St George is the patron saint of England, but he wasn't English

[LEMmingaround]

he was roman/palastinian/greek?? Whats that all about? Actually not bothered by nationality at all but i just wondered how come he became our patron saint, what the connection is?

any ideas?

oh, i just GIMFS - bit of a dull answer really. Seems it is arbitary where the saint actually came from, rather what they represented. He seems to have been chosen by the monarchy rather than the church :(

You reminded me of Billy Bragg's song Half English

'Britannia, she's half English, she speaks Latin at home
St. George was born in the Lebanon, how he got here I don't know
And those three lions on your shirt
They never sprang from England's dirt
Them lions are half English and I'm half English too'

It is curious isn't it. I think George was only adopted in the middle ages - it used to be St Edmund. Apparently St Patrick isn't Irish either (most likely from either Cumbria, South Wales or possibly Somerset), though St Piran was Irish but is the patron saint of Cornwall.

Wasn't the devotion to St. George brought back with the Crusades? He seems a popular saint throughout Europe as I often discover him portrayed on buildings and old churches in many nations. He is also very popular in Greece of course.

I don't think a "Patron" means a saint has to be of that nation.