The devotion to this holy martyr dates back to at least the fifth century. It can be proved that the oldest of the Churches dedicated to his honor in Constantinople were built by Constantine the Great, which would be a much earlier date.
Very little is known of St. George’s life. It is supposed that he suffered martyrdom in the persecution under Diocletian at Nicomedia in the beginning of the fourth century. Among the Greeks, he is still called “the Great Martyr” and his feast is kept as a holy day of obligation. The intercession of the Saint was implored especially in battles, as he is said to have been a soldier. Under the first Norman kings, he was chosen as Patron Saint of England and Edward III instituted an order of knighthood in his honor. There are some who suppose that it was St. George who tore down the imperial edicts of persecution when they were first published at Nicomedia.
He is generally represented as engaged in combat with a dragon, which has long been considered a symbol of evil (the devil is called a dragon in the book of the Apocalypse). This story is called the “Golden Legend” where a dragon who once lived in a lake in Lybia, defeated whole armies by its sheer fierceness and strength. The monster ate two sheep each day and when they were gone, young women were then substituted. Saint George heard the story on a day when a princess was to be eaten. So he crossed himself, rode into battle on his horse against the serpent, and killed it with a single blow of his spear. He then made a great Christian sermon about faith and converted all the local people. The reward he was given by the King was given to the poor and he rode away.
St. George, pray for us in our daily battles!
Prayer In Honor To Saint George