"GEORGIC" CULTS AND SAINTS OF THE LEVANT

BY

H. S. HADDAD

Chicago, U.S.A.

Observing the religious scene in the Levant, one is struck by the great variety of sectarian affiliations. The religious spectrum, more than in any other place in the Western World, covers all three Near Eastern religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, with the greatest assortment of sects, schools, and secret rites. However, underlying all this diversity, one observes a common undercurrent of religiosity among the rural population of the area. The peasants of all religions and denominations flock to the same shrines to show their devotion and to present their offerings. Many holy places on the Syrian coast are shared by Christians and Muslims. Orthodox and Catholics, Sunna and Shi`a, Nusairis and Druzes, all share in popular beliefs and myths concerning the forces of nature, taboos, acts of worship, and nidr ("sacrifice"). The study of the interplay between the popular and the "higher" religions helps to shed light on the history of religious movements in this area. A study that will cover all the available data on the subject is beyond the scope of this study. This short article deals only with a single theme as a sample of a popular cult that survived from "pagan" times and that cut through formal religious affiliations. This theme is that of the fertility deity who, as we shall demonstrate, survived till the present time as St. George. In the Levant St. George is iden- tified with Khidr of the Muslims. Khidr, in turn is identified with St. Elias, the Elijah of the Bible. We shall attempt to show that, in spite of the existence of a viariety of religions and sects, a common theme binds together the cults of these three saints in what one might call a rural religious system. We propose to give this religious system of the peasants the name "georgic." This is to recognize that the cult of St. George symbolizes this agrarian 22 religious attitude, and that the terrn "georgic" indicates the socio- economic class in which we are interested here much better than the term "peasant" with its pejorative connotations, or the term "rural" which may be too limited to its geographic significance. The term "georgic" emphasizes the ecological aspect of the group. It comprises all those who are preoccupied with food production and the provision of living by coming into direct contact with nature. This short study will attempt to show how a seemingly popular deity of fertility penetrated into Judaism, Christianity, Islam and their off- shoots. The degree, the condition, and the consequence of the accept- ance of such popular cults into the formal structure of these religions may shed some light on the basic differences among them. There is, in our opinion, adequate evidence to show that George, Khidr, and Elijah share in a common identity and that the cults of these "georgic" saints is a continuation, with variations, of the cults of the Baals of ancient Syria. We have limited our study to the Near East, more precisely to the Levantine coast of Syria from Anatolia to Sinai, although one can easily see that some of these cultic practices can apply to a much wider area. This is true especially of Eastern Europe which falls principally within the same culturel complex as the Near East.

THE GEORGIC SAINTS St. George Unlike other Christian saints who are men promoted to a higher level, in some cases to displace old pagan deities, St. George seems to be a deity who was "demoted" to the rank of saint. His cult and his fame spread all through Europe as attested by the popularity of the personal name and by the many churches, monasteries, and shrines dedicated to him. In the I2th century the Crusaders made him quite popular as a symbol of knighthood and valor. Brought to Britain, St. George, in due time, became the patron saint of the realm. He is also the patron saint of various European cities. In addition, his cult is very popular among the peasants of the Balkans and Russia and, in fact, wherever the main occupation of the population is agriculture and animal husbandry. Yet, unlike most other Christian saints who were historical person- ages, missionaries, and martyrs of the faith, George does not seem