Jesus Fish Christian Symbol Key Ring

Jesus Fish - The use of the Ichthys symbol by early Christians. Ichthus (Greek for fish) can be read as an acrostic, a word formed from the first letters of several words. It compiles to "Jesus Christ, God's son, Saviour," in ancient Greek. The ichthys is seen in first century catacombs in Rome. According to tradition, ancient Christians, during their persecution by the Roman State in the first few centuries after Christ, used the fish symbol to mark meeting places and tombs, or to distinguish friends from foes: " …when a Christian met a stranger in the road, the Christian sometimes drew one arc of the simple fish outline in the dirt. If the stranger drew the other arc, both believers knew they were in good company. Current bumper-sticker and business-card uses of the fish hearken back to this practice. The symbol is still used today to show that the bearer is a practicing Christian." —Christianity Today