The history of the Christian fish symbol: ICHTHUS
The fish outline is a logical
symbol for the early Christian church to adopt. Fish are often mentioned in the
gospels. This is what one would expect, if Jesus did most of his teaching in
the Galilee. Fish were a staple in the diet of Galilee.
Some gospel verses which mention
fish are:
|
|
Mark 1:17: "Come after Me, and I will make
you become fishers of men." |
|
|
Matthew 12:40: "...Jonah was three days and
three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three
days and three nights in the heart of the earth." |
|
|
Matthew 14:17: "And they said to Him, 'We have
here only five loaves and two fish.'" |
|
|
Luke 5:6: "And when they had done this,
they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking." |
|
|
Luke 24:42: "So they gave Him a piece of a
broiled fish and some honeycomb." |
|
|
John 21:6: "And He said to them, 'Cast the
net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.' So they cast, and
now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish."
|
The Greek word for
fish (ichthus, spelled: Iota Chi Theta Upsilon Sigma). That is an acrostic
which has many translations in English. The most popular appears to be "Jesus
Christ, Son of God, Savior [Iesous
(Jesus) CHristos (Christ) THeou (God) Uiou (Son) Soter
(Savior)]
The Apostles were often referred to
as "fishers of men". Followers of Christianity were called Pisciculi;
the root of this Latin word is "fish". The symbols of "sacremental
fish, with wine and a basket of bread represents the Eucharist and the Last
Supper in Christian art." The symbol was simple to
draw and was often used among Christians as a type of password during times of
persecution by the Roman government. If two strangers met and were unsure
whether each other was a Christian, one would draw an arc in the earth like:).
If the other were a Christian, they would complete the symbol with a reverse
arc: (), forming the outline of a fish.(1)
- Gregory B. Dill, "The History of the Ichthus,"
at: Plymouth Church of Christ, at: http://www.plymouth-church.com/