Art from the Catacombs?

Early Christians lived in a violent and hostile society. So, in order to interpret their Christian stories, and so others would know they were Christian, they created artistic symbols on walls of catacombs or marble slabs that sealed tombs.

Can you guess what each symbol represents?

a. The prodigal son returning home. Kill the fatted lamb to celebrate.

b. Christ as the shepherd.

c. The lamb as a burnt offering.

a. The symbol for a Christian Pharmacist.

b. The symbol for a sorority of Christian women.

c. Hebrew symbols that showed people where Christians were buried.

d. Greek symbols that stood for Jesus Christ.

a. The symbol for the feeding of the thousands with loaves and fish.

b. Jesus Christ.

c. A symbol that Christians live in this household and they will feed you.

Do You Find this Interesting? If so, you can explore these outside sites:

• The Roman Catacombs from the Catholic Encyclopedia.
• Photographs of the symbols on Catacombs in Rome.

Disclaimer: Some links jump to outside sites for further information on the Bible, interpretations, the canon, translations, manuscripts, resources, and other perspectives. Links do not constitute an endorsement by the Women's Division of the information on other web sites. External web sites offer us diverse perspectives; afford us an opportunity to compare them to United Methodist positions; and, encourage us to critically analyze the issues raised by the Bible: the Book that Bridges the Millennia web pages.

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