Editing Tetramorph (section)

==Origins==
[[Image:Human headed winged bull facing.jpg|thumb|An [[Assyria]]n [[lamassu]] dated 721 BC.]]
Images of unions of different elements into one symbol were originally used by the Ancient Egyptians, [[Assyria]]ns, and Greeks. The image of the [[sphinx]], found in Egypt and [[Babylon]], depicted the body of a lion and the head of a human, while the [[Harpy|harpies]] of Greek mythology showed bird-like human women.

===Ezekiel's living creatures===
{{main|Living creatures (Bible)}}
The prophet [[Ezekiel]] lived among the Jews who were [[Babylonian exile|exiled to Babylon]] in the 6th century BC. The creatures in his vision, from which the images of the tetramorph are derived, are reminiscent of ancient Assyrian art.<ref>Whittick, Arnold. ''Symbols, Signs, and their Meaning''. Leonard Hill Ltd, 1960, p. 134.</ref>

The animals associated with the Christian tetramorph originate in the Babylonian symbols of the four fixed signs of the zodiac: the ox representing [[Taurus (astrology)|Taurus]]; the lion representing [[Leo (astrology)|Leo]]; the eagle representing [[Scorpio (astrology)|Scorpio]]; the man or angel representing [[Aquarius (astrology)|Aquarius]]. In [[Western astrology]], the four symbols are associated with the elements of, respectively Earth, Fire, Water, and Air.{{cn|date=November 2024}} The creatures of the Christian tetramorph were also common in [[Egyptian mythology|Egyptian]], [[Greek mythology|Greek]], and Assyrian mythology. The early Christians adopted this symbolism and adapted it for the four Evangelists<ref name="ReferenceA">”Four Evangelists (Tetramorphs)”. ''Symboldictionary''. http://symboldictionary.net/?p=486</ref> as the tetramorph, which first appears in Christian art in the 5th century,<ref name="ReferenceB">Clement, Clara Erskine. ''Saints in Art''. Gale Research Company, 1974, p. 34.</ref> but whose interpretative origin stems from [[Irenaeus]] in the 2nd century.

The elements of the Christian tetramorph first appear in the vision of Ezekiel, who describes the four creatures as they appear to him in a vision:
{{quote|As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle.<ref>{{Bibleverse|Ezekiel|1:10|KJV}}</ref>}}

They are described later in the [[Book of Revelation]]:
{{quote|And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.<ref>{{Bibleverse|Revelation|4:7|KJV}}</ref>}}

===The four evangelists as four living creatures===
{{main|Four Evangelists}}
[[File:CLUNY-Coffret Christ 1.JPG|thumb|300px|A 13th-century ivory carving of [[Christ in Majesty]] surrounded by the creatures of the tetramorph, in the [[Musée de Cluny]], Paris.]]
The association of the four living creatures with the four evangelists originated with Irenaeus in the 2nd century. The interpretation of each creature has varied through church history. The most common interpretation, first laid out by [[Victorinus of Pettau|Victorinus]] and adopted by [[Jerome]], [[St Gregory]], and the [[Book of Kells]], is that the man is Matthew, the lion Mark, the ox Luke, and the eagle John. The creatures of the tetramorph, just like the four gospels of the Evangelists, represent four facets of Christ.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!  colspan=2 | Source and scheme !! Man !! Lion !! Calf !! Eagle
|-
| [[Irenaeus]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=CHURCH FATHERS: Against Heresies, III.11.8 (St. Irenaeus) |url=https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103311.htm |access-date=2023-07-08 |website=www.newadvent.org}} | [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=njp.32101074938968&seq=58 Greek and Latin versions (ed. Harvey, vol. 2, p. 46-50])</ref> (130–202) || 1 || Matthew || John || Luke || Mark
|-
| [[Hippolytus of Rome]] (170–235) || 3 || Mark || Matthew || Luke || John
|-
| [[Victorinus of Pettau]]<ref>Cf. Armstrong, J. J., "Victorinus of Pettau as the author of the 'Canon Muratori'": «Irenaeus  and Victorinus each  associate  John with  the  lion,  Matthew  with  the man,  Luke  with  the  calf,  and Mark with  the eagle.»</ref> (d. 304) || 1 || Matthew || John || Luke || Mark
|-
| [[Fortunatianus of Aquileia]] (c. 300-370) || 1 || (Unknown) || John || (Unknown) || Mark
|-
| [[Epiphanius of Salamis]] (310–403) || 2 || Matthew || Mark || Luke || John
|-
| [[Chromatius of Aquileia]] (d. 407) || 1 || Matthew || John || Luke || Mark
|-
| [[Jerome]] (347–420)<ref>Jerome, ''Commentary on Matthew'', trans. Thomas P. Scheck. Fathers of the Church, vol. 17 (Catholic University of America Press, 2008.), 55.</ref> || 2 || Matthew || Mark || Luke || John
|-
| [[Pseudo-Athanasius]] (c. 350)<ref>''Synopsis scripturae sacrae'' (PG 28.432.39-51)
</ref> || 6 || Matthew || Luke || Mark || John
|-
| [[Ambrose]] (340–397) || 2 || Matthew || Mark || Luke || John
|-
| [[Augustine of Hippo]] (354–430) || 3 || Mark || Matthew || Luke || John
|-
| [[Primasius of Hadrumetum]] (d. 560) || 3 || Mark || Matthew || Luke || John
|-
| [[Pope Gregory I]] (540–604)<ref>Gregory the Great, ''Homilies on the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel'', trans. Theodosia Tomkinson, 2nd ed. (Etna, CA: Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies, 2008), 73-74: "For the Only-Begotten Son of God himself truly became man; he deigned to die like an ox at sacrifice for our salvation; he, through the virtue of his fortitude, rose as a lion.... Furthermore, ascending to heaven after his resurrection, he was borne aloft to the heights like an eagle. He is therefore wholly within us at the same time, who became a man in being born, an ox in dying, a lion in rising again, and an eagle in ascending to the heavens."</ref> || 2 || Matthew || Mark || Luke || John
|-
| [[Book of Durrow]] (c. 700) || 1 || Matthew || John || Luke || Mark
|-
| [[Lindisfarne Gospels]] (c. 715) || 2 || Matthew || Mark || Luke || John
|-
| [[Book of Kells]] (c. 800)<ref>Folio 27v</ref> || 2 || Matthew || Mark || Luke || John
|-
| [[Adam of Saint Victor]] (d. 1146) || 2 || Matthew || Mark || Luke || John
|-
| [[Theophylact of Ohrid]] (c. 1055–1107+)<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/TheGospelAccordingToSt.Mark/page/n7/mode/1up |title=The Explanation of the Gospel According To St. Mark, by Blessed Theophylact of Ohrid |language=English}}</ref>|| 1 || Matthew || John || Luke || Mark
|-
| [[Thomas Aquinas]] (1225–1274) || 2 || Matthew || Mark || Luke || John
|-
| [[Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary]] (1873)<ref>Jamieson, Robert, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown. ''Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments,'' Vol. 2. (New York: S.S. Scranton, 1873), 565. [https://archive.org/details/commentarycritic00jami/page/564/mode/2up?view=theater Online]. </ref> || 4 || Luke || Matthew || Mark || John
|-
| [[Watchman Nee]] (1903–1972)<ref>Watchman Nee, Collected Works of Watchman Nee, vol. 54 (1948; Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1994) p. 119</ref> || 4 || Luke || Matthew || Mark || John
|-
| [[Aimee Semple McPherson]] (1890–1944) || 5 || Luke || John || Mark || Matthew
|-
| [[Harry A. Ironside]] (1876–1951)<ref>''Expository Notes on Ezekiel the Prophet'', ch. 1</ref> || 4 || Luke || Matthew || Mark || John
|-
| [[Scofield Reference Bible]] (1967 ed.)<ref>Scofield Reference Bible (New York: Oxford University Press, 1967), p. 838. Note: an interpretation of the four living creatures did not appear in the original two editions (1909, 1917).</ref> || 4 || Luke || Matthew || Mark || John
|}

It is clear from the table that various interpretive schemes have been followed through church history. The five main schemes are summarized below with a representative proponent and rationale. The given rationale usually has to do with how each Gospel begins, major themes in each Gospel, or the aspect of Christ emphasized in each Gospel.

'''1st scheme—Irenaeus'''

The man is Matthew, because his Gospel begins with the genealogy of Jesus; the lion is John, because his Gospel begins full of confidence; the ox is Luke, because his Gospel begins with priestly sacrifice; and the eagle is Mark, because his Gospel begins with the prophecy of Isaiah. Irenaeus originates this connection between the four living creatures and the four evangelists because he is looking for an answer to the question "Why four Gospels?"

'''2nd scheme (most common)—Jerome'''

The rationale given for this scheme is how each Gospel narrative begins. Matthew is the man because he begins with a genealogy; Mark is the lion, roaring in the desert with prophetic power; Luke is the ox, because he begins with temple sacrifice; and John is the eagle, flying heavenwards like the divine Word. It must be said that at a certain point, once enough interpretive authorities in the church backed this scheme, many who followed simply defaulted to their authority.

'''3rd scheme—Augustine'''

The lion is Matthew, because Matthew's Gospel depicts Christ royal character, he who descended from the tribe of Judah; the ox is Luke, because Christ is shown in his priestly character; the man is Mark, because of the humanity of Christ shown in that Gospel focusing on the things the man did; and the eagle is John, because the mystery of the Word ascends to heaven. Augustine departs from Jerome's scheme saying, "This latter formulation focuses only on the beginnings of the books and not on the overall plan of the evangelists, which is what should have been examined more thoroughly."<ref>Augustine, ''Agreement among the Evangelists'', I,6,9
</ref>

'''4th scheme—Jamieson-Fausset-Brown'''

The lion is Matthew, because Matthew portrays the Lord Jesus as the King; the ox is Mark, because Mark portrays Him as a servant; the man is Luke, because Luke portrays Him as a perfect, genuine man; the eagle is John, because John portrays Him as God. This view takes the creatures as symbols of "not the personal character of the Evangelists, but the manifold aspect of Christ... presented by them severally."<ref>Jamieson-Fausset-Brown, ''Commentary'', 565: "The Fathers identified them with the four Gospels, Matthew the lion, Mark the ox, Luke the man, John the eagle: these symbols, thus viewed, express not the personal character of the Evangelists, but the manifold aspect of ''Christ'' in relation to the world… presented by them severally: the lion expressing ''royalty'', as Matthew gives prominence to this feature of Christ; the ox, ''laborious endurance'', Christ's prominent characteristic in Mark; man, ''brotherly sympathy'' with the whole race of man, Christ's prominent feature in Luke; the eagle, ''soaring majesty'', prominent in John's description of Christ as the Divine Word… The redeemed election-Church similarly, when in and through Christ (with whom she shall reign) she realizes the ideal of man, shall combine in herself human perfections having a fourfold aspect: (1) kingly righteousness with hatred of evil and judicial equity, answering to the 'lion'; (2) laborious diligence in every duty, the 'ox'; (3) human sympathy, the 'man'; (4) the contemplation of heavenly truth, the 'eagle.'"</ref>

'''5th scheme—Aimee Semple McPherson'''

The Eagle is Matthew, who presents Jesus as the King who will soon return to seek his people, Jesus Will Return; the ox is Luke, where he presents Jesus as the suffering servant who bore our sickness, Jesus Healing; The Face of Man (representing Mark) presents Jesus as the perfect man who came to save us, Jesus Saves; The Lion is John presents Jesus as the Baptizer in the Holy Spirit.