Commemorated 8/21 January The Grand Duke Yaroslav the Wise, in
baptism George or ‘Yury’, was the son of the Grand Duke St
V1adimir. In the year 1030 he took control of the area to the
west of Novgorod and Pskov, inhabited by the Estonians. There on
the banks of the River Omovzha (or Embakh) he founded a town and
built a church, which he dedicated to his patron St George the
Great-Martyr. In Russian this town became known as Yuriev after
its church, but is also known as Dorpat or Tartu. From about
1150 on, this area was invaded from the sea and settled by
German Catholics, who built castles there to occupy the land and
oppress its people. Since at that time there was internal strife
among the Russians, they took control of the region. Having
enslaved the pagan Estonians, the Germans converted them by
force to Catholicism, and at the same time began to oppress the
Orthodox who lived there. By the fifteenth century, Orthodox had
two churches in Yuriev - that dedicated to the Great-Martyr
George and another dedic