the Week of Proper 25 / Ordinary 30
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Bible Dictionaries
Emblems
The American Church Dictionary and Cyclopedia
or Symbols and emblems of various kinds take a foremost place in sacred Art. Some of these are here given:
THE CROSS is the special symbol of Christianity. It appears in a
variety of shapes, the most familiar being the Latin Cross, the
Passion Cross, the Greek Cross, St. Andrew's Cross and the Maltese
Cross.
THE TRIANGLE is the emblem of the Holy Trinity, as is also the
TREFOIL (which see).
THE CIRCLE is the ancient emblem of Eternity, being without beginning or end; enclosing a triangle it means Three in One or the Blessed Trinity; enclosing a cross it symbolizes Eternal Life.
THE CROWN is used as the symbol of Victory and sovereignty.
THE LAMB—Agnus Dei—is the chief emblem of our Blessed Lord.
Bearing a banner it signifies Victory and is an emblem of the
Resurrection.
THE STAR is a Christmas emblem, commemorating the Star of Bethlehem. It has generally five points, but sometimes seven, the number of perfection.
THE FISH was a very early symbol of our Lord. The letters which form the Greek word for fish, viz.: ICHTHUS are the initials in Greek of the words Jesus, Christ, God, Son, and Saviour.
THE ANCHOR is the emblem of the Christian's hope.
THE SHIP is a symbol of the Church as the Ark of Salvation, in which we are saved, as Noah was saved by the Ark.
THE LION is the symbol of our Lord who is called in Revelation 5:5, the "Lion of the Tribe of Judah."
THE DOVE is used as the emblem of the Holy Ghost.
The emblems of the four Evangelists are as follows: ST. MATTHEW, a winged Man; ST. MARK, a winged Lion; ST. LUKE, a winged Ox, and ST. JOHN, an Eagle.
These files are public domain.
Miller, William James. Entry for 'Emblems'. The American Church Dictionary and Cyclopedia. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/acd/e/emblems.html. 1901.
