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[Alexandr Korol]

Second version: At the end of the 2nd century, a new assignment appeared: the lion — Mark, the ox — Luke, the man — Matthew, the eagle — John. This version was supported by Victorinus of Pettau, Epiphanius of Cyprus, Jerome, Gregory I, and others: “The symbol of the evangelist Matthew is the man because he begins the Gospel with the human genealogy of Christ. The evangelist Mark is depicted with a lion because he describes the desert and John the Baptist at the beginning of the Gospel. The evangelist Luke is depicted with the ox because he begins the Gospel with the description of the sacrifice in the temple performed by Zechariah. And the apostle John, like the eagle, soars into the heavenly spheres.” This version received the widest acceptance in Christian theology and art.

Third version: Hippolytus of Rome and Saint Augustine adhered to the third version: the lion — Matthew, the ox — Luke, the man — Mark, the eagle — John.

Saint Jerome in his commentary on Ezekiel tried to justify these attributes. He says that Matthew was given the angel (man), because he presented the human nature of the Savior; Mark — the lion, because he proclaimed the royal dignity of Christ; Luke — the ox, a symbol of sacrifice, because he showed the priestly essence of Christ; and John — the eagle, for the exalted flight of his faith. Jerome also explained that there are four animals because they correspond to the four cardinal directions, and he associated them with the four elements, seasons, and virtues. Gregory the Great (7th century) believed that these creatures symbolize Jesus Christ in various phases of his earthly life: he was born as a man (incarnatio), accepted death as the sacrificial ox (passio), was the lion at resurrection (resurrectio), and ascended as the eagle (ascensio). The tetramorph was also interpreted as a symbol of the unified Gospel (the Word of God) recorded by the four evangelists.”

“Augustine and Clement of Alexandria discussed these creatures. Clement, commenting on the description of the Ark of the Covenant from the Book of Exodus, wrote that the cherubim on its cover symbolize “a reference to the sensory world, the twelve signs of the Zodiac, and the passage of time determined by them.” Later, a distinct astronomical interpretation of the animals emerged (see below).