Christian symbols have been around for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Most are pictures condensed into a simplified form.

Artwork and visual symbolism seen in a church building often make a confession long before parishioners hear what is confessed in the liturgy. Some of the symbolic meaning, however, may be lost to us. This is the seventh of nine articles devoted to those images which we often see — but may not always understand

Images of birds, for example, often appear in Christian art, but a few of these symbols need some explaining.

Stars have a long and distinguished history in church art, and this didn’t start with the old “stars and stripes.”