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→Veneration as a martyr
==Veneration as a martyr==
The validity of the above account is considered questionable at best. However, his veneration as a martyr appears to have started relatively early. A church in his honour was reportedly built in Lydda during the reign of [[Constantine I of the Roman Empire|Constantine IGreat]] (reigned [[306]]–[[337]], sole emperor since [[324]]). The church was destroyed in [[1010]] but was later rebuilt by the Crusaders. In [[1191]] and during the conflict known as the Third Crusade ([[1189]]–[[1192]]), the church was again destroyed by the forces of Saladin, Sultan of the Ayyubid dynasty (reigned [[1171]]–[[1193]]). A new church was erected in [[1872]] and is still standing.
During the [[4th century]] the veneration of George seems to have spread from Palestine to the rest of the [[Byzantine Empire]]. The [[5th century]] would see his fame reach the Western Roman Empire as well. In [[494]], George was canonised as a saint by Pope Gelasius I (term [[492]]–[[496]]). However Gelasius included George among those "…whose names are justly reverenced among men, but whose acts are known only to God." This statement would not prevent the creation of several differing accounts about his life, several of them filled with miracles. According to the ''Catholic Encyclopedia'', the earliest text preserving fragments of George's highly miraculous narrative is in Acta Sanctorum identified by Hippolyte Delehaye of the scholarly Bollandists to be a palimpsest of the [[5th century]], 'full beyond belief of extravagances and of quite incredible marvels'.
