Dragons in Catholic Tradition

Dragons. Yes, you heard me, dragons. Dragons have long symbolized chaos and danger. Their serpentine form seemed to strike at humanity’s deepest fears.

In our Catholic tradition, dragons are symbols of spiritual and moral disorder, rooted in specific biblical passages and enriched by Christian art. These beasts represent the chaos that our God subdues and the forces of evil that Christ ultimately conquers.

From the Serpent of Eden to the Dragon of Revelation, these creatures serve as reminders of humanity’s struggle against sin and God's victory over sin. In scripture dragons are closely tied to the concept of chaos, a force opposed to God's order.

The Hebrew Bible’s Leviathan, described in Jobe 41, is a monstrous sea creature with impenetrable scales and a fiery breath. Leviathan evokes both terror and wonder, yet God proclaims his mastery over Leviathan, underscoring his power to bring creation into harmony. This theme appears in the New Testament Book of Revelation, where that great red dragon represents Satan.

Revelation paints a stark picture of the battle between good and evil, with the dragon opposing God's plan and threatening his people. Yet the Archangel Michael defeats the dragon, demonstrating that the ultimate triumph belongs to God.

Man’s first encounter with chaos comes in the form of the serpent in Eden. While not explicitly called a dragon, the serpent’s cunning aligns it with later biblical dragon imagery.

Indeed, the word used in the original Hebrew is Nahash, a word commonly used to refer to powerful, gigantic, evil creatures. It is only natural that our Catholic tradition often associates this creature with Satan, whose deception leads Adam and Eve into sin. The early Church recognized dragons as metaphors for evil, inspiring stories of saints triumphing over them.

Saint George’s legendary battle with the dragon remains one of Christianity’s most enduring symbols of courage and faith. But Catholic tradition doesn’t just vilify dragons. In other sources, J.R.R. Tolkien, a devout Catholic, filled his stories with dragons like Smaug, whose greed, pride, and malice clearly mirror humanity’s own vices.

Tolkien’s works also emphasize the possibility of redemption and the ultimate triumph of good.

Smaug’s defeat in The Hobbit is not merely a victory over a beast but a moral triumph, illustrating the importance of courage and self-sacrifice in the face of evil.

Dragons challenge us to confront sin and disorder in our own lives. Like the saints who battled them, we are called to rely on Faith and grace in the struggle against evil, whether in scripture, legends, or Tolkien’s tales, dragons remind us that the forces of chaos are real. But so, too, is the power of our God to overcome them. Ultimately, dragons teach us a profound truth. Even in the midst of turmoil, the Creator’s victory is assured.

The dragon’s defeat is not just the end of the story. It is the beginning of a new creation where order, peace, and goodness prevail. And I'd like to share that my primary source for this overview on dragons was an article in Alitalia, which I enjoy reading. May these thoughts inspire you during this Lenten season.