The Holy Hieromartyr George of Slavonia, Priest of Nasice
Life
The Hieromartyr George of Serbia, commemorated by the Orthodox Church on June 4 (Old Style; June 17 New Style), is identified with George (Djordje) Bogic, a Serbian Orthodox parish priest of the early twentieth century who was killed during the Second World War. Born in 1911 in Pakrac, then part of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia within Austria-Hungary, he trained for the priesthood and served several parishes in Slavonia before his death at the age of thirty.
He is venerated as a new martyr and hieromartyr, the latter term denoting a clergyman who died for the faith. The Serbian Orthodox Church formally numbered him among the saints in the late twentieth century, and he is also styled Saint George of Slavonia after the region of his ministry.
Timeline 4 moments
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1911Birth in PakracBorn on February 6, 1911, in Pakrac, in the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia within Austria-Hungary.
1934Ordination to the priesthoodAfter completing grammar school in Nova Gradiska and seminary studies in Sarajevo, he was ordained a priest on May 25, 1934, at Pakrac. He went on to serve parishes in Majar and Bolmace before being assigned to Nasice.
1941Martyrdom at NasiceAs parish priest of Nasice, he was seized and killed during the Second World War on June 17, 1941, under the Independent State of Croatia. Accounts of his death describe prolonged torture preceding his killing. His body was buried in the Brezik Nasicki graveyard.
1998Glorification by the Serbian Orthodox ChurchThe Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church canonized him on May 22, 1998, at Belgrade, recognizing him as a new martyr and hieromartyr under the name Saint George of Slavonia.
Contributions & Legacy
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Identity and Sources
The Orthodox commemoration of a Hieromartyr George of Serbia on June 4 carries no extended biographical narrative in the liturgical service books, which preserve only his rank as a priest-martyr and the hymns sung in his honor. The fuller account given here rests on the historical record of George (Djordje) Bogic, whose modern dating, Serbian background, and feast align with this commemoration.
He should not be confused with the Great Martyr George of the early Church, nor with George the Serbian of Kratovo, a sixteenth-century goldsmith martyred at Sofia, who is commemorated on different days.
