About Symbols of Christianity
A symbol is something that a group of people can identify or associate with something else, whereas others may not understand what the symbol means. The early Christians used symbols to identify each other as followers of God. Today, Christians still use these symbols to identify with their Christian faith. Christians use many symbols to show their love of God and that their faith will last forever.
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History
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Defined as an inner meaning for expressing Christian ideas, symbols of Christianity can be found in so many places, including churches, homes and Christian educational institutions. Symbolism is essential to any kind of worship, but with so much history and background, it is especially sacred to Christianity. It is not a secret that many of the Christian symbols recognized throughout history were taken from Roman pagans as early as the 2nd and 3rd century. Thus, they were made into pure and holy symbols so that Christians would recognize each other.
Symbols of Christianity come in all different forms. They are emblems, ideas, figures, or pictures taken from the culture of Christianity. Most of the symbols have been around for thousands of years, but there are many more that have come about recently in the past hundred years or so. Many archaeologists have made fascinating discoveries relating to persecuted Christians who would engrave symbols in catacombs before their death. These symbols include the Chi-Rho, which is translated to mean that Christ is the beginning and the end, as well as an anchor symbolizing the hope that Christ will keep our souls firm and secure in Him.
Religion Facts (link provided below) offers a very extensive list of over 100 Christian symbols and their meanings. It also provides much more in-depth information about when each individual symbol began to be recognized by Christians throughout the world.
Significance
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The symbols come from all over the world since Christianity is a worldwide religion. Many of the symbols were derived from the Hebrew scriptures of the Old Testament and used in Judaism. This predated the birth of Christ, but have transcended into the many forms of the Christian religion. From the tree that represents good and evil to the branch of healing, there are many hundreds of symbols that represent the Christian faith.
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Identification
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The most common of the symbols that represent Christianity is the cross. It came into religion around the 2nd or 3rd century. Typically the cross is empty which reminds everyone of the actual crucifix that Jesus died on. A symbol of sacrifice it is the most shown and worn symbol of Christianity. An empty cross symbolizes that fact that Jesus conquered death, and gave early Christians, as well as us today, the hope of eternal life. The most ancient cross is the Greek cross that is shown having arms of equal length. Then there is the cross of Calvary which has three steps leading up to it which represents faith, hope and love. The Celtic cross is a traditional cross of Irish heritage. Another popular cross is the baptismal cross that has eight points symbolizing regeneration.
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Some of the other symbols include the anchor which is a very early Christian symbol. It brings together the cross and the nautical symbols associated with Christianity such as the fish, boat and dolphin. It symbolizes hope in Christ. The apple of course represents sin as found in the forbidden fruit. The chalice is a sign of communion and the forgiveness of sin. The circle, seen in many different forms, symbolizes eternity such as seen in marriage or God in general since God is eternal.
Considerations
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The dove, seen a lot in the Christian religion, represents the Holy Spirit when seen with a halo, or the symbol of peace when seen without it. Another early symbol that endures today is the fish. It was a symbol that was hidden from persecutors because it was not obvious that it was a religious sign. When someone was Christian they would draw an arc in the sand and then upon meeting another Christian the other person would complete the drawing of a fish with a second arc. That way if the other person was not Christian then they would not be aware that the first one was Christian.
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Resources
- Photo Credit Stock.xchng, Religion Facts
