"As the universal Church begins celebrating the Year of Faith, let us contemplate an image of the inexhaustible source of our joy in believing: Christ in majesty, the Alpha and the Omega of history. Here he appears before us framed within a cloud, the sign of God’s presence. Represented within the four cardinal points of this illumination are the four Evangelists, whose testimony never ceases to nourish our happiness, we who believe without having seen. These four Living Creatures who announce the Gospel to the four corners of the earth are depicted allegorically with figures drawn from the visions of Ezekiel (Ez 1:5-9) and of John (Rv 4:7-8). Since the second century, this tetramorph (“four forms”) has been interpreted most frequently as follows: the man represents Matthew who opens his Gospel with the human genealogy of Jesus; the lion represents Mark because his Gospel commences in the desert; the bull represents Luke whose Gospel begins with Zechariah’s sacrifice in the Temple; and the eagle represents John because his prologue reaches breathtaking heights. Within each of these four liv-ing creatures we can also discern the allegory of a mystery of the Living One. The Man stands for the Incarnation; the Lion represents the temptations in the desert on the thresh-old of Jesus’ public life; the Bull points to his immolation on the cross; and the Eagle signals his Resurrection and his Ascension into heaven. Each figure also accompanies us in contemplating a dimension of the truth of our Lord. Thus, the Man represents the Messiah, new Moses and son of David; the Lion, Christ the King; the Bull, both priest and victim; the Eagle, the second Person of the Trinity who descends from heaven."

Pierre-Marie Dumont

Christ in Glory with Symbols of the Four Evangelists,

from the Westminster Psalter, circa 1200, England (Westminster).
www.magnificat.net/english/popup_couv.asp