After the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, many of his followers scattered and went underground. Of course, his apostles and closest disciples were emboldened by the Holy Spirit and set out to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus. Persecution of those who believed that Jesus was Christ, the Christians, occurred almost immediately and it became necessary for Christians to identify one another through the use of symbols. One of the most well known was the symbols of the fish.
This fish symbols has been found by archaeologists in caves and catacombs that were used as meeting places. It has been found in markings of graves and even in dwelling places. It was a symbol that was recognized by other true followers but not by those who were not. Why the fish?
There are several interesting theories surrounding the use of the fish. First off, Jesus preached primarily in Galilee, a fishing town. Many of His first chosen apostles were fishermen, including Simon Peter to whom he entrusted the keys of the church. Jesus, who taught in parables, told his disciples he would make the “fishers of men”. There are several passages in the New Testament that reference fish.
One very popular school of thought concerning the fish comes in the Greek word for fish – IXOYE –iota, chi, theta, upsilon, and sigma. In English the sounds from those letters would be ICHTHUS and you may have heard the fish symbol referred to as the “ichthus fish”. The combination of these letters is an acronym – Iesous Christos Theou Uiou Soter – which translated means Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.
Catholic theology has elaborated on the five words of the acronym into the Jesus prayer, which goes, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner."
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