Could the flag of St George be replaced by Alban's symbol, a diagonal yellow cross on a blue background that bears a strong similarity to St Andrew's cross
Posted on 07/05/2006 12:45:38 AM PDT by Eurotwit
His dragon-slaying heroics have kept his legend alive through the centuries.
But the Church of England is considering rejecting England's patron saint St George on the grounds that his image is too warlike and may offend Muslims.
Clergy have started a campaign to replace George with St Alban, a Christian martyr in Roman Britain.
The scheme, to be considered by the Church's parliament, the General Synod, has met a cautious but sympathetic response from senior bishops.
But it clashes with the increasing popularity of the saint and his flag in England. The World Cup brought out millions of St George crosses as the symbol became increasingly mainstream and less frequently dismissed as a badge favoured only by far-Right political activists.
If St Alban replaced St George, the red cross on a white background would have to be replaced as England's flag by Alban's symbol, a diagonal yellow cross on a blue background that bears a strong similarity to St Andrew's cross, the flag of Scotland.
The proposal has been put forward by the Rev Philip Chester, vicar of St Matthew's, Westminster, who has called the use of St George as patron saint 'dotty'.
His call for a change is based on the lack of firm historical evidence that George - said to be a Roman general from the 4th century AD who was put to death by Emperor Diocletian for professing Christianity - ever existed.
He said: 'We are sure St Alban is a real figure. What's more, he lived in this country.'
Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams indicated support for an upgrade for Alban, although he is said to be cautious about relegation for George.
He told the Sunday Times: 'I think St Alban is irreplaceable in the history of English Christianity. Perhaps we ought to raise his profile because it's the beginning of the church in this country with martyrdom, wisdom and courage.'
The image of St George was used to foster patriotism in 1940, when King George VI inaugurated the George Cross for civilian acts of the greatest bravery. The medal bears a depiction of the saint slaying the dragon.
However, George has become unfashionable among politicians and bureaucrats. His saint's day, April 23, has no official celebration in England, and councils have banned the St George flag from their buildings and vehicles during the World Cup.
The saint became an English hero during the crusades against the Muslim armies that captured Jerusalem in the 11th century.
An apparition of George is said to have appeared to the crusader army at the Battle of Antioch in 1098.
His dragon-slaying legend is thought to have begun as an allegory of Diocletian's persecution of Christians.
Alban was martyred in 304 AD on the site of St Albans abbey in the Hertfordshire city that now bears his name.
A Roman army officer, he was said to have converted after sheltering a Christian.
Could the flag of St George be replaced by Alban's symbol, a diagonal yellow cross on a blue background that bears a strong similarity to St Andrew's cross
It used to be once a month leaving the rest of freeping time to discuss current affairs now I spend all my time defending my country from all the bollox that gets sprouted on here.
Bollox to this may join Mad Ivan and stop wasting my time on this site
Gee whizz..... I wonder if Muslims will replace their, martyrs, and clerics prophet with people I find more palatable. Maybe a few pacifists in the Islamic zodiac of martyrs...
WTF?!
What is this spineless nonsense?
St. George's cross has been an emblem of Britain for countless centuries! You see it prominently displayed in medieval artwork.
May offend Muslims? Are you kidding me! The whole country is selling itself out. No piglet, do away with the nation's patron saint, even deny his existence... The nation needs another Thatcher or a Churchill or someone in that vain. Not that all of Europe isn't falling over backwards to erase its past, deny its heritage, decimate its beliefs, and roll the red carpets for the Muslimes.
for Christ's sake! something tells me we are about to go through some dark period in humanity.. and only the strong and faithful will survive.. cuz the PC crowd is gonna be extinct
Personally, I think articles like this are good. Hopefully, they can help further fuel the backlash against this PC nonsense.
What posters on an American website thinks of it is of little consequence.
FWIW, I am probably the greatest anglophile there is. Pathetic almost :-)
Rule Britannia!
I don't blame this on England.
The Church of England has been out to lunch for some time now. Just more of the same...
No need to worry about the rest of us that think that England is a crap country. The reason it generates so much concern is that England isn't a crap country, though there is a very strong faction of people who'd like to move it in that direction, apparently.
I've lived and worked in England, but some the events occurring there are to say the least disturbing...
This is a joke, right?
So I guess they're replacing Churchill with Neville Chamberlain as their model statesman.
This is just ridiculous.
I expect a mass, public, self castration, of all British males at any moment, after all, it is the politically correct thing to do, once you've outlawed steak knives, and are starving!
Don't blame us for the image Britain projects, Tony, it sure ain't our doing! Even a Frenchman would balk at some of the stuff y'all embrace!
Just call me a crude, rude, and barbaric, colonial boy. At least I'm not too damn civilized [socialized] for my own good!
BUAIDH NO BAS
I have too many friends serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Church of England long ago fell on it's sword and conceded defeat to political correctness but the people of England haven't. The silent majority will never have this shambles of a proposal pushed in their face, it just ain't gonna happen.
This is the dying breath of the Church of England as it now sinks into the swamp of oblivion, listen out for the glug glug glug as it goes under..
And they wonder why congregations get less and less every year.....
Prayers to your friends, thanks for your service, and prayers for your country.
It's alright, we've all been there. Not like you are now, but it's frustrating defending something you believe in, perhaps believe in strongly, from those who would belittle it.
Take care! I assure you that your nation also has a lot of admirers and friends across the Atlantic, myself included. In my mind, there's no more peaceful place on earth than early summer in the dales of Yorkshire.
Islam is a death cult.
F*ck them.
The flag of St. Alban is a yellow saltire on a blue field. The flag is flown over the city and cathedral of St. Albans in Hertfordshire, England. The golden saltire represents the first English martyr St. Alban, a Romano-British soldier. The traditional arms of St Albans derive from St Alban being the first British martyr, hence the cross.
It is diagonal as he was not crucified, but beheaded. Hence he was entitled to the cross of martyrdom, but not in the usual form. These arms were assigned to St Alban along with those assigned to many other early Christian saints and figures.
It already happened in Spain.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3680331.stm
Church to remove Moor-slayer saint
Monday, 3 May, 2004
A statue in a Spanish cathedral showing St James slicing the heads off Moorish invaders is to be removed to avoid causing offence to Muslims.
Among the reasons for the move is to avoid upsetting the "sensitivities of other ethnic groups".
The statue of St James "the Moor-slayer" is expected to be replaced by one depicting the calmer image of St James "the Pilgrim", by the same 18th century artist, Jose Gambino.
The Saracen-slaying image of St James, or Santiago in Spanish, is a symbol of the fight between Christianity and Islam and the reconquest of Spain from eight centuries of Moorish rule before 1492.
The saint is said to have appeared to Christian troops fighting Moorish army at the Battle of Clavijo in 844, the crusaders rallying to the cry of "Santiago y cierra Espana" - "St James, we will reconquer Spain".
Cathedral authorities insist the timing of the decision has nothing to do with the 11 March bombings in Madrid, which an Islamic group is alleged to have carried out.
http://www.users.drew.edu/~ebunn/135/apostol.jpg
http://www.la-falange.com/nacional/noticias/matamoros.jpg
Its not the image Britain projects, its an image a certain few project who get lots and lots of publicity, and then you lot on the other side of the pond point at them and say look at Britain going down the tube.
Political Correctness was invented in America, most of the stupid ideas that come out of these idiots came from your side of the pond in the first place.
Thanks, don't know why I feel so stressed lately. Guess it is because I am getting old and a lot of lads I trained are now going over seas.
When was PC-ism technically invented? Because I do believe it was portrayed first by Orwell as "Doublespeak". Just got a new name and differing terminologies, but the results were the same.
Never ever call a duck a duck and equalize everyone by destroying the prominant.
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