{"id":5749,"date":"2025-02-19T10:00:57","date_gmt":"2025-02-19T09:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.holyart.it\/com\/?p=5749"},"modified":"2026-03-02T15:55:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T14:55:14","slug":"the-symbols-of-the-evangelists-and-their-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.holyart.it\/com\/saints-and-blessed\/the-symbols-of-the-evangelists-and-their-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"The symbols of the Evangelists and their meaning"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4>Winged man, ox, lion, and eagle. The symbols of the Evangelists have been part of the history of sacred art and theology for centuries. Here is how they originated and why they were attributed to them.<\/h4>\n\n<p>With the term <strong>tetramorph,<\/strong> of Greek origin and indicating an iconographic representation made up of four figures or elements since ancient times, we refer to an image composed of four symbols associated with the four Evangelists: a <strong>winged man<\/strong> (Gospel of Matthew), a <strong>lion<\/strong> (Gospel of Mark), an <strong>ox<\/strong> or calf (Gospel of Luke), and an <strong>eagle<\/strong> (Gospel of John). The first to define what would become the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.holyart.com\/liturgical-accessories\/vestments-altar-linens-and-pulpit-covers\/pulpit-covers\/4-evangelists-pulpit-cover\"><strong>symbols of the Evangelists<\/strong><\/a> was <strong>Irenaeus of Lyon<\/strong>. A bishop, theologian, and Father of the Church, he interpreted the vision described by the Hebrew prophet Ezekiel in the Old Testament (Ezekiel 1:10), which he had during the deportation to Babylon in 593 BC. <strong>Ezekiel<\/strong> recounted seeing a great cloud surrounded by radiance, and in the midst of that cloud, four creatures\u2014later identified as cherubim\u2014each with four wings. <strong>One figure had the face of a man, one of a lion, one of a calf, and the last of an eagle.<\/strong> These creatures stood at the foot of God\u2019s throne and seemingly helped move it with wheels placed beside them.<\/p>\n<div class=\"link-product\">\n<div class=\"blocco-immagine\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5753\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.holyart.it\/com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/01\/4-evangelists-pulpit-cover.jpg\" alt=\"4 evangelists pulpit cover\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" data-kale-share-title=\"The symbols of the Evangelists and their meaning\" data-kale-share-url=\"https:\/\/blog.holyart.it\/com\/?p=5749\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"blocco-contenuto\">\n<div class=\"blocco-acquista\">Buy Now:<\/div>\n<div class=\"blocco-titolo\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.holyart.com\/liturgical-accessories\/vestments-altar-linens-and-pulpit-covers\/pulpit-covers\/4-evangelists-pulpit-cover\">4 evangelists pulpit cover<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"blocco-descrizione\">4 evangelists pulpit cover embroidered on 4 different background colors.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>In his work Adversus Haereses, Saint Irenaeus introduced the idea of a <strong>tetramorphic<\/strong> or <strong>quadriform Gospel.<\/strong> For him, the four winged beings seen by Ezekiel could be identified with the seraphim, which, according to <strong>Isaiah<\/strong> (Isaiah 6:3), occupy the highest ranks of the angelic hierarchy. At the same time, they symbolise the four canonical Gospels, the true spiritual pillars of the Church and the entire world. To each Evangelist, Saint Irenaeus assigned a <strong>specific symbol<\/strong>, also referring to <strong>Revelation<\/strong> (Revelation 4:6\u20138), where the &#8220;four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind,&#8221; are described as being at the foot of God\u2019s throne: &#8220;the first living creature was like a <strong>lion,<\/strong> the second like an <strong>ox,<\/strong> the third had a face like a <strong>man,<\/strong> and the fourth was like a <strong>flying eagle.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Each of the four Gospels focuses on a <strong>specific aspect of Christ\u2019s figure<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.holyart.com\/blog\/saints-and-blessed\/saint-matthew-apostle-evangelist-and-martyr\/\">Gospel of Matthew<\/a><\/strong> (man or angel): His <strong>Incarnation<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Gospel of Mark (lion): His victorious power (the <strong>Resurrection)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Gospel of Luke (ox or calf): His sacrifice (the <strong>Passion)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Gospel of John (eagle): The outpouring of the Holy Spirit <strong>(Pentecost)<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"link-article\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5755\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.holyart.it\/com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/01\/Saint-Matthew-apostle-evangelist-and-martyr.jpg\" alt=\"Saint Matthew, apostle, evangelist and martyr\" width=\"150\" height=\"99\" data-kale-share-title=\"The symbols of the Evangelists and their meaning\" data-kale-share-url=\"https:\/\/blog.holyart.it\/com\/?p=5749\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"leggi-anche\">Read more:<\/div>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.holyart.com\/blog\/saints-and-blessed\/saint-matthew-apostle-evangelist-and-martyr\/\">Saint Matthew, apostle, evangelist and martyr<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\nOn 21 September, Saint Matthew is celebrated evangelist, apostle and martyr. Who was he and how did he become an apostle?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>According to Irenaeus, even from the <strong>prologue<\/strong> of each Gospel, one can derive the symbol of each Evangelist, the core of the fourfold evangelical message, and the particular aspect of Christ highlighted in the text.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Saint Jerome<\/strong> also embraced the symbolism identified by Irenaeus, applying it not only to four aspects of Jesus\u2019 figure but also to <strong>four phases of His mortal life<\/strong>. According to Jerome, Christ:<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; was born as a man <strong>(Incarnation,<\/strong> winged man, Gospel of Matthew);<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; died as a sacrificial calf <strong>(Passion,<\/strong> ox or calf, Gospel of Luke);<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; rose from death with the strength of a lion <strong>(Resurrection,<\/strong> lion, Gospel of Mark);<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; ascended to Heaven like an eagle <strong>(Ascension,<\/strong> eagle, Gospel of John).<\/p>\n<p>Over the centuries, other scholars and men of faith have examined the Evangelists and their symbols, defining various sequences and combinations. The <strong>tetramorph,<\/strong> an iconographic depiction of four elements already present in Middle Eastern symbology (consider the protective spirits guarding the royal palaces of Babylon), has been widely used in Christian <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.holyart.com\/religious-items\/sacred-icons\">iconography and sacred art<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"link-product\">\n<div class=\"blocco-immagine\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5757\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.holyart.it\/com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/01\/Saint-Luke-icon-oval.jpg\" alt=\"Saint Luke icon, oval\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" data-kale-share-title=\"The symbols of the Evangelists and their meaning\" data-kale-share-url=\"https:\/\/blog.holyart.it\/com\/?p=5749\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"blocco-contenuto\">\n<div class=\"blocco-acquista\">Buy Now:<\/div>\n<div class=\"blocco-titolo\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.holyart.com\/religious-items\/sacred-icons\/rumanian-hand-painted-icons\/saint-luke-icon-oval\">Saint Luke icon, oval<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"blocco-descrizione\">Saint Luke icon, oval.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Not only that, but the symbols of the four Evangelists also determine the <strong>order<\/strong> in which the Gospels are arranged in both ancient manuscripts and modern editions of the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.holyart.com\/religious-items\/sacred-books\/bibles?page=1\">Bible<\/a><\/strong>, following the sequence codified by Ezekiel: man (Matthew), lion (Mark), ox (Luke), eagle (John).<\/p>\n<h2>Saint Matthew the Evangelist<\/h2>\n<p>The <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.holyart.com\/religious-items\/statues\/hand-painted-wooden-statues\/saint-matthew-painted-wood-statue-val-gardena\">Gospel of Matthew<\/a><\/strong> begins with the <strong>genealogy of Jesus<\/strong>, a list of men, followed by the account of Jesus\u2019 birth and childhood. According to some biblical scholars, it may have been the first Gospel to be written and served as a source for the Gospels of Mark and Luke, while others suggest it borrowed heavily from the Gospel of Mark.<\/p>\n<p>What is certain is that the Evangelist Matthew devoted considerable attention <a href=\"https:\/\/www.holyart.com\/blog\/religious-items\/the-lost-years-of-jesus-life\/\"><strong>to Jesus as a man<\/strong><\/a>, starting with His genealogy and highlighting His human story. For this reason, he has been associated with the tetramorph <strong>figure of the man<\/strong> or angel, where the angel symbolises the union between the human aspect and the divine nature.<\/p>\n<div class=\"link-product\">\n<div class=\"blocco-immagine\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5759\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.holyart.it\/com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/01\/Saint-Matthew-painted-wood-statue-Val-Gardena.jpg\" alt=\"Saint Matthew painted wood statue, Val Gardena \" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" data-kale-share-title=\"The symbols of the Evangelists and their meaning\" data-kale-share-url=\"https:\/\/blog.holyart.it\/com\/?p=5749\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"blocco-contenuto\">\n<div class=\"blocco-acquista\">Buy Now:<\/div>\n<div class=\"blocco-titolo\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.holyart.com\/religious-items\/statues\/hand-painted-wooden-statues\/saint-matthew-painted-wood-statue-val-gardena\">Saint Matthew painted wood statue, Val Gardena <\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"blocco-descrizione\">This St Matthew carved statue is made by an Italian company&#8230;<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Saint Mark the Evangelist<\/h2>\n<p>The Gospel of Mark, on the other hand, begins with <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.holyart.com\/blog\/saints-and-blessed\/24-june-saint-john-the-baptist\/\">John the Baptist<\/a><\/strong>, who took on the mission of preparing the way for the Messiah. Dressed in animal skins and deeply devoted to his role, John the Baptist can easily be imagined as a <strong>lion,<\/strong> with a voice as powerful as a roar, announcing that the Time was near. In the Middle Ages, the lion symbolised justice. Its majestic head indicated divine nature, while its body and paws represented human nature.<\/p>\n<p>The <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.holyart.com\/religious-items\/statues\/resin-and-pvc-statues\/saint-mark-the-evangelist-30-cm-resin-statue\">Evangelist Mark<\/a><\/strong> does not mention Jesus\u2019 childhood but focuses significantly on His Passion, inspiring many works of art depicting this episode.<\/p>\n<div class=\"link-product\">\n<div class=\"blocco-immagine\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5761\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.holyart.it\/com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/01\/Saint-Marc-Evangeliste-30-cm-statue-en-resine-Copia.jpg\" alt=\"Saint Mark the Evangelist 30 cm resin statue 10\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" data-kale-share-title=\"The symbols of the Evangelists and their meaning\" data-kale-share-url=\"https:\/\/blog.holyart.it\/com\/?p=5749\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"blocco-contenuto\">\n<div class=\"blocco-acquista\">Buy Now:<\/div>\n<div class=\"blocco-titolo\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.holyart.com\/religious-items\/statues\/resin-and-pvc-statues\/saint-mark-the-evangelist-30-cm-resin-statue\">Saint Mark the Evangelist 30 cm resin statue <\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"blocco-descrizione\">Richly detailed statue in resin, hand-painted.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Saint Luke the Evangelist<\/h2>\n<p>The Gospel of Luke opens with a sacrifice: Zechariah, the husband of Elizabeth, a relative of the Virgin Mary, offers an ox to God. Then he has a vision in which he is told that his wife will bear a child, who must be named John. That child would become the Baptist.<\/p>\n<p>From the beginning, we see how the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.holyart.com\/liturgical-accessories\/vestments-altar-linens-and-pulpit-covers\/pulpit-covers\/pulpit-cover-evangelist-st-luc-on-cotton-and-lurex-ivory-fabric.\">Evangelist Luke<\/a><\/strong> focuses on the theme of sacrifice\u2014not only that of Christ but also that of Mary, whose story Luke examines in detail.<\/p>\n<h2>Saint John the Evangelist<\/h2>\n<p>From the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.holyart.com\/blog\/religious-items\/the-beloved-disciple-who-was-the-disciple-loved-by-jesus\/\">Gospel of John<\/a><\/strong>, we understand that this Evangelist was likely the favourite among the apostles who followed Jesus. Deeply mystical, his Gospel is infused with <strong>spirituality<\/strong> and is less concerned with human events than with their deeper, religious significance.<\/p>\n<p>In the prologue to his Gospel, John reflects on the concept of the Word, the Word of God, capable of dispelling darkness. It was believed that the <strong>eagle<\/strong> could stare at the sun without being blinded, and for this reason, Saint John, who sought to gaze deeply into God, was attributed this symbol.<\/p>\n<div class=\"link-article\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5763\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.holyart.it\/com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/01\/The-Beloved-Disciple.jpeg\" alt=\"The Beloved Disciple\" width=\"150\" height=\"99\" data-kale-share-title=\"The symbols of the Evangelists and their meaning\" data-kale-share-url=\"https:\/\/blog.holyart.it\/com\/?p=5749\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"leggi-anche\">Read more:<\/div>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.holyart.com\/blog\/religious-items\/the-beloved-disciple-who-was-the-disciple-loved-by-jesus\/\">The Beloved Disciple: Who was the disciple \u201cloved\u201d by Jesus<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\nGiovanni, the beloved disciple of Jesus. A fisherman, like the brothers Simon Peter and Andrew, he had a special relationship with Christ.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Winged man, ox, lion, and eagle. The symbols of the Evangelists have been part of the history of sacred art and theology for centuries. Here is how they originated and why they were attributed to them. With the term tetramorph, of Greek origin and indicating&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5751,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-saints-and-blessed"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The symbols of the Evangelists and their meaning - Holyart.com Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Winged man, ox, lion, and eagle. 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