St. Irenaeus
St. Irenaeus was the bishop of Lyon in France. He is best known
for being the mediator in a dispute between the Roman Church and the Asian
Minor; a role for him as in Greek Irene is translated as ‘peace’. He is also
known for being his writings, he acknowledged the main figures of the New
Testament gospels and he was the first person to recognize the importance of
the Virgin Mary. St. Irenaeus assigned the four figures- the human, lion, ox
and eagle- accordingly to the gospel with relevant content and what the point
of view was on God.
for being the mediator in a dispute between the Roman Church and the Asian
Minor; a role for him as in Greek Irene is translated as ‘peace’. He is also
known for being his writings, he acknowledged the main figures of the New
Testament gospels and he was the first person to recognize the importance of
the Virgin Mary. St. Irenaeus assigned the four figures- the human, lion, ox
and eagle- accordingly to the gospel with relevant content and what the point
of view was on God.
matthew
![Picture](/uploads/2/4/2/9/24294959/5454738.jpg)
The gospel of Matthew is associated with a human symbol because
Irenaeus saw that the face of a man was what Jesus was best represented by: the whole of mankind and Jesus is emphasized in Matthew’s gospel. It can be summarized more or less as the gospel of humanity.
Mark
![Picture](/uploads/2/4/2/9/24294959/6493544.jpg)
The winged lion is seen as something which exemplifies courage
but royalty, hard work, leadership and power Mark was given the lion because his
gospel starts off with preaching from John the Baptist and is said to have sounded like “a voice crying in the wilderness like the roar of a lion”.
luke
![Picture](/uploads/2/4/2/9/24294959/4594004.jpg)
The winged ox represents sacrifice, religion and strength, given
to the gospel of Luke because his gospel begins with a story about work in the temple and of a priest. St. Irenaeus linked this with the one sacrificial animal of all of the gospels: the ox.
john
![Picture](/uploads/2/4/2/9/24294959/9920711.jpg)
An eagle shows reflects on heaven and the Spirit of God floating
over the Church like a flying eagle. In reference to John, his story starts with Jesus staying up in heaven before he came down to earth.
why wings?
The reason for each symbol having wings is quite simple: it is
referring to the connection each gospel has to the divine; divine meaning God.
referring to the connection each gospel has to the divine; divine meaning God.