Before tattoos became extremely popular as a means of self expression and art, did you know that Early Christians had them inked on their bodies as a sign of permanent faith? They often had the sign of the cross inked into their bodies, most popularly on their face or on their arms. Irish tattoos of the sign of the cross was proof a believer’s permanent loyalty to one’s faith. During 325 AD, the Emperor Constantine banned face tattoos because he believed that the face was created in God’s image and thought that tattoos disfigured them. In later 787, the Christian church renounced all forms of tattooing.