Christogram

symbol with Alpha and Omega on a 4th-century sarcophagus (Vatican Museums) A Christogram ( ) is a monogram or combination of letters that forms an abbreviation for the name of Jesus Christ, traditionally used as a religious symbol within the Christian Church. One of the oldest Christograms is the Chi-Rho (☧). It consists of the superimposed Greek letters chi and rho , which are the first two letters of the Greek , 'Christ'. It was displayed on the military standard used by Constantine I in 312 AD. The IX monogram ( ) is a similar form, using the initials of the name , 'Jesus (the) Christ', as is the ΙΗ monogram ( ), using the first two letters of the name , 'JESUS' in uppercase. There were a very considerable number of variants of "Christograms" or monograms of Christ in use during the medieval period, with the boundary between specific monograms and mere scribal abbreviations somewhat fluid. The name Jesus, spelled in Greek capitals, has the abbreviations IHS (also written JHS, IHC, or ΙΗΣ). The name Christus, spelt , has XP (and inflectional variants such as IX, XPO, XPS, XPI, XPM). In Eastern Christian tradition, the monogram ΙϹΧϹ (with Overline indicating scribal abbreviation) is used for in both Greek and Cyrillic tradition. A Middle Latin term for abbreviations of the name of Christ is . Similarly, the Middle Latin , refers to the Chi-Rho monogram specifically.

symbol with Alpha and Omega on a 4th-century sarcophagus (Vatican Museums)]] A Christogram ( ) is a monogram or combination of letters that forms an abbreviation for the name of Jesus Christ, traditionally used as a religious symbol within the Christian Church. One of the oldest Christograms is the Chi-Rho (☧). It consists of the superimposed Greek letters chi and rho , which are the first two letters of the Greek , 'Christ'. It was displayed on the military standard used by Constantine I in 312 AD. The IX monogram ( ) is a similar form, using the initials of the name , 'Jesus (the) Christ', as is the ΙΗ monogram ( ), using the first two letters of the name , 'JESUS' in uppercase. There were a very considerable number of variants of "Christograms" or monograms of Christ in use during the medieval period, with the boundary between specific monograms and mere scribal abbreviations somewhat fluid. The name Jesus, spelled in Greek capitals, has the abbreviations IHS (also written JHS, IHC, or ΙΗΣ). The name Christus, spelt , has XP (and inflectional variants such as IX, XPO, XPS, XPI, XPM). In Eastern Christian tradition, the monogram ΙϹΧϹ (with Overline indicating scribal abbreviation) is used for in both Greek and Cyrillic tradition. A Middle Latin term for abbreviations of the name of Christ is . Similarly, the Middle Latin , refers to the Chi-Rho monogram specifically. ===Iota Chi (IX)=== from Constantinople]] An early form of the monogram of Christ, found in early Christian ossuaries in Palestine, was formed by superimposing the first (capital) letters of the Greek words for Jesus and Christ, i.e. iota Ι and chi Χ, so that this monogram means "Jesus Christ". ====Gallery with different formats of the symbol==== File:IHS with cross.jpg| IHS or JHS Christogram of western Christianity File:IHC-monogram-Jesus-medievalesque.svg|Medieval-style IHC monogram File:Interlaced IHS monogram on ceiling of church of Saint-Martin de L'Isle-Adam.jpg|Intertwined IHS monogram, Saint-Martin's Church, L'Isle-Adam, Val-d'Oise File:Clontuskert Priory Doorway IHC Monogram 2009 09 16.jpg|IHC monogram from Clontuskert Abbey, Ireland File:Jesuit emblem 1586.jpg|The Jesuit emblem from a 1586 print File:ReformationWallGeneva IHS cropped.jpg|ΙΗΣ on the Reformation Wall in Geneva, Switzerland File:Church Door, Church of the Good Shepherd (Rosemont, Pennsylvania).jpg|Door at Church of the Good Shepherd (Rosemont, Pennsylvania) showing (from left) arms of the parish; Marian monogram; the IHS Christogram; and arms of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania File:Tapete de Corpus Christi em São Manuel, São Paulo, 2025.19.6.25.9.jpg|Corpus Christi carpet with the use of the acronym in São Manuel, São Paulo, Brazil. ==Archaeology== In 2016, a 1,300-year-old corpse, was found in a cemetery near a medieval monastery in Ghazali, Sudan, whose right foot bore a tattoo from medieval Nubia, a region that covered parts of modern-day Egypt and Sudan, depicting a Chi Rho and an Alpha Omega. The person, most likely male, lived sometime between 667 and 774. ===Notes=== ===Citations=== ===Sources===

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