What do you see in the picture, who is this, what do you
think this story is about?
This is a stained-glass window showing St George.
What do
you know about St George?
St George is the patron saint of England. St George’s day is
on April 23rd. You might have seen some celebrations last week to
mark St George’s day.
In England today there are lots of different people from
different nations living and working together. You can be born in a different
country and feel welcome in England. In 2021 there was a census that showed how
many people live in England and Wales today and how many were born in different
countries.
Can you guess the figures? What percentage of people living
in England and Wales today were born here or born in a different country?
83.2% of people in the UK were born here. 16.8% of residents were born outside England and Wales. There are hundreds of different nationalities living together in the UK today.
What does this have to do with our patron saint St George?
St George was also not born here. If he was part of the census, he would write that he was born in Turkey.
Does this mean the patron
saint of England was an immigrant?
Technically St George was not an immigrant because he never actually lived here. Saint George never visited England. St George lived in the Middle East.
What countries today are in the Middle East?
Does it matter if we share our patron saint with other
countries? Some people might argue this is why St George is our patron saint because he stands for diversity and different nations coming together. Others might argue St George is just about being English and born in England. What do you think?
St George also brings different religions together. There is a Greek-Orthodox shrine in Al-Khader near Bethlehem which claims to mark the spot where St George was executed by Roman soldiers. It is a space shared by Muslim and Christian communities who every year celebrate the feast of St George together. Muslim and Christian families meet outside the church with their families and bring food
How is this related to our British Values?
Some people argue St George should not be our patron saint. In 2013, a petition was handed to parliament which called
for a change in our patron saint because George was not born in England. Some
people wanted St Edmund to be our patron saint. Edmund was King of England
between 855-869. Some people say Edmund should be our patron saint because he
was born here and George was born in a different country. However, others say we
should be proud that we share St George with so many other countries; he is a “unifying
saint”
Sam Riches is a cultural historian from Lancaster, England,
who has studied St George and his origins. Sam says, “I think we are lucky to
have St George and be in this family of nations who share an interest in him.”
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