The Anchor Symbol

2nd or 3rd century
Crypt of the Church of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, Rome

The anchor is an early symbol for Christ. In somewhat later images it may symbolize hope (because of Hebrews 6:18b-19a), "the hope set before us, which we have as an anchor of the soul" or it may be an attribute of St. Clement. The iota and theta to the left and right of the anchor are the first letters of the Greek words for "Jesus" and "God."

Read more about the anchor symbol and St. Clement.

• Home Page
• Crosses and Crucifixes
• This Page

Photographed at the church by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.