George and the Dragon

A town is being terrorised by a fearsome and very hungry dragon inhabiting a nearby lake and the king’s daughter has just been chosen by lot as the latest victim to be fed to the infernal beast. However, by chance, just as she is on her way to certain death, an unknown horseman is riding past and turns aside to save the damsel in distress. As the dragon rears up out of the lake the horseman smites him with his trusty lance. The wounded dragon is captured and Saint George (for, as you have probably guessed, Saint George it is) promises the townspeople that he will kill the dragon if they convert to Christianity. There is an instant and universal application for baptism and the dragon is finally slain once and for all.

Of course, if this story had any basis in actual fact it would have described one of the most successful evangelistic campaigns of all time! Sadly it is but the stuff of legend.

The real story of Saint George was somewhat different. The earliest traditions concerning England’s national saint take us back seventeen centuries to a time when Christians were being tortured and killed by the Roman emperor Diocletian. The figure who we know as George (who was unnamed in the original account of his life) was actually a Roman soldier caught in a moral dilemma between the demands of the emperor in whose army he served and his strong Christian faith. Tradition has it that he held the rank of a tribune but that did not prevent him from being beheaded (on 23rd April 303) by the emperor because of his protests against and refusal to take part in the brutal persecution of his fellow Christians.

One particular incident that took place during this time of persecution has been recorded for us by an eye witness named Lanctantius and graphically illustrates the nature of the brutality of that time:

“When that day dawned…tribunes and officers of the treasury came to the church in Nicomedia; they forced the doors and searched everywhere for the image of the god (a reference to Jesus). The Holy Scriptures were found and burnt; the church was abandoned to general pillage: all was rapine, confusion, tumult…Then Praetorian Guards came in battle array, with axes and other tools; they were let loose everywhere, and in a few hours, levelled every lofty edifice with the ground”.

Interestingly, the English word traitor derives from the Latin word traditor which was used to describe those church leaders who ‘handed over’ (tradere = to hand over) the Scriptures and betrayed their fellow Christians during such times of persecution. There were Christians who did renounce their faith at such times but many others, like George, who did not and paid a very high price.

When the chips were well and truly down George bravely refused to join his fellow soldiers in implementing the imperial wishes, stood shoulder to shoulder with his fellow believers and paid for his courage with his life. There were no dragons to slay; but his story is no less heroic for that.

Saint George’s story was remembered by Christians over the centuries that followed. However the quite independent ‘dragon slaying’ story was an ancient pagan myth that was apparently brought back from Asia Minor by Crusaders and was ‘Christianised’ with George’s name somehow becoming attached to it. By medieval times legend had wholly obscured history. In the fourteenth century, a thousand years after his lifetime, George was adopted as the patron saint of England (notwithstanding the fact that he never visited these shores!) something that owed far more to the dragon than to Diocletian. Given the nature of the personal sacrifices made by the real George it is tragic that in recent decades his flag should have been hijacked by the far right with their racist agenda and we can be thankful that, partly as a result of popular support for English national sports teams in major tournaments, it has largely been rescued from such associations.

This more widespread use of the flag of Saint George may also be suggestive of a growing English identity within the United Kingdom as the countries that make up the Union have sought new identities in recent years. I’m not by instinct a flag waver but that does not mean that I believe it inappropriate for George to be the patron saint of England. However, we must remember the real Saint George’s moving and inspirational story. He was a man of faith, courage and hope who had an unyielding determination to follow Jesus whatever the consequences. These are truly laudable qualities – very appropriate for all citizens of a nation to aspire to. So on April 23rd spare a thought for George as he really was and, putting all thoughts of dragons and fair maidens firmly to one side, let his story inspire you to be faithful servants of Jesus without counting the cost.

Rob Green