https://historyofbees.weebly.com/bees-and-catholicism.html
Honey Bees and the Church
The Church and the honeybee have a long intertwined history. Early Christians revered the honeybee so much that they have attempt to mimic their fine attributes, they made certain bee products sacred, and they have referenced honeybees in both scripture and architecture.
The honeybee as a model:
Honeybees were parts of Catholic culture, and were looked upon with reverence and wonderment by acting members of the clergy. These insects were revered for multiple reasons, however chief among them were their industrial qualities, and chastity. The last element, chastity, specifically concerns the worker bees. Since they, from inception, work fastidiously through their lives for the betterment of the hive without intra-species relations.
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Beekeeping in the Church:
The specific action of Beekeeping was done primarily by the monks of the Church, and there were even monks and nuns whose entire position was to work with the bees (Beekeeper's Bible, 48). The products of the honeybee, namely honey and wax, were utilized by the Church for particular practices. Wax and honey were sacred substances for the early Church (Wilson, 129). Beeswax was the foremost contribution to Catholic culture. The wax was used for candle making, and these candles were symbols of Christ, "The wick denoted the soul and mortality of Christ, the light the divine person of the Saviour," (Ransome, 134). Beeswax candles were the preferred and only method for illumination of Catholic Churches, a practice which survived until the twentieth century when the requirement was ended by the pope (Beekeeper's Bible, 49).
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