Christian Fish Symbol History

About the History of the Christian Fish Symbol
By Akili Kumasi

In recent years the Christian Fish Symbol can be seen affixed to the back of cars or as key chains and in other very visible locations as Christians use it to demonstrate to the world that they are believers in the only one true God.

The Origin of the Christian Fish Symbol

The origin of the popular Christian Fish Symbol is believed to have been in the early years of the church after Jesus’ ascension into heaven. Because the church was growing rapidly it was the target of persecution by both the Romans and the Jews.

One usage of the symbol was as a sort of secret code. When a Christian met someone they thought was a fellow believer they would scratch the top arch of the symbol in the ground. If the other person was also a believer in Christ he would complete the fish symbol by drawing the lower inverted arch.

Another reported use for the Christian Fish Symbol in the early church was as a pointer to secret meetings which would be scratched on the ground or on a rock.

Sixteenth Century Christians

In later times (around the 16th Century) Christians used the symbol in a more open and declarative fashion. The Greek word ΙΧΘΥΣ was added to the body of the fish. ΙΧΘΥΣ or Ichthusis is the Greek word used most often in the Bible for the word fish. Christians used the Greek letters from the word ΙΧΘΥΣ (Iota Chi Theta Upsilon Sigma) as an acronym to represent “Isesous Christos Theou Uios Soter” or “Jesus Christ God’s Son, Savior.”

Why Christians Use the Symbol of a Fish?

Christians may have used the fish as a symbol for their faith because of how Jesus used fish in His ministry. Some of those references include the following. Jesus told Peter and Andrew that He would make them fishers of men (Mark 1:17). Jesus fed the 5,000 with five loaves of bread and two fish (Matthew 14:17). After Jesus resurrection He appeared to His disciples and directed them to a miraculous catch of fish and He cooked a breakfast of fish for them (John 21:6-9).