Q&A
From the April AD 2002
Our Lady of the Rosary
Parish Bulletin
Question: Why is the fish used as a symbol of Christ? (A-M. J.)
Answer: If you look at the initial letters in the words that make up the fish below you will see that they spell out the Greek word "ΙΧΘΥΣ" which is transliterated as "Icthus, which means "fish" in English
"ΙΧΘΥΣ"
ΙΗΣΟΥΣ (Jesus)
ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ (Christos)
ΘΕΟΣ (Theos) ΥΙΟΣ (Iyos)
ΣΏΤΗΡ (Soter)
Jesus Christ, God's Son, the Savior
It may help to notice that the Greek letters "Χ"
(Chi) and "Ρ" (Rho) are pronounced like the "Chr" in
"Christ. If fact we see them, often with one superimposed upon the other,
as a sort of mono
In early Christian times, the fish was used as a symbol of Christianity, and even as a secret recognition sign during the Jewish and Roman persecutions. In addition to "icthus" being an abbreviation as already mentioned, early Christians related to the fact that Saint Peter was a fisherman, and that Christ had promised to make the Apostles "fishers of men."
In Roman law, crucifixion was a shameful death reserved for criminals. The cross did not become a Christian symbol until it was "rehabilitated by the Emperor Constantine in the fourth century.
