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| "Little Fishes" |
| To boldly proclaim the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, with emphasis on Matthew 22:37-39. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. And thy neighbor as thyself. Is our mission. |
Among the symbols employed by the early Christians, that
of the fish ranks probably first in importance. The earliest
literary reference to the symbolic fish is made by Clement
of Alexandria, born about 150, who recommends his
readers (Paedagogus, III, xi) to have their seals engraved
with a dove or a fish. Indeed, from monumental sources we
know that the symbolic fish was familiar to Christians long
before the famous Alexandrian was born; in such Roman
monuments as the Capella Greca and the Sacrament
Chapels of the catacomb of St. Callistus, the fish was
depicted as a symbol in the first decades. It is known that
in the 1st century when Christians were more openly
persecuted the simple "fish symbol" could be scratched in
the dust with ones staff. Pagans did not recognize it but
believers would, thus many an early Christian was able to
discern friend from foe.
The symbol itself may have been suggested by the
miraculous multiplication of the loaves and fishes or the
repast of the seven Disciples, after the Resurrection, on the
shore of the Sea of Galilee (John, xxi, 9), but its popularity
among Christians was due principally, it would seem, to the
famous acrostic consisting of the initial letters of five Greek
words forming the word for fish (IXOYE), which words
briefly but clearly described the character of Christ and His
claim to the worship of believers: Iesous Christos Theou
Yios Soter, i.e. Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour. (See
the discourse of Emperor Constantine, "Ad coetum
Sanctorum" c. xviii.) It is not improbable that this Christian
formula originated in Alexandria, and was intended as a
protest against the pagan apotheosis of the emperors; on a
coin from Alexandria of the reign of Domitian (81-96) this
emperor is styled Theou Yios (Son of God).
The word IXOYE, then, as well as the representation of a
fish, held for Christians a meaning of the highest
significance; it was a brief profession of faith in the divinity
of Christ, the Redeemer of mankind. Believers in Jesus
were themselves : "little fishes", according to the well-known
passage of Tertullian (De baptismo, c. 1): "we, little fishes,
after the image of our IXOYE, Jesus Christ, are born in the
water". The association of the IXOYE with the Eucharist is
strongly emphasized in the epitaph of Abercius, the second
century Bishop of Hieropolis in Phrygia, and in the
somewhat later epitaph of Pectorius of Autun.
Abercius tells us on the aforesaid monument that in his
journey from his Asiatic home to Rome, everywhere on the
way he received as food "the Fish from the spring, the
great, the pure", as well as "wine mixed with water, together
with bread".
Pectorius also speaks of the Fish as a delicious spiritual
nurture supplied by the "Saviour of the Saints". In the
Eucharistic monuments this idea is expressed repeatedly in
the pictorial form; the food before the banqueters is
invariably bread and fish on two separate dishes. The
peculiar significance attached to the fish in this relation is
well brought out in such early frescoes as the Fractio Panis
scene in the cemetery of St. Priscilla, and the fishes on the
grass, in closest proximity to the baskets containing bread
and wine, in the crypt of Lucina.
The fish symbol was not, however, represented exclusively
with symbols of Baptism and the Eucharist; quite frequently
it is found associated with such other symbols as the dove,
the anchor, and the monogram of Christ. The monuments,
too, on which it appears, from the first to the fourth century,
include frescoes, sculptured representations, rings, seals,
gilded glasses, as well as enkolpia of various materials.
The type of fish depicted calls for no special observation,
save that, from the second century, the form of the dolphin
was frequently employed. The reason for this particular
selection is presumed to be the fact that, in popular esteem,
the dolphin was regarded as friendly to man.
Besides the Eucharistic frescoes of the catacombs a
considerable number of objects containing the fish-symbol
are preserved in various European museums.
One of the most interesting, because of the grouping of the
fish with several other symbols, being a carved gem in the
Kircherian Museum in Rome. On the left is a T-form
anchor, with two fishes beneath the crossbar, while next in
order are a T-form cross with a dove on the crossbar and a
sheep at the foot, another T-cross as the mast of a ship,
and the good shepherd carrying on His shoulders the
strayed sheep. In addition to these symbols the five letters
of the word IXOYE are distributed round the border.
Another ancient carved gem represents a ship supported
by a fish, with doves perched on the mast and stern, and
Christ on the waters rescuing St. Peter. After the fourth
century the symbolism of the fish gradually disappeared;
representations of fishes on baptismal fonts and on bronze
baptismal cups like those found at Rome and Trier, now in
the Kircherian Museum, are merely of an ornamental
character, suggested, probably by the water used in
baptism.
of the fish ranks probably first in importance. The earliest
literary reference to the symbolic fish is made by Clement
of Alexandria, born about 150, who recommends his
readers (Paedagogus, III, xi) to have their seals engraved
with a dove or a fish. Indeed, from monumental sources we
know that the symbolic fish was familiar to Christians long
before the famous Alexandrian was born; in such Roman
monuments as the Capella Greca and the Sacrament
Chapels of the catacomb of St. Callistus, the fish was
depicted as a symbol in the first decades. It is known that
in the 1st century when Christians were more openly
persecuted the simple "fish symbol" could be scratched in
the dust with ones staff. Pagans did not recognize it but
believers would, thus many an early Christian was able to
discern friend from foe.
The symbol itself may have been suggested by the
miraculous multiplication of the loaves and fishes or the
repast of the seven Disciples, after the Resurrection, on the
shore of the Sea of Galilee (John, xxi, 9), but its popularity
among Christians was due principally, it would seem, to the
famous acrostic consisting of the initial letters of five Greek
words forming the word for fish (IXOYE), which words
briefly but clearly described the character of Christ and His
claim to the worship of believers: Iesous Christos Theou
Yios Soter, i.e. Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour. (See
the discourse of Emperor Constantine, "Ad coetum
Sanctorum" c. xviii.) It is not improbable that this Christian
formula originated in Alexandria, and was intended as a
protest against the pagan apotheosis of the emperors; on a
coin from Alexandria of the reign of Domitian (81-96) this
emperor is styled Theou Yios (Son of God).
The word IXOYE, then, as well as the representation of a
fish, held for Christians a meaning of the highest
significance; it was a brief profession of faith in the divinity
of Christ, the Redeemer of mankind. Believers in Jesus
were themselves : "little fishes", according to the well-known
passage of Tertullian (De baptismo, c. 1): "we, little fishes,
after the image of our IXOYE, Jesus Christ, are born in the
water". The association of the IXOYE with the Eucharist is
strongly emphasized in the epitaph of Abercius, the second
century Bishop of Hieropolis in Phrygia, and in the
somewhat later epitaph of Pectorius of Autun.
Abercius tells us on the aforesaid monument that in his
journey from his Asiatic home to Rome, everywhere on the
way he received as food "the Fish from the spring, the
great, the pure", as well as "wine mixed with water, together
with bread".
Pectorius also speaks of the Fish as a delicious spiritual
nurture supplied by the "Saviour of the Saints". In the
Eucharistic monuments this idea is expressed repeatedly in
the pictorial form; the food before the banqueters is
invariably bread and fish on two separate dishes. The
peculiar significance attached to the fish in this relation is
well brought out in such early frescoes as the Fractio Panis
scene in the cemetery of St. Priscilla, and the fishes on the
grass, in closest proximity to the baskets containing bread
and wine, in the crypt of Lucina.
The fish symbol was not, however, represented exclusively
with symbols of Baptism and the Eucharist; quite frequently
it is found associated with such other symbols as the dove,
the anchor, and the monogram of Christ. The monuments,
too, on which it appears, from the first to the fourth century,
include frescoes, sculptured representations, rings, seals,
gilded glasses, as well as enkolpia of various materials.
The type of fish depicted calls for no special observation,
save that, from the second century, the form of the dolphin
was frequently employed. The reason for this particular
selection is presumed to be the fact that, in popular esteem,
the dolphin was regarded as friendly to man.
Besides the Eucharistic frescoes of the catacombs a
considerable number of objects containing the fish-symbol
are preserved in various European museums.
One of the most interesting, because of the grouping of the
fish with several other symbols, being a carved gem in the
Kircherian Museum in Rome. On the left is a T-form
anchor, with two fishes beneath the crossbar, while next in
order are a T-form cross with a dove on the crossbar and a
sheep at the foot, another T-cross as the mast of a ship,
and the good shepherd carrying on His shoulders the
strayed sheep. In addition to these symbols the five letters
of the word IXOYE are distributed round the border.
Another ancient carved gem represents a ship supported
by a fish, with doves perched on the mast and stern, and
Christ on the waters rescuing St. Peter. After the fourth
century the symbolism of the fish gradually disappeared;
representations of fishes on baptismal fonts and on bronze
baptismal cups like those found at Rome and Trier, now in
the Kircherian Museum, are merely of an ornamental
character, suggested, probably by the water used in
baptism.
| PRAYER TITHING The Authors Foot notes: KNOW THIS! That the revelation that is revealed in the book, "Prayer Tithing" is not of myself Vincent W. Paramore nor, is it the result of my Opinion and thoughts on prayer. For I admit and confess unto you; that I was not one with a profound or even consistent prayer life, until this revelation came unto me. Before, praying was a task, but now a joy! And it is my utmost desire that you too, by reading this book will find prayer to be a joy as well. Prayerfully Yours, vwp |
VWP GOOD SUCCESS MINISTRIES
IXOYE = FISH
| Symbolism of the Fish |