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These animals may have originally been seen as representing the highest forms of the various types of animals: man, as king of creation, as the image of the creator; the lion, as king of beasts of prey (meat-eating); the ox, as king of domesticated animals (grass-eating); the eagle, as king of birds. The symbols of the four Evangelists are here ...
The eagle is a figure of the sky, and believed by Christian scholars to be able to look straight into the sun. [1] It appears with other three beings as the tetramorph, interpreted in Christianity as symbols of the evangelists. The four beings appear as the living creatures in the Bible.
Eagle of Saint John from the Book of Dimma (8th century) John the Evangelist, the author of the fourth gospel account, is symbolized by an eagle, king of the birds, often with a halo. The eagle is a figure of the sky, and believed by Christian scholars to be able to look straight into the sun. [21]
The ox, or bull, is an ancient Christian symbol of redemption and life through sacrifice, [21] signifying Luke's records of Christ as a priest and his ultimate sacrifice for the future of humanity. The eagle represents the sky, heavens, and the human spirit, paralleling the divine nature of Christ. [23]
Alternatively, the eagle was believed to be the bird that flew highest in the sky and was therefore closest to heaven, and symbolised the carrying of the word of God to the four corners of the world. [3] The eagle is also the symbol of John the Apostle, and for this reason may have come to represent the inspiration of the gospels as a whole. [4]
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[30] [31] The double-headed eagle was used in the breakaway Empire of Trebizond as well, being attested imperial clothes but also on flags. Indeed, Western portolans of the 14th–15th centuries use the double-headed eagle (silver/golden on red/vermilion) as the symbol of Trebizond rather than Constantinople. Single-headed eagles are also ...