The Cross and the Fish

Two religious symbols are very popular with modern Christians. We wear a cross on necklaces, and we put a simple fish icon on bumper stickers. How did these symbols come to be used in the first place, back in the early centuries of the Christian era? What did they mean to the first Christians?







The fish symbol, which dates from around the year 100CE, is made of two simple curved lines. But five greek letters were often added to it, as shown above. They make up the greek word for “fish”, which is Ichthus. Early Christians saw a special meaning in these letters. Each one stood for a word that described Jesus.










The use of these letters may have arisen after Emperor Domitian (81-96CE) called himself Son of God (Theou Yios) and had this inscribed on coins. It was up to Christians to deny the divinity of the Roman ruler and uphold the divinity of their Lord.

The fish symbol (without the letters) was already in use for thousands of years before Christians adopted it. It was used to represent the Mother Goddess in many cultures. But it made complete sense for followers of Jesus to adapt it to their purposes, because the gospels are simply full of fish. In Matthew 4:18-19, an example leaps out of the water at us: “As he [Jesus] walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the lake—for they were fishermen. And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.’” So the fish symbol was right for Christians because several of Jesus’ Disciples were fishermen. The act of spreading the gospel and finding new believers was compared to fishing for people.

Matthew 13:47-48 continues the analogy. “‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad.” John 21:4-6 promises that with the guidance of the resurrected Jesus, the catch of people into the Kingdom will be a huge one. “Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, ‘Children, you have no fish, have you?’ They answered him, ‘No.’ He said to them, ‘Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.’ So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish.” Indeed, could the gospel writer have ever imagined two billion Christians in the year 2001?

Another reason the fish symbol is appropriate is that fish live in water, and Christians have a well known sacrament involving water. One early church leader, Tertullian, wrote about baptism, saying “we, little fishes, after the example of our Ichthus, Jesus Christ, are born in water.”

Prior to the year 313, when religious toleration was declared in the Roman Empire, Christians were sometimes severely persecuted. During the worst times, they had to hold their meetings in secret. It is believed that they used the fish symbol to mark the location of a gathering. Another tradition holds that they used the symbol to identify each other. If one person drew one curved line in the dirt, the other could show they were Christian by completing the fish with another line.

The symbol of the cross, like the fish, is ancient. Before Christians adopted it, it was used to represent fire, the sun, life, and many other concepts, in many cultures. But in the Roman Empire, the cross had only one meaning – an instrument of execution by crucifixion. From that point of view, it may seem odd to wear a cross around your neck. It is like wearing a little electric chair or a noose. But to early Christians, the cross symbol was holy, and for obvious reasons. Jesus’ death upon a cross sanctified the symbol. In Galatians 6:14-15, Paul says, “May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything; but a new creation is everything!” Instead of a symbol of death, the cross became a symbol of new life.

By the year 100, the cross, alongside the fish, was a main Christian symbol, but it mainly took the form of a gesture. Christians made the sign of the cross on their foreheads before taking any important action, as a sign against the power of demons. They swore by the power of the cross and were known as devotees of the cross. Misunderstanding Pagans accused Christians of actually worshipping the cross, so Christians did not openly use the cross symbol on physical objects like monuments during times of persecution. Instead, a substitute such as an anchor symbol was used. Another substitute was a monogram for the name of Christ, such as Chi-Ro, the first two letters of the word Christ in greek.

The Roman Emperor Constantine helped make the cross symbol an accepted and openly used icon in art. In the year 312CE, during a campaign against his rival Maxentius, Constantine reportedly saw a cross symbol in the sky, along with the words “In this, conquer.” In Constantine’s dream, Jesus supposedly told him to place the symbol on his standards. Subsequently he was victorious. In 326CE, Constantine’s mother supposedly found the wooden pieces of the actual cross near Jerusalem. When Christianity became an official religion in Rome, the cross was openly used in art and on monuments, from then on up to the present day, when church goers commonly wear a cross around their necks and decorate their homes, graves, and churches with crosses.

Symbols are an important part of any worship. Christian symbols like the cross and the fish were indeed borrowed from older cultures, but invested with new meaning. The fish was perhaps the most important symbol to early Christians, but the cross eclipsed it in the fourth century. But in modern times, the fish has made a comeback, proving the enduring nature of symbols. We do not worship symbols, of course, but they are needed to express Christian ideas in simple ways that appeal to all people.