George was born in the town ton Kromnenon, located near Amastris in Paphlagonia, to a local noble family, around the middle of the 8th century.
[1][2] When the see of Amastris fell vacant in c. 790, the Patriarch of Constantinople Tarasios appointed George to fill it, despite the emperor favouring a different person for the post.
During his time as bishop of Amastris, George presided over the return of the remains of John of Gothia to the latter's native city of Parthenia, Crimea.
Athanasios Markopoulos further suggested that while the bulk of the work is to be attributed to Ignatios, the Russian episode was a later addition, under the influence of Patriarch Photios.
[2] Despite his close ties to Empress Irene of Athens and Nikephoros I, the hagiography is noteworthy for its "lack of anti-Iconoclastic invective".