Editing Lamb of God (section)

== Art ==
In [[Christian iconography]], an Agnus Dei is a visual representation of Jesus as a lamb, since the [[Middle Ages]], usually carrying a [[Halo (religious iconography)|halo]] and holding a standard or banner with a [[Christian cross|cross]] and symbolizing the victory.<ref name="MurrayMurray1998"/> This normally rests on the lamb's shoulder and is held in its right foreleg. Often the cross will have a white banner suspended from it charged with a red cross (similar to [[St George's Cross]]), though the cross may also be rendered in different colors. Sometimes the lamb is shown lying atop a book with [[seven seals]] hanging from it. This is a reference to the imagery in the [[Book of Revelation]] {{bibleverse-nb||Revelation|5:1–13|KJV}}, ff. Occasionally, the lamb may be depicted bleeding from the area of the heart (Cf. {{bibleverse||Revelation|5:6|KJV}}), symbolizing Jesus' shedding of his [[Blood of Christ|blood]] to take away the sins of the world (Cf. {{bibleverse||John|1:29|KJV}}, {{bibleverse-nb||John|1:36|KJV}}).

In [[Early Christian art]] the symbol appears very early on. Several [[mosaic]]s in churches include it, some showing a row of twelve sheep representing the apostles flanking the central Agnus Dei, as in [[Santi Cosma e Damiano, Rome|Santi Cosma e Damiano]], Rome (526–30).
Agnus Dei is standing on a hill with four [[rivers of Paradise]] flowing out underneath.<ref name="MurrayMurray1998"/>

The [[Moravian Church]] uses an Agnus Dei as their seal with the surrounding inscription {{Lang|la|Vicit agnus noster, eum sequamur}} ("Our Lamb has conquered, let us follow him").

Although the depiction of Jesus as the Lamb of God is of ancient origin, it is not used in the liturgical [[iconography]] of the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]]. The reason for this is that the depictions of Jesus in the Orthodox Church are anthropomorphic rather than symbolic, as a confession of the Orthodox belief in the [[Incarnation (Christianity)|Incarnation]] of the [[Logos (Christianity)|Logos]]. However, there is no objection to the application of the term "Lamb of God" to Jesus.  In fact, the Host used in the Orthodox [[Divine Liturgy]] is referred to as the [[Lamb (liturgy)|Lamb]] ({{langx|el|άμνος|translit=amnos}}; {{langx|cu|Агнец|translit=Agniets}}). In 692 AD the [[Quinisext Council|Synod of Constantinople]] prohibited using a depiction of lamb as a symbol of Christ, a point which was adopted in the East but not the West.<ref name="MurrayMurray1998">{{cite book | first1 = Peter |last1=Murray | first2 = Linda |last2=Murray | date = 1998 | title = The Oxford Companion to Christian Art and Architecture | publisher = Oxford University Press | chapter=Agnus Dei | page = 6 | isbn = 978-0-19-860216-3 | oclc = 1055176997 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Qve7QgAACAAJ}}</ref>

Lamb of God is also part of [[Easter]] decorations.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Kowalczyk |first=Maria |date=2020 |title=Geneza i obchód Wielkanocy w Polsce. Zarys problematyki |url=http://studiaelblaskie.pl/assets/Artykuly/CB-16-A19-Kowalczyk-Rew-1.pdf |journal=Studia Elbląskie |language=pl |volume=XX |pages=273–294}}</ref>