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Nigel Baker

Ambassador to the Holy See (2011-2016)

Part of UK in Holy See

22nd April 2016

Celebrating St George

©Martin Beek, all rights reserved
©Martin Beek, all rights reserved
Saint George. Bakewell, Derbyshire (Image: ©Martin Beek, all rights reserved)

There are many oddities in English history. One is that our patron saint is St George. It is an ecumenical oddity. His feast day, 23 April, is both a Solemnity in the calendar of the Roman Catholic Church in England, and a ‘Feast’ in the Church of England calendar (and he is a major saint in both the Orthodox and Eastern Catholic traditions). But what makes a third century Roman soldier, born  in Cappadocia (now Turkey) and raised in Lydda (now Palestine), and martyred for his faith by the Emperor Diocletian, a hero (for that is what patron saints are) of England? He is not even exclusive: Georgia, Malta, Romania and Portugal also have him as their patron.

The probable answer is his link with the English, and later British, Royal Family. He was already venerated in Anglo-Saxon England as a martyr. He is mentioned by the Venerable Bede, and church dedications to him date back to King Alfred. However, for many years, the traditional patron saint was a different royal figure, King Edward the Confessor. What brought St George to prominence were two very different events that convulsed the Christian world: the crusades, and the Reformation.

As a military figure, St George was a natural patron of the various chivalric orders that were established during the period of the crusades. It was crusaders who brought back the tale of the slaying of the dragon. 23 April became a feast day in England in 1222, and when King Edward III created the Order of the Garter, England’s premier chivalric order, it was St George he chose as its patron. The St George battle cry – evoked famously by Shakespeare in his depiction of the Battle of Agincourt (pleasingly, we celebrate Shakespeare’s 400th anniversary also on 23 April, the day of his death) – was probably shouted for the first time during the Hundred Years War. St George was declared the protector of the Royal family around that time.

And that is almost certainly what “saved” his cult in England during the Reformation. Henry VIII was a great patron of the Order of the Garter – the Abbot of the Papal Basilica of St Paul’s outside the Walls, closely linked to England in the 16th century, still has the Garter on its Coat of Arms, almost certainly awarded by King Henry – and keen to link his rule with the Plantagenet military successes against France. When saints’ banners were banned in 1552, including that of Edward the Confessor – whose royal status could not save him the indignation – St George was excepted. It was a natural development for the Royal banner of the Cross of St George to become the national banner (as used on English ships from the 16th century), later incorporated into the Union Flag of Great Britain and the United Kingdom. England is now full of churches, schools, hospitals, castles and other institutions dedicated to him – even the British school in Rome is a St George’s School.

It is an untidy history, with many odd diversions, from an original tale of bravery and martyrdom under an emperor, to the lone survivor (for a while) of saintly iconography during England’s convulsive and sui generis Reformation. But that, perhaps, is also one way of summing up the history of England itself. In that sense, St George makes a very appropriate patron. It seems right that I shall be spending his feast day watching a cricket match between the Royal Household XI and St Peter’s Cricket Club, here in Rome.

6 comments on “Celebrating St George

  1. Dear Ambassador Nigel Baker,
    A beautiful reflection on not only St. George but the ecumenical activity surrounding this saint. And it is timely and I, for one, do not see it as an oddity. We Christians need to recognize that the Reformation has served a purpose. In my estimation, the Reformation has brought the understanding of the importance of faith to the lay people. Therefore, in today’s world, the interaction with the hierarchy of one’s faith and the prayer-filled people of faith help move our Christian ideals forward in a meaningful manner.
    Interestingly, the name of the church I attend in Connecticut USA is St. Edward the Confessor Roman Catholic church.
    Enjoy the ecumenical cricket match.

  2. St.george is highly venerated amongst the christians in kerala as well. He is our protector against evil.

  3. Thank you for this interesting history of the cult of St George. This is the only saints day I was aware of before I became a Catholic and it will always be a special day. What, exactly, was the form of the battle cry? Was it just as Shakespeare said ‘God for Harry England and St George!’?
    Happy Feast Day.

  4. Great summary of a great saint for both denominations! Hopefully his military banner will fly again defending Christians in radically held parts of Islamic state!

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About Nigel Baker

Nigel was British Ambassador to the Holy See from 2011-2016. He presented his Credentials to Pope Benedict XVI on 9 September 2011, after serving 8 years in Latin America, as…

Nigel was British Ambassador to the Holy See from 2011-2016. He presented his Credentials to Pope Benedict XVI on 9 September 2011, after serving 8 years in Latin America, as Deputy Head of Mission in the British Embassy in Havana, Cuba (2003-6) and then as British Ambassador in La Paz, Bolivia (2007-11). In July 2016, Nigel finished his posting, and is currently back in London.

As the first British Ambassador to the Holy See ever to have a blog, Nigel provided a regular window on what the Embassy and the Ambassador does. The blogs covered a wide range of issues, from Royal and Ministerial visits to Diplomacy and Faith, freedom of religion, human trafficking and climate change.

More on Nigel’s career

Nigel was based in London between 1998 and 2003. He spent two years on European Union issues (for the UK 1998 EU Presidency and on European Security and Defence questions), before crossing St James’s Park to work for three years as The Assistant Private Secretary to His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. At St James’s Palace, Nigel worked on international issues, including the management of The Prince of Wales’s overseas visits and tours, on the Commonwealth, interfaith issues, the arts and international development.

Nigel spent much of the early part of his FCO career in Central Europe, after an initial stint as Desk Officer for the Maghreb countries in the Near East and North Africa department (1990-91). Between 1992 and 1996, Nigel served in the British embassies in Prague and Bratislava, the latter being created in 1993 after the peaceful division of Czechoslovakia into the separate Czech and Slovak Republics.

Nigel joined the FCO (Foreign and Commonwealth Office) in September 1989. Between 1996 and 1998 he took a two year academic sabbatical to research and write about themes in 18th century European history, being based in Verona but also researching in Cambridge, Paris and Naples. The research followed from Nigel’s time as a student at Cambridge (1985-88) where he read history and was awarded a First Class Honours degree, followed by his MA in 1992.

Before joining the Foreign Office, Nigel worked briefly for the Conservative Research Department in London at the time of the 1989 European election campaign.

Nigel married Alexandra (Sasha) in 1997. They have one son, Benjamin, born in Bolivia in September 2008.

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