The symbols of the evangelists and their meaning

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

Each religion is based on a large number of symbols that have a deep sacred meaning. Their interpretation reveals the basic canons of the doctrine and allows you to penetrate into its very essence with the help of simple allegories. Similar traditions exist in Buddhism, Judaism and, of course, Christianity. It can be said that the teaching of Christ is more subject to symbolism than others. This can be clearly seen on Orthodox icons and in the paintings of churches. Most of the questions are caused by the symbols of the evangelists and their interpretation. People who have recently come to God and still poorly understand analogies and allegories are especially interested in this. Let's try to reveal this topic in this article and make it easier to perceive the main symbols of Christianity.

Evangelists: who are they?

It is impossible to study the meaning of the symbols of the evangelists without coming to an understanding of who these evangelists are and what contribution they made to the formation of the Christian religion. Many people know that the Gospel is a book that tells about the teachings of Christ. This name comes from the Greeklanguage, in translation it means "good news". Therefore, those who follow this teaching were called evangelists in ancient times. This term applied to all Christians without exception.

But after some time, the four authors of the Gospel began to be called evangelists. Their names are known to any Christian:

• Matthew.
• Mark.
• John.
• Luke.

They are revered in all Christian branches as people who brought and spread among mankind the good news about the Savior and his teachings.

Evangelists and their symbols

The symbols of the evangelists are found in almost any temple painting. They reflect the correspondence to each supporter of a given trend of a certain animal that carries its own meaning. In the traditional interpretation, the 4 evangelists and their symbols are as follows:

• Matthew corresponds to an angel.
• There is a lion next to Mark.
• Luke is depicted next to a lion.
• John is next to the eagle.

These symbols were formed around the second century and are now considered classic.

Tetramorph: Ezekiel's vision

The symbols of the Evangelists owe their appearance to the prophet Ezekiel. Once he saw in his visions an unusual creature descending from heaven. It had a human body and four faces:

• human face;
• lion face;
• eagle head;
• calf face.

Initially, this image was interpreted as a story about fourcherubim who are at the throne of the Lord. But over time, the term "tetramorph" entered the terminology, denoting the unity of four images. This creature was even located on the mural of the first Christian churches, but over time it was supplanted by a different interpretation of the vision.

Revelation of John the Theologian

John the Theologian presented the tetramorph already in the form of four separate creatures:

• angel;
• lion;
• eagle;
• ox.

These creatures began to represent the symbols of the evangelists, because each animal has its own sacred meaning, explaining the teachings of Christ in the human presentation. In addition, these symbols are considered the main guardians of the four corners of the world and the throne of Jehovah.

Transformation of Christian symbols

It is worth noting that the correspondence of animals to the evangelists did not settle down immediately. In the interpretation of different theologians, different meanings were attached to the symbols, and different animals were attributed to the evangelists. Theologians argued for a long time about the meaning of symbolism and could not come to a consensus.

The meaning of the lion and the ox caused the most controversy. They often referred first to one evangelist, then to another. But in the end, after several centuries, the allegorical images of animals and the authors of the Gospel already described by us were fixed.

Meaning of symbols

We think many readers are interested in knowing what the symbols of the evangelists mean. There is no consensus on this issue, because this symbolism has a very deep and multifaceted meaning.

First of all, it means the unity of the gospelin four books. Also, many theologians understood these symbols as an indication of the four cardinal points and the seasons, which obey the command of God, as people should obey.

One of the traditional meanings explains the appearance of symbols by the life of Jesus Christ. After all, he was born as a man, was given to death as a sacrificial calf, resurrected like a royal lion, and then ascended to heaven like an eagle.

Especially interesting is the interpretation of the symbols in relation to their correspondence to the evangelists. I want to talk about this in more detail.

Evangelist Matthew

An angel is always depicted next to Matthew. It is interpreted as the humanization of Christ, because the Gospel of Matthew tells about His genealogy and birth in human form. That is why the angel is a symbol of Matthew, his good news gives people the understanding that Christ is closer to a person than he thinks. He embodies the love and mercy, the manifestation of which in the human soul is so desirable to Him.

Symbol Lion: Gospel of Mark

The Gospel of Mark reveals the kingship of Christ, his dignity and dominion over all souls. It is royal power that is expressed in the resurrection of Christ - proof of his origin and the significance of the coming into the world of people. Like a lion, He defeated his enemies and remained dignified.

The bull or sacrificial lamb is a symbol of the Evangelist Luke

At all times, the calf was considereda sacrificial animal, it is often mentioned in the Bible, so it is the best suited for a symbol. Jesus Christ sacrificed himself and thereby revealed his sacred essence, which Luke outlined in his gospel. The evangelist spoke about the crucifixion of Christ and fully interpreted its meaning for people.

Evangelist John: symbol

This animal has several interpretations. If we consider it in the same way as the rest of the symbols of the evangelists, the eagle means the ascension of Christ to heaven. This is the final stage of his earthly journey, the return to Heavenly Father.

Many theologians believe that the eagle also symbolizes the Holy Spirit, hovering over all worldly and vain. Only especially enlightened people who have rejected all earthly passions are endowed with the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Where and how are symbols depicted?

Most often, the symbols of the evangelists can be traced in icon painting, but in this case we can talk about a slightly different image. The fact is that tetramorph is usually reproduced on icons, this technique is considered traditional for Christianity.

But the symbols of the evangelists are still present in churches, usually animals are depicted on the church dome on four sides, respectively. According to Christian canons, the image of the Lord is always in the center. With such a painting, animals follow a certain order:

• there is an angel in the upper left corner;
• top right corner given to the eagle;
• lower left corner belongs to the lion;
• in the lower right corner alwaysTaurus is located.

Often animals are depicted on the Holy Doors. There they coexist with the image of the Annunciation.