Fishermen and Tax Collectors

In the painting Last Supper, Jesus occupied the central position. Whether counted from the left or the right, he was the seventh.

There were six people to his left and six to his right.

First on the left was Nathanael.

Second on the left was James the Less.

Third on the left was Andre.

Fourth on the left was the traitor Judas.

Fifth on the left was Simon Peter.

Sixth on the left was John.

First on the right was Simon the Zealot.

Second on the right was Jude.

Third on the right was Matthew.

Fourth on the right was Philip.

Fifth on the right was James the Greater.

Sixth on the right was Thomas.

That plate of grilled eel sat before Matthew.

According to Leviticus 11:9–12, fish with fins and scales could be eaten, while eels had no scales and resembled snakes, making them inedible.

Last Supper was painted on the dining hall wall of the Dominican Order monastery at Santa Maria delle Grazie, a Catholic church in Milan. Commissioned by the Pope to preside over the Inquisition, the Dominicans cruelly persecuted heretics. They had once controlled theology chairs at certain European universities. Besides preaching, they mainly devoted themselves to higher education. They called themselves the Lord's watchdogs and aspired to travel across Europe, stamping out heresy and ignorance.

Heresy referred to schools of thought outside orthodox doctrine. The saint's remains in St. Mark's Basilica had been smuggled back hidden beneath pork.

Muslims did not eat pork because it represented impurity, as prescribed by the Quran. But Christians did not follow their own doctrines so thoroughly. The Greek sect even used fish as a substitute during fasting periods. Yet it was interesting that the Dominicans, who judged heresy, and the Dominican monks, who aspired to eradicate ignorance, had failed