Christian

Christian symbols and meanings

From the catacombs to the labarum — signs that had to be both confession and disguise.

13 marks in the lexicon. A symbol can sit in more than one tradition. The page says which use is which.

• CrossTwo lines, and for Christians the particular death they say turned.
• IchthysA fish that is also a sentence.
• Chi-RhoA monogram that became a battle standard.
• Vesica piscisTwo equal circles, each through the other’s center. A third shape appears.
• TriquetraThree vesicae locked, so that parting them destroys the drawing.
• AnchorHope, carved where a cross would have been too loud.
• Eye of ProvidenceA claim that you are seen. The dollar bill did not invent it.
• PhoenixA bird that burns and is the same bird after.
• Fleur-de-lisA heraldic lily. France wore it. So did Mary. So did a city.
• Cross of Saint PeterPeter’s cross, turned over. The devil’s version is a later story about that story.
• Celtic crossA Christian cross with a ring, cut in stone. Not a prehistoric sun-cult logo.
• ΑΩ
  Alpha and OmegaThe first Greek letter and the last, said of God and of Christ.
• HeartA suit of cards that became the picture of love. Not a diagram of the organ.