what does the "catholic fish symbol" mean?

Answer 1

In greek, the phrase " Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior"- if you take the first letter of each word spells out the Greek word for 'fish.'

Given the miracle of the loaves and fishes, the miraculous catch of 153 fish, and the apostles- many of whom were fisherman, and Christ's promise to make them "fishers of men," the fish seemed a logical symbol to the early Christians.

It was also a secret sign...one would draw half of the fish in the dirt, another would complete the symbol- a way of recognizing another Christian during a time when the penalty for being a Christian was death!

Answer 2

It's not exclusively Catholic, it is Christian. It represents Jesus and Christianity.

The Apostles were often referred to as "fishers of men". Followers of Christianity were called Pisciculi; the root of this Latin word is "fish". The symbol was simple to draw and was often used among Christians as a type of password during times of persecution by the Roman government. If two strangers met and were unsure whether each other was a Christian, one would draw an arc in the earth like:). If the other were a Christian, they would complete the symbol with a reverse arc: (), forming the outline of a fish.

Answer 3

The use of the fish as a Christian symbol may have originated from the fishing occupation of several of Jesus' disciples. Jesus invited these disciples to follow him and fish for people. Later, as Christians experienced persecution, believers used the fish symbol as a secret sign to identify themselves as Christians. The Greek word for fish, ichthus, formed an acrostic for "Jesus Christ, Son of God, the Savior."

Answer 4

The fish symbol began as away for Christians to let each others know that they were believers during the persecutions. People would paint the fish symbol on the outside of their house to let others know that if they wanted to pray with other Christians, believers lived there.

Answer 5

I "think" it originated as a sign that they would draw in the dirt when the early Christians ran into a lot of persecution. One person would scrape half of the fish in the dirt with his foot and then the other would scrape the other half with his foot. This (from what I was told but never confirmed) was done so that they could identify their fellow Christians without risking their lives.

As I said that is only what I have heard I have never confirmed it with any source.

Answer 6

Kitty, the origin of the fish symbol has nothing to do with Catholicism.

Early Christians were persecuted and killed. They designed a symbol, of the fish. As they would meet, one would mark in the ground with their foot, one arch of the fish. If the other person drew the other, they knew they were in the company of another Christian - and safe.

The symbol came about because Jesus said, "I will make you fishers of men." Jesus also fed thousands of his followers with several small fish - a miracle.

Answer 7

The fish became a symbol of believers at Jesus' time. Jesus said that he would make believers fishers of men. Because they were persecuted and murdered, when they met someone they would draw a fish in the sand with their foot. This told each other that they were believers.

Answer 8

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what does the "catholic fish symbol" mean?

Answer 9

the fish symbol is kind of a code that christians used to get into underground meetings when the romans were ruling. If you drew the fish symbol on the ground for the door keeper it said that you were a christian and not a guard.

Answer 10

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Its actually from a South Park episode which featured a joke that Kanye (being the know it all that he is) just didn't get. Do you like Fishsticks? Yes I do Do you like Fishsticks in your mouth? Yes I do Then you must be a gay fish. Its a play on the word fishsticks and if you say it right it almost sounds like fish *****.