The Symbol of a Fish

A Contemporary Icon of Christ Commanding Sts. Peter and Andrew to Catch Fish

By Bp Joseph Boyd (Ancient Church of the West)

The Gospel Reading in the Rite of St. Tikhon Today: St. Luke 5:1-11 

IT came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, and saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken: and so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him. 

The Gospel Reading in the Rite of St. Gregory the Great Today: Mark 8:1-9 

IN those days the multitude being very great, and having nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples unto him, and saith unto them, I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with me three days, and have nothing to eat: And if I send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the way: for divers of them came from far. And his disciples answered him, From whence can a man satisfy these men with bread here in the wilderness? And he asked them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven. And he commanded the people to sit down on the ground: and he took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, and brake, and gave to his disciples to set before them; and they did set them before the people. And they had a few small fishes: and he blessed, and commanded to set them also before them. So they did eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets. And they that had eaten were about four thousand: and he sent them away. 

A Contemporary Icon of Christ Feeding the Five Thousand with Five Loaves and Two Small Fishes

Fishers of Men 

"Fishers of men" is a phrase used in the Gospels to describe the calling given by Jesus to his first disciples, two brother fishermen, Simon called Peter and Andrew. As He commenced His preaching ministry, Jesus called them to follow Him and told them that in doing so they were to become "fishers of men.” From this calling of the first two Apostles, twelve more would eventually be called. There are parallel accounts in Mark 1:16-20 and Luke 5:1-11. Many of the Apostles shared the lower class origin of fishermen, and we find the Apostles going fishing together after Christ’s resurrection and Christ delivering his calling to St. Peter to “feed my sheep” after cooking their catch of fish for the day. (John 21:17) Being a fisherman in Jewish culture was considered "unclean" because they had to touch the unclean and the clean, together, and sort them out of their nets. The unclean fish, which were slimy and without scales, were forbidden for the Jews to eat by the Mosaic Law. (Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14) Fishermen had to catch the clean and the unclean and only keep the clean, while throwing the ritually impure back into the sea. In many ways, except for Jesus' own occupation as a carpenter, the fisherman best represents the work of the Church - spreading a wide net and pulling all mankind toward the kingdom, both good and bad, but having the discernment to only keep those who truly wish to enter into the New Covenant of Christ's Church. 

The Symbol of a Fish 

From their humble origins as Jewish fisherfolk, the Early Christians developed a secret mark that they used to demarcate their worship spaces and graves, far before the use of the Cross became prevalent among them. They used it to test whether someone was truly a Christian or not - a “secret handshake” that consisted of drawing one half of the fish symbol, a horizontal crescent, which the other person was then expected to complete if they were truly "in the know." They also taught that this simple symbol contained the Name of God and pointed towards the most profound truth of the Christian religion - salvation through Jesus' finished work on the Cross. 

There was a deep astronomical meaning hidden in the Christian symbol of the Fish. Due to the sun's continuous precession through the Zodiac, the Vernal Equinox (which the Early Church associated with the celebration of Pascha) gradually moved from Aries, which was pictured as a Ram, to Pisces, which was depicted as a Fish. From around AD 1 to AD 300 the procession was completed, and late Greco-Roman Christian philosophers speculated that this was a prophecy of the ascent of Christianity to imperial power, showing how the “Lamb of God” arrived and led into a new age of freedom and brotherhood represented by the symbol of a Fish. Thus, Christ's Name, presented in the clever Greek acrostic ΙΧΘΥΣ, which means “Jesus Christ, Son of God Savior” now ruled over the spiritual and physical reality of the Cosmos. 

The fish symbol has many other theological overtones as well, from the stories we just read of Christ feeding the 5,000 with 2 fishes and 7 loaves (a meal that was the prototype of the Christian Agape Meal or “love-feast”) to the way that Christ called His disciples to be "fishers of men." Water baptism, still practiced by immersion in the Orthodox Church, also creates a parallel between fish and new converts, who both “swim for their lives.” The important western theologian Tertullian said: "we, little fishes, after the image of our Ichthys, Jesus Christ, are born in the water.” The symbol of the fish is also found in the shape of the miter that bishops wear in the Western Tradition, which, contrary to Protestant criticism, only started to be used in Rome and the rest of the West in the 11th century, replacing the papal tiara, which is a three-crowned conical hat. Rather than being a pagan symbol associated with false worship, the fish-shaped hat reminds us of Christ’s Name, His place over us, and our submission to Him as our Lord and God. 

Summary 

In these two Gospel stories we see a common theme, Christ calling and providing for His followers with miraculous fish, and in their communion with Christ through His divinely provided meal, we also become “miracle fish,” born of water and the spirit, to swim against the flow of this world and live in an “underwater kingdom” (the baptismal reality of those who are already living in Christ's coming kingdom) that our Lord has already established for those of us in His Church. These fish, just like the “Bread of Tomorrow,” represents a way in which God works in our lives, a modality in which we are transformed by His work into something new, having greater faith, and sharing our bounty with the world. It is no accident that Jesus fed His Disciples and followers with fish and bread, His Name and His Body, laying out a prototype of our Christian lives, which are anchored in God’s grace and the shared life of the Holy Trinity through Communion and the Lord’s Prayer, constant invocation of the Name of Christ, and the spiritual reality that comes to us through the practice of the “Jesus Prayer.” 

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me the Sinner!

The Jesus Prayer in Greek

The Jesus Prayer in Aramaic 

The Jesus Prayer in Latin

 Contemporary Icon of the Mandylion and the Jesus Prayer
from Uncut Mountain Church Supply

The Collect 

O God of the heavenly powers, the giver of all good gifts: implant in our hearts the love of your name, Grant that we may grow in fervor by nourishing in us that which is good and, in your loving kindness, preserve in us what you have nurtured; through Jesus Christ your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, God, for all ages of ages. Amen.