Christian symbolism
Christian symbolism is the use of symbols, including archetypes, acts, artwork or events, by Christianity. It invests objects or actions with an inner meaning expressing Christian ideas.
The symbolism of the early Church was characterized by being understood by initiates only, while after the legalization of Christianity in the Roman Empire during the 4th century more recognizable symbols entered in use. Christianity has borrowed from the common stock of significant symbols known to most periods and to all regions of the world.
Only a minority of Christian denominations have practiced Aniconism, or the avoidance or prohibition of types of images. These include early Jewish Christian sects, as well as some modern denominations such as Baptists that prefer to some extent not to use figures in their symbols due to the Decalogue's prohibition of idolatry.
Tomb paintings[edit]
Christians from the very beginning adorned their catacombs with paintings of Christ, of the saints, of scenes from the Bible and allegorical groups. The catacombs are the cradle of all Christian art.[31] Early Christians accepted the art of their time and used it, as well as a poor and persecuted community could, to express their religious ideas.[31] The use of deep, sometimes labyrinthine, catacombs for ritual burials are a product of the poverty of early Christian communities: the unusual, multileveled, burial chambers were, at surface-level, small plots of land used as entrances to the tiered catacombs below, by early Christians unable to afford large areas of land, nor the corresponding taxes sometimes levied on real estate, by regional authorities.
From the second half of the 1st century to the time of Constantine the Great they buried their dead and celebrated their rites in these underground chambers. The Christian tombs were ornamented with indifferent or symbolic designs p alms, peacocks, with the chi-rho monogram, with bas-reliefs of Christ as the Good Shepherd, or seated between figures of saints, and sometimes with elaborate scenes from the New Testament.[31]
Other Christian symbols include the dove (symbolic of the Holy Spirit), the sacrificial lamb (symbolic of Christ's sacrifice), the vine (symbolizing the necessary connectedness of the Christian with Christ) and many others. These all derive from the writings found in the New Testament.[28] Other decorations that were common included garlands, ribands, stars landscapes, which had symbolic meanings, as well.[31]
Symbols adopted from Judaism[edit]
The influence of Judaism upon Christian symbolism as early as the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE, is apparent both in painting and in sculpture, the most frequent motives being those that occur in the Mishnah as formulas for prayer on fast-days. The prayer beginning with the words "Mi she-'anah", which was included in the selihah at an early date, was adopted in the Christian ritual as the litany "Libera domine". This litany was figuratively used in a certain sequence as a symbol, for the sacrifice of Isaac was regarded as a symbol of the crucifixion of Jesus, since the early religions, and the act of sacrifice emblemized the death on the cross.
Abraham was represented as the symbol of the power of faith and Isaac as the sacrificed redeemer. The ascension of Elijah (english : Elia or Elias) was believed to typify the ascension of Jesus Christ, who was regarded by Christian symbolism as an analogue to Elijah, although this ascension was also taken as a type of the general resurrection from the dead. Job sitting among the ashes was the symbol of patience and of the power of resistance of the flesh; and Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah in the fiery furnace typified steadfastness in persecution and faith in the aid of God. Christian sarcophagi contained artistic representations of the fall of man, Noah and the ark, scenes from the life of Moses in three variations, Joshua, David, and Daniel.