CHRISTIAN SYMBOLS Liturgical Arts Lecture Series

Symbols of the Christian Faith: The Apostles Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth;

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary,

He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried.

He descended to the dead.On the third day he rose again.He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the

Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen

God the Father

I believe in God , the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth;

God the Geometer

Adam and Eve

Jesus Christ

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son our Lord

Good ShepherdJn. 10:11-18

LightJn. 1:4-9

Lamb Jn. 1:29

Lion

Power, authority and majesty We see the lion as representing

Christ here (Revelation 5:5) - "And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof."

Daniel and the Lion

Anchor and Fish

"Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior"

Iesous (Jesus) CHristos (Christ) THeou (God) Uiou (Son) Soter (Savior)

INRI

acronym of the Latin phrase IESVS·NAZARENVS·REX·IVDAEORVM, which translates to English as: "Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews", the inscription that Pontius Pilate ordered placed on Jesus' cross.

Anchor

The anchor brings steadfastness to ships in a storm. So, the anchor stands for steadfastness and hope.

This is based off of the passage in Hebrews 6:19. The anchor is a very old symbol, dating back to the early 2nd century A.D.

It is also used as a cross, because the top part of the anchor forms a cross.

This represents that we are secure in the actions of Jesus Christ on the cross. He is our stability.

Alpha and Omega

Revelation 1:8

" I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and

which is to come, the Almighty."

Alpa Omega

Old Testament Scenes

Jesus heals man born blind

The Incarnation

He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit

Bread

Bread sustains life. Therefore it is life. Jesus said, “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35).

It was also used at the Last Supper when Jesus broke the bread and said, “This is my body, broken for you…”(Luke 22:19). In this context the bread, with wine, represents the Lord’s Supper (Eucharist).

Mary, Mother of Christ

And born of the Virgin Mary

Theotokostheo -Godtikto –to give birth to

The Cross

He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead.

Cross

Prophet Jonah

Chi Rho

Pelican

Chi-Rho with Alpha-Omega

Resurrection

On the Third day he rose again

New Testament Scenes

Christ Triumphant

He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

Pantocrator

Sarcophagus of Julius Bassus 359

The Holy Spirit

I believe in the Holy Spirit

Dove

Tongues of fire

Torch

Numbers One is the number of unity, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are

united as one God Two represents the Old and the New Testament and is the number

of ages, the current age and the age to come (Matthew 12:32). Three represents the Trinity, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit Four represents the gospel writers: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John Five represents the number of wounds that Jesus received on the

cross Six represents the number of days God took to create the world Seven represents Revelation 15.1 And I saw another sign in

heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.

Eight represents the number of people onNoah’s ark Nine - Jesus healed ten lepers; nine did not even thank him Ten represents the Ten Commandments Twelve represents the number of Apostles Thirteen represents the number of people at the Last Supper and t

he betrayal of Judas Number Forty - "Forty days and forty nights" describes the period f

or which rain fell during Noah's flood Number 666 represents the number of the Beast is described in th

e Book of Revelation 13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six - 666.

The Holy Catholic Church

I believe in the holy Catholic Church

Ship

Symbolizes the church. This is based on God protecting the ark, and Jesus protecting the ship with the Apostles in it on the Sea of Galilee. It is a great symbol because the ship’s mast forms a cross.

The Communion of Saints

I believe in the communion of Saints.

Early Christian

Orante

Symbols of the Twelve Apostles

St. Peter –keys, inverted cross, rooster St. Andrew –transverse cross St. James the Great –shell St. John –Chalice with snake St. Philip –bishop’s cross and two bread St. Bartholomew –three flaying knives St. Matthew –three purses or money bag St. James the Less –saw St. Jude Thaddeus –sailboat with a cross-shaped mast St. Simon –Fish on top of an open book St. Thomas –carpenter’s square Judas -30 pieces of silver, blank shield of dirty yellow color St. Matthias –open Bible and ax

A pair of keys

almost always symbolizes Peter, who was given the keys to the kingdom by Jesus (Matthew 16:19).

For the Forgiveness of SinsI believe in the

forgiveness of sins

Hyssop

The Resurrection of the Body I believe in the resurrection of the

body

The Life Everlasting

I believe I the life everlasting

Peacock

Light house/ torch

Phoenix

AMEN