Christogram

Uncommon card · No. 85587

A Christogram (Latin: Monogramma Christi) 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 (Χ) and rho (Ρ), which are the first two letters of the Greek χριστός, 'Christ'. It was displayed on the labarum military standard used by Constantine I in 312 AD. The IX monogram () is a similar form, using the initials of the name Ἰησοῦς (ὁ) Χριστός, 'Jesus (the) Christ', as is the ΙΗ monogram (), using the first two letters of the name ΙΗΣΟΥΣ, '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 ΙΗΣΟΥΣ in Greek capitals, has the abbreviations IHS (also written JHS, IHC, or...

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