Introduction
The present encomiastic discourse to Saint George has a particular characteristic. Saint Andrew, astonished before the martyrdom of Saint George, praises him with wondrous words, making an effort to bring forth the greatness of the Saint’s soul. Yet, unintentionally, he also allows his own spiritual wealth to be revealed. Then follows Saint Nikodemos who, out of love for his neighbor, in order to offer pure evangelical nourishment, renders into the language of his time the discourse of Saint Andrew. This rendering, however, is also imbued with his own holiness. He gives to the text a new pulse, a new vitality, without setting aside either the Saint being praised, or Saint Andrew who composed the encomium. Thus, we have three persons gathered together around one axis: the person of Christ. And the word of the Lord, that “for where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in their midst” (Matt. 18:20), demonstrates the particular grace of this text. It is a marvelous introduction into the communion of the Saints, where all things tend and move around Christ, where every sanctified mind, animated by the spirited tone and inflamed by the highest desire, becomes wholly an eye, delighting in the glory of the person of Christ. All the words of this encomium both lead to, and are guided by, the host of the communion of love, this “most singular” Word. Christ, attended by the Great Martyr George, Saint Andrew, and Saint Nikodemos, calls us to the banquet of His Kingdom. The present edition of the text aims at imparting the taste of this communion of the Saints.
