Q 01/05

Which symbol of early Christians has a Greek name, ichthys, that forms an acrostic for Jesus Christ?

A) A dove

B) An anchor

C) A fish

D) A peacock

Answer · why

C) A fish

A fish, ichthys in Greek, spells out the initials of the phrase Jesus Christ, God's Son, Saviour. The sign appears in early Christian burial sites in ...

Q 02/05

Which bishop of Myra, in what is now Turkey, gave rise to the folklore of Santa Claus?

A) Nicholas

B) Valentine

C) Basil

D) Christopher

Answer · why

A) Nicholas

Nicholas is said to have dropped gold through a poor man's window on three nights so that his daughters could afford dowries. The Dutch form of his na...

Q 03/05

The Syrian ascetic Simeon Stylites spent more than thirty years living on top of what near Aleppo?

A) A cliff

B) A pillar

C) A tree

D) A city wall

Answer · why

B) A pillar

A pillar was his home for 36 years, a refuge from the crowds who came for his prayers and advice. Visitors climbed a ladder to get within speaking dis...

Q 04/05

By early tradition, how was the apostle Peter crucified in Rome, at his own request?

A) On an X-shaped cross

B) Lying flat

C) Facing east

D) Upside down

Answer · why

D) Upside down

Upside down is how the apocryphal Acts of Peter first tells it. Jerome later wrote that Peter felt unworthy to die the same way as Jesus, and the inve...

Q 05/05

The Alexamenos graffito, scratched in Rome to mock a Christian, shows a crucified figure with which animal's head?

A) A donkey

B) A jackal

C) A rooster

D) A goat

Answer · why

A) A donkey

A donkey head tops the crucified figure, beside a Greek caption saying that Alexamenos worships his god. Scratched around the year 200, it is often sa...