What symbol is associated with Saint Mark?

St. Mark is commonly depicted as a winged lion. We also associate the lion to Jesus Christ, who was “the lion of the tribe of Judah” (Rev 5:5). A lion is a kingly beast and courageous. Thus, Mark shows us that as Christians we are also called to be courageous and to spread the Good News of Christ.

This strange image for St. Mark is an association which was made early in the Church. It draws from Ezekiel 1 and Revelation 4, in which four living creatures or beings are shown at the throne of God, serving and worshipping Him, together with the 24 elders, the 12 patriarchs of Israel and the 12 apostles of the Church. Each angelic figure is winged, and each one has a different face, that of Man, a Lion, an Ox or an Eagle. Almost as soon as the Church was able to own and decorate churches, these images entered into Christian iconography––the Lion for Mark, the Man for Matthew, the Ox for Luke and the Eagle for John.