Symbols of the Holy
Trinity
Circle
A circle is
an endless line, having no beginning and no end, which
symbolises
eternity or God. Three entwined circles represent the
Trinity,
with its three eternal and unified members
Borromean Rings
According to the Athanasian Creed we worship one God in Trinity,
and Trinity in unity and so Borromean rings have been used to represent
this idea. An association can be traced back to Saint Augustin of Hippo
(354-430). He described how three gold rings could be three rings but of
one substance.
A now lost
13th century French manuscript described the
word "unitas" at the intersection of all rings and the three syllables of
"tri-ni-tas" distributed in the outer sectors.
Triangle
An equilateral triangle having all sides
of equal length
and each
angle equal represents one God in
three Persons.
This is probably one of the earliest symbolic
representations
of the Trinity.
Trefoil
This is a
single design composed of three joined circles. It is believed
to be a stylised shamrock which St Patrick used to illustrate
the
doctrine of the Trinity. It signifies one God in three Persons.
Triquetra
An early Trinitarian design found especially in
Great Britain,
its three equal arcs represent equality, its continuous
line
expresses eternity, and the interweaving represents indivisibility.
It is suggested that the design is based on the sign of the fish known
to be used by early Christians.
Fleur-de-lis
A
stylised lily, or iris, which represents several ideas, purity – hence
the Virgin Mary (one tradition claims it is the representation of the
tears shed by the mother of Jesus at his crucifixion), royalty because
it was adopted by the French kings and the Trinity because of its
three part shape.
Fish
Which is believed
to be the first early Christian symbol is taken a stage
further by combining three fish within a basic triangular shape.
Each
letter for "fish" (IXOYG) represented a key word related to the
identity of Christ. He was "Jesus Christ (IX), Son of God (OY), Saviour (G)."
Scutum Fidei or the
Shield of the Trinity
This is described as “a traditional
Christian visual symbol which
expresses many aspects of the doctrine
of the Trinity (summarising
the first part of the Athanasian Creed) in a
compact diagram.
In medieval England and France this emblem was
considered to be the heraldic arms of God (or of the Trinity).”
The shield consists of
four circles. The three outer containing the words
Father (Pater), Son (Filius) and Holy Spirit (Spiritus Sanctus). The centre
circle contains the word God (Deus). The outer links contain the words
“is not” (non est), whilst the inner links contain the word “is” (est).
The links are non-directional.
For
more information about the Scutum Fidei click here
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