The image of fish is often found in the meeting places of the early Christians, in the catacombs and cemeteries of Ancient Rome and Greece, as well as in medieval Christian architecture. There are several complementary theories as to why the fish became the symbol of Christianity.
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Proponents of the first theory claim that the fish was chosen as a symbol of the new faith and an identification mark among the early Christians, since the Greek spelling of this word is an acronym of the main dogma of the Christian faith. "Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Savior" - such was and still is the religion of Christianity, and the first letters of these words in Greek (Ἰησοὺς Χριστὸς Θεoὺ ῾Υιὸς Σωτήρ) form the word Ίχθύς, "ichthys", "fish". According to this theory, the early Christians, portraying the sign of the fish, professed their faith and at the same time recognized fellow believers. In Henryk Sienkiewicz’s novel “Quo vadis” there is a scene in which the Greek Chilon tells Patrician Petronius exactly this version of the origin of the fish sign as a symbol of Christians.
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According to another theory, the sign of fish among the early Christians was a symbolic designation of the followers of the new faith. The basis of this statement is the frequent mention of fish in the sermons of Jesus Christ, as well as in His personal conversations with his disciples, later apostles. He metaphorically calls people in need of salvation fishes, and future apostles, many of whom were formerly fishermen - "fishers of men." “And Jesus said to Simon, “ Do not be afraid; from now on you will catch people ”(Luke 5: 10) The“ ring of the fisherman ”of the Pope, one of the main attributes of vestments, has the same origin.
The biblical texts also state that only fish survived the Flood, sent by God for the sins of people, not counting those who hid in the Ark. At the beginning of the era, history repeated itself, Greco-Roman civilization was experiencing a monstrous crisis of morality, and the new Christian faith was called upon to become the saving and at the same time cleansing waters of the new "spiritual" flood. “Still like the kingdom of heaven is a seine that is cast into the sea and captures fish of every kind” (Gospel of Matthew 13: 47).
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Also noteworthy is the theory that fish has become a symbol of Christianity due to its basic, nutritional function. The new creed was primarily spread among the most oppressed part of the population. For these people, simple food like fish was the only salvation from starvation. It is in this that some researchers see the reason why the fish became a symbol of salvation from spiritual death, the bread of a new life and the promise of life after death. As evidence, supporters of this theory cite numerous images in Roman catacombs in places of worship, where the fish acted as a Eucharistic symbol.
