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Home , Icon, Jesus, Sacrifice

THE Orthodox Symbols WINGED MAN - St. Matthew: because his traces the human lineage (family, ancestors) of .

WINGED LION - St. Mark: because he begins his Gospel by describing St. , the voice of one crying in the wilderness.

WINGED OX - St. Luke: because he de- the of , and in times, oxen and were used for .

WINGED EAGLE - St. John: because his Gospel takes our thoughts toward as on eagles’ wings.

Icon on Ceiling of Orthodox Church in Australia

“ the light of the .” (Gospel of :12) “I am the vine, you are the branches.” (Gospel of :5) “This we have as an anchor of the .” ( 6:19) “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.” (Gospel of :51) “Day of ... there appeared to them divided , as of St. ’s Orthodox Church, Jermyn, Pennsylvania flame, and one sat upon each of them.” (:1-3) SIGNS AND SYMBOLS OF OUR ALPHA - OMEGA (first and last letters of Greek alphabet) - Jesus Christ, the beginning and the end of all things In the first centuries after Christ’s the and Disciples preached . Many persons were baptized into the CIRCLE - , the Kingdom of Church, but there was great opposition by pagan rulers who put many - ; royal , “the crown of life” to . During that time, it was dangerous for Christians, so they held church services secretly. In order to know who was a EYE - the “all-seeing eye of God” - God is omnipresent (everywhere) Christian friend, they used signs and symbols of their faith. Eventu- ally, persecution became much less, and churches were built. FISH - the initial letters in Greek: “Jesus Christ, of God, Savior” form ICHTHUS, which means “fish” The Church is both material and spiritual. Things in the material world are on earth and include a building and objects used for services. FLAME - God’s energies, God’s Uncreated Light, God’s Those things that are of the spirit are revealed to us through symbols. OIL - God’s healing, , forgiveness; “seal of the ” The word symbol comes from the Greek words “syn” and “balo” STAFF - Jesus Christ the Good , God’s guidance which means to bring two things together and place them side by side. - Jesus Christ, the “Sun of Righteousness,” the source of Light There is a difference between a sign and a symbol. A sign shows something we can see or think about. A symbol shows more. TRIANGLE - The - one God in three persons, undivided To understand a sign is to translate the meaning of an object to an- VINE - Jesus Christ the Savior; grapes symbolize Holy Communion other object, event, thought, or idea. WHEAT/BREAD - Christ the Bread of Life, Eternal Life To understand a symbol is to participate in something spiritual. Sym- bols represent knowledge of God and things eternal. ANCHOR - hope, the Church, (some are The Orthodox Church has a history of more than two thousand years called “anchorites.”) An “an- and a rich tradition of signs and symbols that still today help people to chor cross” is seen on the vest- understand the Faith. Because signs and symbols do not use words, ment of Ilarion Troitsky, anyone of any language can understand their meaning. New Hieromartyr of . He had been a famous teacher in the Theological LIGHT - The Church uses candles to symbolize Christ, the Light of Academy. After the Rus- the world, as as the mystical presence of God as the Uncreated sian revolution, many Light. Candles are a way of communicating our reverence for the and were thrown into Holy. A candle set before an helps us to communicate our prison. He was forced to walk to Christ, the , or a Saint. a long distance in the winter wearing nothing but a shirt. When he arrived at the prison INCENSE - The Orthodox Church follows the in its use of he was very sick. He died incense. Incense is the symbol of the rising of our to God, in prison in 1929. He never to His and , and of the sweet-smelling fragrance of the lost hope. He kept his trust Kingdom of God. in Christ’s promise of Eternal Life. Before he died he said, St. Michael’s Orthodox Church, Jermyn, Pennsylvania “Now I am completely free.”