Saint George is the patron saint of Russia, but also of Great Britain, and today Prince William was blessed with an heir to the throne. It is seen as a good omen. The Flag of Saint George is a Red Cross on a white background and originally it was the flag of the Republic of Genoa. Genoa gave Britain permission to use it as protection from the Turks. The story goes, that when the Crusaders were battling to take Jerusalem, Saint George appeared with a celestial army and helped them. Regardless of whether one believes it or not, the Turks have an immense respect for Saint George. No Church dedicated to Saint George has ever been destroyed. On one of Turkey's Prince islands in the Sea of Marmara there is a thousand year old Greek monastery dedicated to Saint George. Tens of thousands of pilgrims went there today to pay homage to the saint and to ask for intercession in the problems they are encountering. Almost all were Muslims. I read that there were hundreds of Imams telling them not to honor a Christian saint, but they paid the Imams no heed. Some said that when they bake bread, they make the sign of the Cross above it, but they don't know why they are doing it other than their mothers did it. I assume these people are Alevi's, who like the Alawites in Syria were Christians who were forced to convert. Today there are about 20 million Alevis in Turkey.
