Many people see it every day but don’t know what it means. It is the Christian symbol of the fish. Many posit that it is because many of Jesus’ disciples were professional fishermen, but there is an even more interesting theory. It is an old acrostic that hints at a clue.
The greek word ichthus means “fish”. Inside the true Christian fish are the Greek letters for “Jesus Christ, Son of God, the Savior.” In Greek / English they can read I-Ch-Th-US, for I (ei) sous-Chreistos-Theou-Uios-S (o) t (ei) r.[1]Then you can see the connection. It is also said that “the allegorical meaning of this noun [fish] he is Christ, because he was able to remain alive, that is, without sin, in the abyss of our mortal condition, in the depths, as it were, of the sea. “[2]
The old acrostic mentioned above was originally written in Latin and is executed with each letter of I (ei) sous-Chreistos-Theou-Uios-S (o) t (ei) r covered. Augustine had a conversation with an eminent man, Flaccianus, who revealed to him a Greek manuscript of poems by the Erythraean Sibyl. This was the author of the 27-letter acrostic poem “I (ei) sous-Chreistos-Theou-Uios-S (o) t (ei) r”. Mathematically, twenty-seven is the cube of three, which means that one can imagine this acrostic poem as a fascinating three-dimensional image.[3] This can be taken to represent the ‘fullness of life’ in Christ.
Copyright © 2008, Steven John Wickham. All rights reserved throughout the world.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The long “E” in Greek is any eita, and is pronounced like an “A”, and is represented in parentheses, that is, “(ei)”, which is also pronounced “A” in Greek. Also, the long “O” in Greek is represented by the “O” in parentheses.
[2] San Agustin, City of God, (Translated by Henry Bettenson, London, England: Penguin Books, 1467, 1972), p. 789-90.
[3] Saint Augustine, Ibid, p. 789-90.
