Cloud of Witnesses
Reviewed entry
New Martyr16th century

New Martyr George of Sofia

died 1515

Also known as George the New of Sofia · George of Kratovo

A young goldsmith of Sofia under Ottoman rule who refused to convert to Islam and was burned alive for confessing Christ in 1515.

February 11New Calendar
Feast Day
February 24Old Calendar
Also commemorated
  • May 26NewJune 8Old
Suggest a correctionContribute
Icon galleryBrowse icons and imagery elsewhere
Commemorated as

The Holy and Glorious New Martyr George of Sofia

Life

George the New, commemorated as a New Martyr of Sofia, was a young craftsman who was burned alive in Sofia in 1515 for refusing to renounce Christ and convert to Islam under Ottoman rule. The anchor record identifies him as a goldsmith of Sofia in Bulgaria; he is counted among the New Martyrs who suffered after the fall of the Byzantine and Balkan lands to the Ottomans.

The accounts of his origin differ by tradition. The Bulgarian synaxarion, followed by the Orthodox Church in America, places his birth in Sredets (the older name for Sofia), into a Christian family whose parents are named John and Mary, and relates that he was about twenty-five years old when his parents died and the pressure to convert intensified. A Serbian tradition instead identifies him with George of Kratovo, a South Slavic writer and silversmith from Kratovo. In either telling he was a young metalworking craftsman martyred at Sofia in 1515.

Kontakion & Troparion2 hymnsReadHide
KontakionTone 2

(Podoben: “You sought the heights...”) You appeared as a bright star announcing Christ with your radiance,
which is repulsive to this world, O Martyr George;
extinguishing the allure of false gods,
you enlighten the faithful,
always interceding for us all.

Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).

TroparionTone 4

Your holy martyr George, O Lord,
through his sufferings has received an incorruptible crown from You, our God.
For having Your strength, he laid low his adversaries,
and shattered the powerless boldness of demons.
Through his intercessions, save our souls!

Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).

Timeline3 momentsReadHide
  1. c. 1490BirthBorn under Ottoman rule; the Bulgarian synaxarion places his birth in Sredets (Sofia) to parents named John and Mary, while a Serbian tradition gives his origin as Kratovo.
  2. 1515Confession and martyrdomPressed to accept Islam, George rejected the fez placed on his head and confessed his faith in Christ before the Turkish governor, who urged conversion with promises of honors from Sultan Selim. After beatings and tortures he was thrown into the fire still alive on 11 February 1515.
  3. 26 May 1515Uncovering of the relicsHis relics were recovered and, according to the synaxarion, placed by Metropolitan Jeremiah in the Church of Saint George the Great Martyr in Sredets. This uncovering is kept as his second feast.

Contributions & Legacy

2 contributionsReadHide

Martyrdom

He lived during the reign of Sultan Selim (1512–1520), when Christians in the Bulgarian lands were under pressure to convert to Islam. According to the synaxarion, when Muslims attempted his conversion by placing a fez on his head, George threw it to the ground and boldly confessed his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, reproaching the errors of Islam.

Brought before the Turkish governor, who urged him to accept Islam and promised honors and wealth from the Sultan, George refused. He was beaten with rods and subjected to increasing tortures, and was finally thrown into the fire still alive on 11 February 1515. The synaxarion relates that dog corpses were placed atop the pyre to prevent recovery of his remains, but that a heavy rain extinguished the fire and the place was illumined with a bright light, after which his body was found by a Christian priest.

Relics & Veneration

The synaxarion relates that Metropolitan Jeremiah recovered the body and placed it in the Church of Saint George the Great Martyr in Sredets. The uncovering of the relics on 26 May 1515 is kept as a feast alongside the day of his martyrdom on 11 February.

He came to be especially honored during the Bulgarian National Revival and is venerated in both the Bulgarian and Serbian Churches. In the Serbian tradition he is identified with George of Kratovo, whose office and life (zhitije) were composed by the priest Peja between 1515 and 1523; that work was published by the Serbian historian Stojan Novakovic in 1867 from a manuscript held in the National Library of Serbia in Belgrade.

Companions3 figuresShowHide
A fellow New Martyr of Sofia, commemorated with him in the city's tradition.
Great Martyr Nicholasof Sofia
Another New Martyr of Sofia bearing the same name, distinguished in the calendar.
New Martyr Georgethe Newest of Sofia
Bulgarian New Martyr under Ottoman rule.
New Martyr Onuphriusof Gabrovo
Related Saints1 saintShowHide

Saints connected to his life, mission, and place in Orthodox tradition.

A later new-martyr of the same city, the goldsmith of Sofia (d. 1515); the two are distinct.
Georgethe New Martyr of Sofia

Browse similar saints by calling and place.

More Craftsmen30More Ottoman-Era Saints136More New Martyrs237More Balkans237More Slavic Saints752
Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org)