Uastyrdzhi (, ) is the name of

Saint George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...

in Ossetian folklore. Uastyrdzhi is the patron of the male sex and travellers as well as being a guarantor of oaths, like his Iranian counterpart

Mithra Mithra ( ; ) is an ancient Iranian deity ('' yazata'') of covenants, light, oaths, justice, the Sun, contracts, and friendship. In addition to being the divinity of contracts, Mithra is also a judicial figure, an all-seeing protector of Truth ( ...

(among others such as

Verethragna Verethragna or Bahram () is a Zoroastrian yazata. The neuter noun ''verethragna'' is related to Avestan ''verethra'', 'obstacle' and ''verethragnan'', 'victorious'. Representing this concept is the divinity Verethragna, who is the Hypostasis ( ...

and

Fereydun Fereydun (, ; New Persian: , ''Fereydūn/Farīdūn'') is an Iranian mythical king and hero from the Pishdadian dynasty. He is known as an emblem of victory, justice, and generosity in Persian literature. According to Abolala Soudavar, Fereydun ...

) with whom he shares a common origin. It is forbidden for women to pronounce his name; instead, they must refer to him as ''lӕgty dzuar'' (literally, "the saint of men"). Uastyrdzhi is invoked in the national anthems of both

North Ossetia–Alania North Ossetia–Alania (; ), officially the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania, is a republics of Russia, republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe. It borders the country of Georgia (country), Georgia to the south, a ...

and South Ossetia. He is depicted as a horseman with a long beard, riding on a

white horse A white horse is born predominantly white and stays white throughout its life. A white horse has mostly pink skin under its hair coat, and may have brown, blue, or hazel eyes. "True white" horses, especially those that carry one of the dominant w ...

. A large public ceremony devoted to him is held in early July at Khetag's Grove (, ''Khetӕdzhy k'ox''), a wood situated three kilometres outside of

Alagir Alagir (; ) is an industrial town and the administrative center of Alagirsky District in the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Russia, located on the west bank of the Ardon River, west of the republic's capital Vladikavkaz. As of the 2010 C ...

, near Suadag village. According to legend, Khetag () was the son of an Alanian king who consecrated the grove to Uastyrdzhi. Another important ceremony in honour of Uastyrdzhi is held beside a shrine called Rekom in the Tsey Valley in mid-June. Since the

fall of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of Nationalities, Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. :s: ...

, the cult of Uastyrdzhi has enjoyed renewed popularity in Ossetian nationalism, and there have been several claims of visitations. The attitude of the local

Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

towards Uastyrdzhi is ambivalent. The festival of Dzhiorguba () is celebrated in Uastyrdzhi's honour in November (and is eponymous of the month's name in Ossetian). It involves the

sacrifice Sacrifice is an act or offering made to a deity. A sacrifice can serve as propitiation, or a sacrifice can be an offering of praise and thanksgiving. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Gree ...

of a one-year-old bull. To indicate that the victim belongs to the god, its right horn is cut off long before, forbidding any herdsman to swear on it.

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ОСЕТИНСКИЕ ПРАЗДНИКИ "Ossetian holidays"
(in Russian)

, accessed November, 2008 {{Saint George Ossetian mythology Saint George (martyr) Eastern Orthodox Christian culture Supernatural beings identified with Christian saints Folk Orthodoxy

See also

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