaya'' (1762), the first signi ...

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 Hilen ...

'' (1762). In 1855 Nikola Karastoyanov from

Samokov Samokov ( ) List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, is a town in Sofia Province in the southwest of Bulgaria. It is situated in Samokov Valley between the mountain ranges of Rila, Vitosha and Sredna Gora, 55 kilometres from the capital Sofia. Due ...

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.

Martyrdom

Saint George was burnt alive on a

pyre A pyre (; ), 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 pyre, which is then set on fire. In discussi ...

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 (-, ''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 martyrs of the pe ...

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

Julian Calendar The Julian calendar is a solar calendar of 365 days in every year with an additional leap day every fourth year (without exception). The Julian calendar is still used as a religious calendar in parts of the Eastern Orthodox Church and in parts ...

Life

Martyrdom

References

Further reading