Four Evangelists

In Christian tradition, the Four Evangelists are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the authors attributed with the creation of the four canonical Gospel accounts.

While the periods to which the gospels are usually dated suggest otherwise,[2][3] convention traditionally holds that the authors were two of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus, John and Matthew, as well as two "apostolic men",[4] Mark and Luke, whom Orthodox Tradition records as members of the 70 Apostles (Luke 10): They are called evangelists, a word meaning "people who proclaim good news", because their books aim to tell the "good news" ("gospel") of Jesus.

[6][7] When the symbols of the Four Evangelists appear together, it is called a Tetramorph, common in the Romanesque art of Europe such as church frescoes or murals.

The symbols are shown with, or in place of, the Evangelists in early medieval Gospel Books, and are the usual accompaniment to Christ in Majesty when portrayed during the same period, reflecting the vision in Revelation.

This both reflects the medieval idea of the order of "nobility" of nature of the beasts (man, lion, ox, eagle) and the text of Ezekiel 1:10.

Jacob Jordaens , The Four Evangelists , 1625–1630.
The four winged creatures that symbolize the Four Evangelists surround Christ in Majesty on the Romanesque tympanum of the Church of St. Trophime in Arles .
The lion symbol of St. Mark from the Echternach Gospels , here without wings. Bibliothèque nationale de France , Paris.
The symbols of the four Evangelists are here depicted in the Book of Kells . The four winged creatures symbolize, top to bottom, left to right: Matthew , Mark , Luke , and John .