A tetramorph is a symbolic arrangement of four differing elements, or the combination of four disparate elements in one unit. The term is derived from the Greek tetra, meaning four, and morph, shape.
The word comes from the Greek for "four forms" or "shapes". In English usage, each symbol may be described as a tetramorph in the singular, and a group as "the tetramorphs", but usually only in contexts where all four are included. The tetramorphs were especially common in Early Medieval art, above all in illuminated Gospel books, but remain common in religious art to the present day.
In Christian art, the tetramorph is the union of the symbols of the Four Evangelists, derived from the four living creatures in the Book of Ezekiel, into a single figure or, more commonly, a group of four figures. Each of the four Evangelists is associated with one of the living creatures, usually shown with wings. The most common association, but not the original or only, is: Mark the King, Lion; Luke the lowly Servant, Ox; Matthew the Angel; and John the Eagle. In Christian art and iconography, Evangelist portraits are often accompanied by tetramorphs, or the symbols alone used to represent them. Evangelist portraits that depict them in their human forms are often accompanied by their symbolic creatures, and Christ in Majesty is often shown surrounded by the four symbols.
Origins
Images of unions of different elements into one symbol were originally used by the Ancient Egyptians, Assyrians, and Greeks. The image of the sphinx, found in Egypt and Babylon, depicted the body of a lion and the head of a human, while the harpies of Greek mythology showed bird-like human women.
Ezekiel's living creatures
The prophet Ezekiel lived among the Jews who were exiled to Babylon in the 6th century BC. The creatures in his vision, from which the images of the tetramorph are derived, are reminiscent of ancient Assyrian art.Whittick, Arnold. Symbols, Signs, and their Meaning. Leonard Hill Ltd, 1960, p. 134.
The animals associated with the Christian tetramorph originate in the Babylonian symbols of the four fixed signs of the zodiac: the ox representing Taurus; the lion representing Leo; the eagle representing Scorpio; the man or angel representing Aquarius. In Western astrology, the four symbols are associated with the elements of, respectively Earth, Fire, Water, and Air. The creatures of the Christian tetramorph were also common in Egyptian, Greek, and Assyrian mythology. The early Christians adopted this symbolism and adapted it for the four Evangelists”Four Evangelists (Tetramorphs)”. Symboldictionary. http://symboldictionary.net/?p=486 as the tetramorph, which first appears in Christian art in the 5th century,Clement, Clara Erskine. Saints in Art. Gale Research Company, 1974, p. 34. but whose interpretative origin stems from Irenaeus in the 2nd century.
The elements of the Christian tetramorph first appear in the vision of Ezekiel, who describes the four creatures as they appear to him in a vision:
They are described later in the Book of Revelation:
The four evangelists as four living creatures
The association of the four living creatures with the four evangelists originated with Irenaeus in the 2nd century. The interpretation of each creature has varied through church history. The most common interpretation, first laid out by Victorinus and adopted by Jerome, St Gregory, and the Book of Kells, is that the man is Matthew, the lion Mark, the ox Luke, and the eagle John. The creatures of the tetramorph, just like the four gospels of the Evangelists, represent four facets of Christ.
Source and scheme Man Lion Calf Eagle Irenaeus | Greek and Latin versions (ed. Harvey, vol. 2, p. 46-50) (130–202) 1 Matthew John Luke Mark Hippolytus of Rome (170–235) 3 Mark Matthew Luke John Victorinus of PettauCf. Armstrong, J. J., "Victorinus of Pettau as the author of the 'Canon Muratori'": «Irenaeus and Victorinus each associate John with the lion, Matthew with the man, Luke with the calf, and Mark with the eagle.» (d. 304) 1 Matthew John Luke Mark Fortunatianus of Aquileia (c. 300-370) 1 (Unknown) John (Unknown) Mark Epiphanius of Salamis (310–403) 2 Matthew Mark Luke John Chromatius of Aquileia (d. 407) 1 Matthew John Luke Mark Jerome (347–420)Jerome, Commentary on Matthew, trans. Thomas P. Scheck. Fathers of the Church, vol. 17 (Catholic University of America Press, 2008.), 55. 2 Matthew Mark Luke John Pseudo-Athanasius (c. 350)Synopsis scripturae sacrae (PG 28.432.39-51) 6 Matthew Luke Mark John Ambrose (340–397) 2 Matthew Mark Luke John Augustine of Hippo (354–430) 3 Mark Matthew Luke John Primasius of Hadrumetum (d. 560) 3 Mark Matthew Luke John Pope Gregory I (540–604)Gregory the Great, Homilies on the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel, trans. Theodosia Tomkinson, 2nd ed. (Etna, CA: Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies, 2008), 73-74: "For the Only-Begotten Son of God himself truly became man; he deigned to die like an ox at sacrifice for our salvation; he, through the virtue of his fortitude, rose as a lion.... Furthermore, ascending to heaven after his resurrection, he was borne aloft to the heights like an eagle. He is therefore wholly within us at the same time, who became a man in being born, an ox in dying, a lion in rising again, and an eagle in ascending to the heavens." 2 Matthew Mark Luke John Book of Durrow (c. 700) 1 Matthew John Luke Mark Lindisfarne Gospels (c. 715) 2 Matthew Mark Luke John Book of Kells (c. 800)Folio 27v 2 Matthew Mark Luke John Adam of Saint Victor (d. 1146) 2 Matthew Mark Luke John Theophylact of Ohrid (c. 1055–1107+) 1 Matthew John Luke Mark Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) 2 Matthew Mark Luke John Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary (1873)Jamieson, Robert, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown. Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, Vol. 2. (New York: S.S. Scranton, 1873), 565. Online. 4 Luke Matthew Mark John Watchman Nee (1903–1972)Watchman Nee, Collected Works of Watchman Nee, vol. 54 (1948; Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1994) p. 119 4 Luke Matthew Mark John Aimee Semple McPherson (1890–1944) 5 Luke John Mark Matthew Harry A. Ironside (1876–1951)Expository Notes on Ezekiel the Prophet, ch. 1 4 Luke Matthew Mark John Scofield Reference Bible (1967 ed.)Scofield Reference Bible (New York: Oxford University Press, 1967), p. 838. Note: an interpretation of the four living creatures did not appear in the original two editions (1909, 1917). 4 Luke Matthew Mark John
It is clear from the table that various interpretive schemes have been followed through church history. The five main schemes are summarized below with a representative proponent and rationale. The given rationale usually has to do with how each Gospel begins, major themes in each Gospel, or the aspect of Christ emphasized in each Gospel.
1st scheme—Irenaeus
The man is Matthew, because his Gospel begins with the genealogy of Jesus; the lion is John, because his Gospel begins full of confidence; the ox is Luke, because his Gospel begins with priestly sacrifice; and the eagle is Mark, because his Gospel begins with the prophecy of Isaiah. Irenaeus originates this connection between the four living creatures and the four evangelists because he is looking for an answer to the question "Why four Gospels?"
2nd scheme (most common)—Jerome
The rationale given for this scheme is how each Gospel narrative begins. Matthew is the man because he begins with a genealogy; Mark is the lion, roaring in the desert with prophetic power; Luke is the ox, because he begins with temple sacrifice; and John is the eagle, flying heavenwards like the divine Word. It must be said that at a certain point, once enough interpretive authorities in the church backed this scheme, many who followed simply defaulted to their authority.
3rd scheme—Augustine
The lion is Matthew, because Matthew's Gospel depicts Christ royal character, he who descended from the tribe of Judah; the ox is Luke, because Christ is shown in his priestly character; the man is Mark, because of the humanity of Christ shown in that Gospel focusing on the things the man did; and the eagle is John, because the mystery of the Word ascends to heaven. Augustine departs from Jerome's scheme saying, "This latter formulation focuses only on the beginnings of the books and not on the overall plan of the evangelists, which is what should have been examined more thoroughly."Augustine, Agreement among the Evangelists, I,6,9
4th scheme—Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
The lion is Matthew, because Matthew portrays the Lord Jesus as the King; the ox is Mark, because Mark portrays Him as a servant; the man is Luke, because Luke portrays Him as a perfect, genuine man; the eagle is John, because John portrays Him as God. This view takes the creatures as symbols of "not the personal character of the Evangelists, but the manifold aspect of Christ... presented by them severally."Jamieson-Fausset-Brown, Commentary, 565: "The Fathers identified them with the four Gospels, Matthew the lion, Mark the ox, Luke the man, John the eagle: these symbols, thus viewed, express not the personal character of the Evangelists, but the manifold aspect of Christ in relation to the world… presented by them severally: the lion expressing royalty, as Matthew gives prominence to this feature of Christ; the ox, laborious endurance, Christ's prominent characteristic in Mark; man, brotherly sympathy with the whole race of man, Christ's prominent feature in Luke; the eagle, soaring majesty, prominent in John's description of Christ as the Divine Word… The redeemed election-Church similarly, when in and through Christ (with whom she shall reign) she realizes the ideal of man, shall combine in herself human perfections having a fourfold aspect: (1) kingly righteousness with hatred of evil and judicial equity, answering to the 'lion'; (2) laborious diligence in every duty, the 'ox'; (3) human sympathy, the 'man'; (4) the contemplation of heavenly truth, the 'eagle.'"
5th scheme—Aimee Semple McPherson
The Eagle is Matthew, who presents Jesus as the King who will soon return to seek his people, Jesus Will Return; the ox is Luke, where he presents Jesus as the suffering servant who bore our sickness, Jesus Healing; The Face of Man (representing Mark) presents Jesus as the perfect man who came to save us, Jesus Saves; The Lion is John presents Jesus as the Baptizer in the Holy Spirit.
The tetramorph in art
Representation and symbolism in Christianity
The creatures of the tetramorph, as they appear in their animal forms, are predominantly shown as winged figures. The wings, an ancient symbol of divinity, represent the divinity of the Evangelists, the divine nature of Christ, and the virtues required for Christian salvation. Male, Emile. The Gothic Image: Religious Art in France of the Thirteenth Century. HarperCollins, 1913, pp. 35-7. In regards to the depiction of St Mark in particular, the use of wings distinguish him from images of St Jerome, who is also associated with the image of a lion.Clement, Clara Erskine. Saints in Art. Gale Research Company, 1974, p. 48.