The inhabitants of the big city of Gebala, on the Palestinian side, turned their backs on God and worship idols, venerating them according to traditions and according to the royal command. God repays the inhabitants of Gebal by faith and their deeds: a huge Serpent appears in a nearby lake, which comes out of the water and devours people. The entire population of the city turns to the king to advise him on how to avoid adversity. The king, however, tells them that he spoke with the gods and they told him the following: every inhabitant of Gebal should daily give his son or daughter to be eaten by the Snake, until the turn of the king comes, which also must give his only daughter. Everyone agrees with this decision, and everyone, starting with the king’s close associates and ending with the poorest and simplest people, daily, crying and moaning, take their children to the lake shore, leaving them to eat a terrible monster. Finally, no one in the city had more children left, and again everyone turned to the king, so that he would fulfill his promise.
The king tells them that he will give his daughter to be eaten by the Serpent, and then he will wait for the gods to open him. The tsar’s daughter is tied up in scarlet, taken to the shore of the lake and left alone there. But George, the holy martyr, a sufferer for the faith of Christ, who lived after death, according to God's will, longs to save the people of Geval from adversity and, in the form of a simple warrior, is at this hour on the lake. When he sees the virgin, he asks her what she does by the lake alone. She begs the young man to leave these places as soon as possible, and after much persuasion she admits to him that the king, her father, not wanting to leave this prosperous city, agreed with the command of the gods: to give the Snake all the children to eat until he comes turn.
But the great martyr George urges the virgin to not be afraid of anything and offers a prayer to God, asking Him to show His mercy on him, an unworthy slave, and to overthrow the fierce beast, so that all, seeing this, believe that there is only one God, and there are no other gods except Him. A voice from heaven answers George that his request has been heard. The virgin hears the terrible whistle of the approaching Serpent and again begs the young man to run away and leave her alone, so that he would not die with her. But St. George, upon seeing the terrible Serpent, draws the sign of Christ on the earth, and in the name of Jesus Christ demands that the cruel beast submit. By the power of God and the prayers of the sufferer for the faith of St. George, the serpent's knees are broken, and George and the virgin bind him, taking the reins from the horse and the belt from the virgin's dress. She leads a terrible beast into the city, and the Serpent drags helplessly and dutifully after her.
All this time, the king and the queen mourn their only daughter. When they see how she leads the bound Serpent, and St. George comes in front, the tsar and the queen are frightened and run away. But George urges all the inhabitants of Gebal not to be afraid, but to believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, in which alone is salvation. Upon learning that the name of the beautiful young man is George, all, as one, raise their voices, exclaiming: “By you we believe in one God, the Almighty and in the only begotten Son of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Life-giving Spirit.” George cuts off the head of the terrible Serpent with his sword, and the king and all the inhabitants of Geval give praise to God. The king orders to build a church in the name of the great martyr and sufferer for the faith of George and from now on to remember him in the month of April.
St. George, seeing that they all believed in our Lord Jesus Christ, promises them to show a new miracle. When the construction of the church is completed, he sends the masters his shield to hang from the holy altar. And since then, the shield has been hanging in the air without any support. Everyone who faithfully comes to this church, through the prayers of St. George, is healed of sorrows and illnesses and rejoices when they see the miraculous deeds of the saint.
