SAINT George (Let's celebrate both George and Edmund, Soapbox letter, April 17) is patron saint of about ten nations, and came to prominence by slaying a dragon.

George was a Christian soldier living in the Roman Empire during Christian persecution.

Christian soldiers were made to burn incense before a statue of the emperor - an act of worship to the Emperor as god. If a Christian refused, he was sent to the arena to fight for his life.

Christian girls and women who refused were tied to stakes in the arena, dressed in robes soaked in the blood of dead animals to make them attractive to half-starved beasts.

Christian men were armed with sword or spear or shield and net, and sent into the arena to defend the women and girls.

The day George was put in the arena, a dragon came out.

Komodo lizards are called dragons. The komodo dragon has a long spitting tongue, like a fire dart. It is a sensor for dead flesh (hence the blood-soaked robes). It has claws the length of human fingers and it eats flesh. It can run faster than a human, and when it runs it seems to fly.

Skeletons of three of these monsters have been found in the area of the arena where George fought.

One of the skeletons is 23ft - a formidable dragon. George was hailed a saint because he killed the dragon.

St George is an example of refusal to give up Christian faith and of courage and chivalry in protecting Christian women.

In St George we have a true saint in whom we can believe. By faith and by grace he overcame evil and did good for Jesus' sake.

Howard Langham, Lime Avenue, Stockton Lane, York.