This symbol at the top right of this page is made up of a cross and a fish - - but what does it mean?

We believe that Jesus was executed by being nailed to a cross. But more than that we believe that after three days God raised Jesus from the dead. John 3:16 That is why this cross has no representation of Jesus' body on it.

The empty cross is a symbol that reminds us that Jesus was crucified and died for our sins, that he was raised from the dead and that he is alive and lives with us today. John 15:13

It is believed that groups of Christians in the early Roman Empire, protected their people by keeping their meetings secret. In order to point the way to ever-changing meeting places, they developed a symbol which other Christians would readily recognize, and which they could scratch on rocks, walls and the like, in advance of a meeting.

Another story suggests that the ichthys was used as a sort of secret handshake: one person would draw with a staff (or stick) a single curve, (half of the ichthys) in the sand, and another person could confirm their identity as a Christian by completing the symbol. Alternatively, one would draw the symbol, and another person would confirm their faith by drawing an eye on it.

There are several hypotheses as to why the fish was chosen. A probable explanation is that it is a reference to the scripture in which Jesus feeds 5000 people with fish and bread (Matthew 14:15-21, Luke 9:12-17, and John 6:4-13).

The ichthys may also relate to Jesus calling his disciples as "fishers of men" (e.g., Mark 1:17). The word Ichthys may be made up from the first letters of the words in the phrase (in Greek) "Iesous Christos Theou Huios Soter" which translates as "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour" - a statement of Christian faith. Some sources also suggest that fish symbol was chosen because the Hebrew pronunciation of "Christ" is very similar to that of "fish" in Hebrew.

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