Consecration of the Church of the Holy Great Martyr George in Lydda

The city of Lydda (Lod) is the birthplace of the Great Martyr George the Victorious. His mother's house was there, where he spent his childhood. The Holy Great Martyr George was a Roman soldier, he suffered under Emperor Diocletian in Nicomedia at the beginning of the IV century. His relics were transferred by Christians to their homeland, Lydda, and there he was buried.

The tomb where the relics of the Great Martyr were laid is now located in an Orthodox church dedicated to the Great Martyr George. In the temple itself there is a piece of the relics of Saint George, as well as the chain with which the Great Martyr was bound.

The first church was built here in the VI century. The temple was destroyed several times and was restored in its present form only in 1872, thanks to donations from Russia. The consecration of the restored temple took place on November 3, 1872, the anniversary of the day when it was first consecrated. The Russian Church remembers and celebrates this event until the present day. This Feast is included in the Menaion, in honor of the churches built and dedicated to Saint George in Russia.

It was also in Lydda that the Apostle Peter healed Aeneas, who had been lying paralyzed for eight years (Acts 9:32-35).