Early Christians used a wide variety of symbols to express their faith. At times, these symbols provided a sort of secret language among believers. When a Christian met a stranger, he could draw one-half of the ichthys or “Jesus fish” and wait to see if the stranger would complete the drawing. Christian symbols include the Chi-Rho, Alpha and Omega, anchor, fish, cross, dove, six-point star, pelican and others.
Missionary Cross
The Christian cross, embedded in the globe is sometimes called the missionary cross because missionaries take the word of God to the “four corners of the earth.” The cross always represents the love of Christ. In this depiction, the band of color across the earth represents the love of Christ “embracing” the world.
*Mary Helen Marigza is a lifelong United Methodist, a past missionary with the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society, and a current member of Belmont United Methodist Church in Nashville, Tennessee. Marigza created a set of Christian Symbols out of recycled church window glass to tell people about the meaning behind common religious symbols.
Find more videos at UMC.org/ChristianSymbols.
This video was produced by United Methodist Communications in Nashville, TN.
Contact is Joe Iovino.
This video was first posted on March 8, 2020.
