Shroro

The Syriac Orthodox Christian Digest - May, 2005

Mor Gewargis Sohdo (St.George), the mighty saint!

By Dr. Thomas Joseph

There are very many legends around St. George (Mor Gewargis Sohdo) and the story of his ressurection from death is probably one of them. Very little is known authentically of the saint beyond that he was a soldier who was persecuted for his faith at or near Lydda before the time of Constantine (who died in AD 337). He is perhaps referred to but not by name in Eusebius (Eccl. History 8.5). He became very popular in Palestine and its surrounds in the 6th century when the legends of his exploits became popular. It is only in the late 12th cent. that he was credited with the slaying of the dragon and the belief became popular when it appeared in the 13th century Golden Legend. This story was most likely influenced by the myth of Perseus' slaying of the sea monster at Arsuf or Joppa, both cities in the neighborhood of Lydda.

The Acts of St. George written originally in Greek most likely in Cappodocia during the early fifth cent. exists today only in fragments. The Syriac translation from the original Greek dates to the middle of the fifth cent. The oldest Syriac manuscript of the Acts is preserved at the British Library and was written around 600 AD. It is the earliest complete witness to the text since all Greek texts before this time are in fragments.

As is common with hagiographical texts, the later versions of the Acts in Greek, Garshuni (Arabic written in Syriac script), and many languages of the East and West add many legends to the original Acts, often bordering on pious fantasies. This is evident in the book Acts of St. George and the Story of His Father by George Kiraz (Bar Hebraeus Verlag, Netherlands: 1991) which presents the textual analysis of an Arabic text (Brit. Library, Add. 7209, dt 16th cent.) comparing it with the Syriac version. The legend of the slaying of the dragon is an example. The Greek word "drakon" means just a snake and in the original text is an epithet used of king Dadianus. The Syriac version calls the king the "asp-serpent Dadianus." The Syriac edition Vatican Borg. 169 also depicts a snake (see picture above). The dragon, conveying the image of a large fiery animal, appears only in later Greek forms of the original text dating to the tenth century and later, and in Latin versions. It became very popular in the West in the Middle Ages, most likely influenced by the passages from Revelation 12:7. The western Christians, joining with the Byzantine Christians in the Crusades, elaborated and misinterpreted the Greek traditions and devised their own versions of such legends.

Despite such corruptions of the original story, the saint and martyr inspires many faithful who seek his intercession all over the world.

Source of picture: Syriac Orthodox Resources (http://sor.cua.edu)