The Icon of the Great Martyr Saint George the Victorious Explained
Painters have portrayed Saint George as a valiant horseman, handsome and tall, who pierces a huge dragon with his spear, tramples it under his horse’s hooves and rescues the king’s daughter from the dragon’s claws.
The princess is seen standing and trembling before the dragon, while her parents look on from the city walls and praise George’s courage.
This image is symbolic: it means that George, the heroic horseman and great martyr, has conquered the devil, represented by the dragon, and has brought peace to the Church, represented by the king’s daughter.
As deliverer of captives, defender of the poor, physician of the sick and champion of kings,
O great martyr George the Victorious, intercede with Christ our God for the salvation of our souls.
