Hidden Symbols of Christianity
Why did we use hidden symbols? Back in the early stages of Christianity, within the first three centuries after Christ in 30 CE, the Romans were persecuting the Christians and killing them by the hundreds. To keep themselves safe, Christians developed secret symbols to allow other Christians to know about their faith without exposing themselves to the Romans for their own safety. An example of this would be to draw half of a symbol on the ground for the other person to see. If the second person completed the symbol, the first person knew that they were also a Christian.
The symbols were engraved most frequently in the catacombs, which came about in Rome in the end of the second century and in other cities like Paris in much later centuries (Paris’ catacombs were built around the seventeenth century). These catacombs were primarily burial grounds for the dead, where Christians could celebrate the feast days of holy people like the saints. While there are certainly a lot of theories as to what else the catacombs could be used for, there is most evidence for them just being places of worship where Christians could go without persection to “publicly” celebrate the martyrs of their time and the times before them. Many famous saints, such as St. Sebastian and St. Stephen, were buried in the catacombs and were highly celebrated. After the seventh century, more art and paintings were added to the catacombs, as they were becoming less and less of a place to hide faith (and the Christians themselves if need be) and more of a place to celebrate religious figures in a public way. While it is no longer necessary to hide from the Roman soldiers after 313 CE, when Christianity became legalized officially in the city, the rich and unique history surrounding catacombs built everywhere under the city remains and they continue to be a place of worship today.
Literary References to these (and other) Symbols:
Clement of Alexandria Paedogogus 3, 11 “And let our seals be either a dove, or a fish, or a ship scudding the wind, or a musical lyre, which Polycrates used, or a ship’s anchor, which Seleucus got engraved as a device; and if there be one fishing, he will remember the apostle, and the children drawn out of the water.”
Revelations 12: 1–17 “A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born. She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days. And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down — that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: ‘Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.’ When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach.Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent.But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth.Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring — those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.”
Revelations 22:12–21 “Look! I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star. The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come!’ Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life. I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are descrbed in this scroll. He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.”
Resources:
Coleman, Caryl. “Birds (In Symbolism).” The Catholic Encyclopedia.Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 25 Apr. 2019
Croisette, Catherine. “The Bee, a Symbol of the Catholic Church.” Tradition in Action, 2009. 25 April 2019
Hassett, Maurice. “Labarum (Chi-Rho).” The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 19 Mar. 2019
Hassett, Maurice. “Symbolism of the Fish.” The Catholic Encyclopedia. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 19 Mar. 2019
Hassett, Maurice. “Symbolism of the Fish.” The Catholic Encyclopedia. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 19 Mar. 2019
Maere, René. “IHS.” The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 19 Mar. 2019
Palmer, William, An Introduction to Early Christian Symbolism (London: Longman, Green, Longman & Roberts, 1859), digitized book, Google.
Waal, Anton de. “Roman Catacombs.” The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 3.New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. 19 Mar.
