DOCSLIB.ORG

Ancient Foundations Marshall High School Unit Five AD * How the Irish Saved Civilization

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Ancient Foundations Marshall High School Unit Five AD * How the Irish Saved Civilization The Dark Ages Marshall High School Mr. Cline Western Civilization I: Ancient Foundations Marshall High School Unit Five AD * How the Irish Saved Civilization • Christianity's Impact on Insular Art • Ireland's Golden Age is closely tied with the spread of Christianity. • As Angles and Saxons began colonizing the old Roman province of Brittania, Christians living in Britain fled to the relative safety of Ireland. • These Christians found themselves isolated from their neighbors on the mainland and essentially cut off from the influence of the Roman Catholic Church. • This isolation, combined with the mostly agrarian society of Ireland, resulted in a very different form of Christianity. • Instead of establishing a centralized hierarchy, like the Roman Catholic Church, Irish Christians established monasteries. • Monasticism got an early start in Ireland, and monasteries began springing up across the countryside. • The Irish did not just build monasteries in Ireland. * How the Irish Saved Civilization • Christianity's Impact on Insular Art • They sent missionaries to England to begin reconverting their heathen neighbors. • From there they crossed the channels, accelerating the conversion of France, Germany and the Netherlands and establishing monasteries from Poitiers to Vienna. • These monasteries became centers of art and learning, producing art of unprecedented complexity, like the Book of Kells, and great scholars, like the Venerable Bede (Yes, the guy who wrote the Anglo Saxon History of Britain was indeed Irish!) * How the Irish Saved Civilization • Christianity's Impact on Insular Art * How the Irish Saved Civilization • Christianity's Impact on Insular Art • Over time, Ireland became the cultural and religious leader of Northwestern Europe. • So let us look at some of the art of this Irish Golden Age. * How the Irish Saved Civilization • Roots of Insular Art • Insular art has its roots in Anglo-Saxon metalwork. • This art is easily identified by its characteristic interlacing bands. • We can see examples of this style in the grave goods of Dark Age graveyards, like this helmet, this buckle and this lovely purse lid. • During the Irish Golden Age, these interlacing bands found their way into new art forms, using mediums other than metal. * How the Irish Saved Civilization • Roots of Insular Art • Stone Crosses • Perhaps the most famous of these new arts are the stone crosses that dot the British Isles. • Standing stones were nothing new for these lands. • People had been standing stones on end for thousands of years and carving them for at least a few centuries. • The Picts of Scotland were big fans of carving stone, and it seems likely that Irish Christians drew inspiration from these Pictish stones. • With the spread of Irish Christianity, people began carving crosses into stone. • The loose whorls and swirls of the Pictish stones were replaced with the tight interlacing bands of Anglo-Saxon metalwork. Pict Stone Carving Irish Stone Cross * How the Irish Saved Civilization • Roots of Insular Art • Stone Crosses • As techniques and tools improved, people started getting more ambitious. • Instead of just carving a relief of a cross into stone, they would sculpt a cross out of stone. • They called these stone crosses 'high crosses.' • The most famous examples of these high crosses are the Bewcastle High Cross, sculpted sometime in the seventh century (which unfortunately has lost its crosspiece), and the Ruthwell High Cross, sculpted as much as a century later. • This distinctive style of stone carving would spread across the channel, and its echoes can be seen in the rich architecture of the Gothic Age. Illuminated Manuscripts As Irish sculptors were busy setting up stone crosses across the islands, Irish scribes were pioneering new advances in the art of illumination. Illumination, or the illustration of manuscripts, had been around for a while. Early Christian scribes used illumination to illustrate Bibles, like this scene from the Vienna Genesis. Manuscript illumination reached new levels of refinement in Ireland. The interlacing bands of Anglo-Saxon metalwork found breathtaking expression in the illuminations of the Irish Golden Age. We can see the development of this art form in three famous illuminated Bibles: the Book of Durrow, the Lindisfarne Gospels and the Book of Kells. The Book of Durrow was composed in the seventh century. In it, we see the establishment of the iconic Insular interlacing band style. We also begin to see standards of composition that would recur in later illuminations. Pretty much every illuminated Bible of this period has: carpet pages, with intricate designs in between books; incipit pages at the beginning of each book; a distinct Chi Rho, for the first initials of Christ; and icons representing the four evangelists. Each of the four gospels had its own unique page dedicated to the apostle who wrote it. You can identify the apostles by their Christian icon: Matthew is represented by an angel, Mark by a lion, Luke by an ox and John by an eagle. These trends are refined in the later eighth-century Lindisfarne Gospels. Take a look at the incredible intricacy of this Carpet Page. See how complicated the initials on this Incipit Page have gotten. And the Chi Rho of Christ now takes up the better part of half a page. When we look at the gospels, we're in for a big surprise: We now have people instead of just animals! When you look at these people, you might notice that the figures are really, really primitive. It seems odd that the scribe would put such painstaking detail into these intricate overlapping patterns and then show such utter disregard for the human form. So how do we explain this disconnect? It's certainly not due to a lack of skill. Some art historians have posited that drawings of human figures were simply less important to the illuminators of the Irish Golden Age. This contrasts greatly with classical art, in which the figure takes the fore at all times. By the time we get to the Book of Kells, created around 800 CE, manuscript illumination had reached its apex. The detail in this Carpet Page has gotten so fine, you need a magnifying glass to see it all. The Incipit Page has gotten so busy that there's barely room for any text. And the Chi Rho of Christ now has a page all to itself. The icons of the apostles of the four gospels have returned to highly stylized images of animals and angels, instead of figures of men. This strengthens the theory that the Irish weren't as concerned with figures of people as they were with their delicate interlacing patterns. The Book of Kells marks the apex of manuscript illumination. Nothing before or afterward compares with the incredible depth, intricacy and beauty of these illuminations. * How the Irish Saved Civilization • Roots of Insular Art • Illuminated Manuscripts • As Irish sculptors were busy setting up stone crosses across the islands, Irish scribes were pioneering new advances in the art of illumination. • Illumination, or the illustration of manuscripts, had been around for a while. • Early Christian scribes used illumination to illustrate Bibles, like the one we saw from the Vienna Genesis. • Manuscript illumination reached new levels of refinement in Ireland though. • The interlacing bands of Anglo-Saxon metalwork found breathtaking expression in the illuminations of the Irish Golden Age. • One can see the development of this art form in three famous illuminated Bibles: the Book of Durrow, the Lindisfarne Gospels and the Book of Kells. * How the Irish Saved Civilization • Roots of Insular Art • Illuminated Manuscripts • The Book of Durrow was composed in the seventh century. • In it, we see the establishment of the iconic Insular interlacing band style. • We also begin to see standards of composition that would recur in later illuminations. • Pretty much every illuminated Bible of this period has: carpet pages, with intricate designs in between books; • incipit pages at the beginning of each book; • a distinct Chi Rho, for the first initials of Christ; and icons representing the four evangelists. • Each of the four gospels had its own unique page dedicated to the apostle who wrote it. * How the Irish Saved Civilization • Roots of Insular Art • Illuminated Manuscripts • You can identify the apostles by their Christian icon: • Matthew is represented by an angel, • Mark by a lion, • Luke by an ox and • John by an eagle. * How the Irish Saved Civilization • Roots of Insular Art • Illuminated Manuscripts • These trends are refined in the later eighth-century Lindisfarne Gospels. • Take a look at the incredible intricacy of this Carpet Page. * How the Irish Saved Civilization • Roots of Insular Art • Illuminated Manuscripts • See how complicated the initials on this Incipit Page have gotten. * How the Irish Saved Civilization • Roots of Insular Art • Illuminated Manuscripts • And the Chi Rho of Christ now takes up the better part of half a page. * How the Irish Saved Civilization • Roots of Insular Art • Illuminated Manuscripts • When we look at the gospels, we're in for a big surprise: We now have people instead of just animals! * How the Irish Saved Civilization • Roots of Insular Art • Illuminated Manuscripts • When you look at these people, you might notice that the figures are really, really primitive. • It seems odd that the scribe would put such painstaking detail into these intricate overlapping patterns and then show such utter disregard for the human form. • So how do we explain this disconnect? • It's certainly not due to a lack of skill. • Some art historians have posited that drawings of human figures were simply less important to the illuminators of the Irish Golden Age. • This contrasts greatly with classical art, in which the figure takes the fore at all times. * How the Irish Saved Civilization • Roots of Insular Art • Illuminated Manuscripts • By the time we get to the Book of Kells, created around 800 AD, manuscript illumination had reached its apex.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Sign of the Son of Man.”
    Numismatic Evidence of the Jewish Origins of the Cross T. B. Cartwright December 5, 2014 Introduction Anticipation for the Jewish Messiah’s first prophesied arrival was great and widespread. Both Jewish and Samaritan populations throughout the known world were watching because of the timeframe given in Daniel 9. These verses, simply stated, proclaim that the Messiah’s ministry would begin about 483 years from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem in 445BC. So, beginning about 150 BC, temple scribes began placing the Hebrew tav in the margins of scrolls to indicate those verses related to the “Messiah” or to the “Last Days.” The meaning of the letter tav is “sign,” “symbol,” “promise,” or “covenant.” Shortly after 150 BC, the tav (both + and X forms) began showing up on coins throughout the Diaspora -- ending with a flurry of the use of the symbol at the time of the Messiah’s birth. The Samaritans, in an effort to remain independent of the Jewish community, utilized a different symbol for the anticipation of their Messiah or Tahib. Their choice was the tau-rho monogram, , which pictorially showed a suffering Tahib on a cross. Since the Northern Kingdom was dispersed in 725 BC, there was no central government authority to direct the use of the symbol. So, they depended on the Diaspora and nations where they were located to place the symbol on coins. The use of this symbol began in Armenia in 76 BC and continued through Yeshua’s ministry and on into the early Christian scriptures as a nomina sacra. As a result, the symbols ( +, X and ) were the “original” signs of the Messiah prophesied throughout scriptures.
    [Show full text]
  • FRATERNITY INSIGNIA the Postulant Pin Signifies to The
    FRATERNITY INSIGNIA The Postulant pin signifies to the campus that a man has affiliated himself with Alpha Chi Rho. The symbol which appears on the pin is called the Labarum. It is a symbol that is made up of the Greek letters Chi and Rho. The Postulant pin is to be worn over your heart. A good way to remember the proper placement of the pin is to count three buttons down from the collar (of a dress shirt, for example) and three finger widths to the left of the button. Never wear your Postulant pin on the lapel of a jacket; keep it close to the heart. The same rules apply to the Brother's badge that a man receives upon initiation into Alpha Chi Rho. The Roman Emperor, Constantine, like most Romans, did not believe in Christianity. However, historians say that Constantine saw a Labarum in the sky on the night before a battle. He had the symbol placed on banners and shields, then recorded a furious victory over his foe. Constantine then converted to Christianity and made the Labarum the symbol of the Imperial Roman Army. Alpha Chi Rho makes use of two forms of the Labarum. The ancient form of the Labarum is the chief public form of the Fraternity. In addition to the postulant pin, the Labarum appears predominately on the Fraternity ensign (flag). The other form of the Labarum, its modified configuration, is very significant to the Ritual of the Fraternity. Also, it is the form used on the Brother's badge. The badge is made up of a modified Labarum mounted on an oval.
    [Show full text]
  • 14. Tree of Life
    What is a mosaic? Masolino da Panicale Who? It is a picture or pattern produced 1. Who painted the Tree of Life? by arranging together small pieces of stone, tile, glass, etc. 2. What is the purpose of the painting? The central image is one of (What key ideas does it convey?) Christ on the cross, but an 3. Where is the painting displayed? Alpha & What is an apse? What? interesting feature of this Omega 4. What is an apse? piece of art is that there are Chi-Rho An area with curved walls and a 5. What is a mosaic? many other symbolic images domed roof at the end of a church. surrounding the main frame. The Apostles The Apostles Areas to Discuss 1. Create a detailed mind-map (try to make this 1. The Alpha & Omega visual) When? Twelfth Century. 2. Chi-Rio Cross Doves 2. Create a multiple-choice quiz (aim for at least 3. The twelve apostles The 10 questions) 4. The lamb Twelve 3. Create a poster/leaflet Apostles 5. The doves Tree of life The Lamb (Jesus) 6. The four evangelists 7. The cross San Clemente church 8. The tree of life Where? in Rome 9. The Vine c) Explain the rich Christian symbolism that you will find in the Tree Of Life Apse The Twelve Apostles mosaic. [8] To depict the following: The Lamb 1. God is the first and the last. • There is reference made to the twelve Apostles who were specially chosen by 2. The battle against evil is won by the Cross of Christ.
    [Show full text]
  • Thomas Newbolt: Drama Painting – a Modern Baroque
    NAE MAGAZINE i NAE MAGAZINE ii CONTENTS CONTENTS 3 EDITORIAL Off Grid - Daniel Nanavati talks about artists who are working outside the established art market and doing well. 6 DEREK GUTHRIE'S FACEBOOK DISCUSSIONS A selection of the challenging discussions on www.facebook.com/derekguthrie 7 THE WIDENING CHASM BETWEEN ARTISTS AND CONTEMPORARY ART David Houston, curator and academic, looks at why so may contemporary artists dislike contemporary art. 9 THE OSCARS MFA John Steppling, who wrote the script for 52nd Highway and worked in Hollywood for eight years, takes a look at the manipulation of the moving image makers. 16 PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT WITH PLYMOUTH COLLEGE OF ART Our special announcement this month is a partnering agreement between the NAE and Plymouth College of Art 18 SPEAKEASY Tricia Van Eck tells us that artists participating with audiences is what makes her gallery in Chicago important. 19 INTERNET CAFÉ Tom Nakashima, artist and writer, talks about how unlike café society, Internet cafés have become. Quote: Jane Addams Allen writing on the show: British Treasures, From the Manors Born 1984 One might almost say that this show is the apotheosis of the British country house " filtered through a prism of French rationality." 1 CONTENTS CONTENTS 21 MONSTER ROSTER INTERVIEW Tom Mullaney talks to Jessica Moss and John Corbett about the Monster Roster. 25 THOUGHTS ON 'CAST' GRANT OF £500,000 Two Associates talk about one of the largest grants given to a Cornwall based arts charity. 26 MILWAUKEE MUSEUM'S NEW DESIGN With the new refurbishment completed Tom Mullaney, the US Editor, wanders around the inaugural exhibition.
    [Show full text]
  • THE ETERNAL KINGDOM Lesson #40 December 25, 2019
    THE ETERNAL KINGDOM Lesson #40 December 25, 2019 Intro: If you have been a part of this class, you are well aware of the book we have been studying. It is the Eternal Kingdom (show book and author; ask if everyone has a copy). As we continue to look at the departure from New Testament doctrine, we come to the topic of asceticism and celibacy. That can be found on the bottom of page 120 in your book. 1 DEPARTURE IN MANNER OF LIFE (ASCETICISM AND CELIBACY) • What sect encourage Christians to practice asceticism and celibacy? • Which bishop from Alexandria defended marriage as being proper, and who did he reference as an example of marriage? • What kind of communities came into existence as a result of this belief? Bullet 1: Gnostics. Bullet 2: Clement of Alexandria. He referenced the Apostle Peter as being a married man, he also said Paul was married based upon (Php.4:3). After reading Php.4:3, one would be very hard pressed to conclude that Paul was married. He was surrounded by women who were true servants and he acknowledged them, and (Rom.16:1-2) is a prime example. Bullet 3: Monastic communities. “Be safe, Be celibate” would have been their mantra. I’m reminded of Paul’s words in 1Tim.4:1-3 (read). 2 EASTER CELEBRATION • The church felt like it was in competition with their Jewish and pagan neighbors, and this gave way the establishment of religious holidays as a way to appeal to others. Easter came into existence. • Who did the church in Asia Minor claim that Easter was to coincide with the Passover? • Who supposedly taught the church in Rome that Easter occurred on a Sunday? • Who can find in the Bible a formal Easter celebration promoted by any apostle? (Read bullet 1).
    [Show full text]
  • Christian Cruciform Symbols and Magical Charaktères Luc Renaut
    Christian Cruciform Symbols and Magical Charaktères Luc Renaut To cite this version: Luc Renaut. Christian Cruciform Symbols and Magical Charaktères. Polytheismus – Monotheismus : Die Pragmatik religiösen Handelns in der Antike, Jun 2005, Erfurt, Germany. hal-00275253 HAL Id: hal-00275253 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00275253 Submitted on 24 Apr 2008 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. CHRISTIAN CRUCIFORM SYMBOLS victory in Milvius Bridge, Constantine « was directed in a dream to cause AND MAGICAL CHARAKTÈRES the heavenly sign of God ( caeleste signum Dei ) to be delineated on the Communication prononcée dans le cadre du Colloque Polytheismus – Mono- shields of his soldiers, and so to proceed to battle. He does as he had been theismus : Die Pragmatik religiösen Handelns in der Antike (Erfurt, Philo- commanded, and he marks on the shields the Christ[’s name] ( Christum in sophische Fakultät, 30/06/05). scutis notat ), the letter X having been rotated ( transversa X littera ) and his top part curved in [half-]circle ( summo capite circumflexo ). »4 This As everyone knows, the gradual political entrance of Christian caeleste signum Dei corresponds to the sign R 5.
    [Show full text]
  • {DOWNLOAD} Cross
    CROSS PDF, EPUB, EBOOK James Patterson | 464 pages | 29 Apr 2010 | Headline Publishing Group | 9780755349401 | English | London, United Kingdom Cross Pens for Discount & Sales | Last Chance to Buy | Cross The Christian cross , seen as a representation of the instrument of the crucifixion of Jesus , is the best-known symbol of Christianity. For a few centuries the emblem of Christ was a headless T-shaped Tau cross rather than a Latin cross. Elworthy considered this to originate from Pagan Druids who made Tau crosses of oak trees stripped of their branches, with two large limbs fastened at the top to represent a man's arm; this was Thau, or god. John Pearson, Bishop of Chester c. In which there was not only a straight and erected piece of Wood fixed in the Earth, but also a transverse Beam fastened unto that towards the top thereof". There are few extant examples of the cross in 2nd century Christian iconography. It has been argued that Christians were reluctant to use it as it depicts a purposely painful and gruesome method of public execution. The oldest extant depiction of the execution of Jesus in any medium seems to be the second-century or early third-century relief on a jasper gemstone meant for use as an amulet, which is now in the British Museum in London. It portrays a naked bearded man whose arms are tied at the wrists by short strips to the transom of a T-shaped cross. An inscription in Greek on the obverse contains an invocation of the redeeming crucified Christ.
    [Show full text]
  • Practicing Love of God in Medieval Jerusalem, Gaul and Saxony
    he collection of essays presented in “Devotional Cross-Roads: Practicing Love of God in Medieval Gaul, Jerusalem, and Saxony” investigates test case witnesses of TChristian devotion and patronage from Late Antiquity to the Late Middle Ages, set in and between the Eastern and Western Mediterranean, as well as Gaul and the regions north of the Alps. Devotional practice and love of God refer to people – mostly from the lay and religious elite –, ideas, copies of texts, images, and material objects, such as relics and reliquaries. The wide geographic borders and time span are used here to illustrate a broad picture composed around questions of worship, identity, reli- gious affiliation and gender. Among the diversity of cases, the studies presented in this volume exemplify recurring themes, which occupied the Christian believer, such as the veneration of the Cross, translation of architecture, pilgrimage and patronage, emergence of iconography and devotional patterns. These essays are representing the research results of the project “Practicing Love of God: Comparing Women’s and Men’s Practice in Medieval Saxony” guided by the art historian Galit Noga-Banai, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and the histori- an Hedwig Röckelein, Georg-August-University Göttingen. This project was running from 2013 to 2018 within the Niedersachsen-Israeli Program and financed by the State of Lower Saxony. Devotional Cross-Roads Practicing Love of God in Medieval Jerusalem, Gaul and Saxony Edited by Hedwig Röckelein, Galit Noga-Banai, and Lotem Pinchover Röckelein/Noga-Banai/Pinchover Devotional Cross-Roads ISBN 978-3-86395-372-0 Universitätsverlag Göttingen Universitätsverlag Göttingen Hedwig Röckelein, Galit Noga-Banai, and Lotem Pinchover (Eds.) Devotional Cross-Roads This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
    [Show full text]
  • K 03-UP-004 Insular Io02(A)
    By Bernard Wailes TOP: Seventh century A.D., peoples of Ireland and Britain, with places and areas that are mentioned in the text. BOTTOM: The Ogham stone now in St. Declan’s Cathedral at Ardmore, County Waterford, Ireland. Ogham, or Ogam, was a form of cipher writing based on the Latin alphabet and preserving the earliest-known form of the Irish language. Most Ogham inscriptions are commemorative (e.g., de•fin•ing X son of Y) and occur on stone pillars (as here) or on boulders. They date probably from the fourth to seventh centuries A.D. who arrived in the fifth century, occupied the southeast. The British (p-Celtic speakers; see “Celtic Languages”) formed a (kel´tik) series of kingdoms down the western side of Britain and over- seas in Brittany. The q-Celtic speaking Irish were established not only in Ireland but also in northwest Britain, a fifth- THE CASE OF THE INSULAR CELTS century settlement that eventually expanded to become the kingdom of Scotland. (The term Scot was used interchange- ably with Irish for centuries, but was eventually used to describe only the Irish in northern Britain.) North and east of the Scots, the Picts occupied the rest of northern Britain. We know from written evidence that the Picts interacted extensively with their neighbors, but we know little of their n decades past, archaeologists several are spoken to this day. language, for they left no texts. After their incorporation into in search of clues to the ori- Moreover, since the seventh cen- the kingdom of Scotland in the ninth century, they appear to i gin of ethnic groups like the tury A.D.
    [Show full text]
  • Saints, Signs Symbols
    \ SAINTS, SIGNS and SYMBOLS by W. ELLWOOD POST Illustrated and revised by the author FOREWORD BY EDWARD N. WEST SECOND EDITION CHRIST THE KING A symbol composed of the Chi Rho and crown. The crown and Chi are gold with Rho of silver on a blue field. First published in Great Britain in 1964 Fourteenth impression 1999 SPCK Holy Trinity Church Acknowledgements Marylebone Road London NW1 4DU To the Rev. Dr. Edward N. West, Canon Sacrist of the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, New York, who has © 1962, 1974 by Morehouse-Barlow Co. graciously given of his scholarly knowledge and fatherly encouragement, I express my sincere gratitude. Also, 1 wish to ISBN 0 281 02894 X tender my thanks to the Rev. Frank V. H. Carthy, Rector of Christ Church, New Brunswick, New Jersey, who initiated my Printed in Great Britain by interest in the drama of the Church; and to my wife, Bette, for Hart-Talbot Printers Ltd her loyal co-operation. Saffron Walden, Essex The research material used has been invaluable, and I am indebted to writers, past and contemporary. They are: E. E. Dorling, Heraldry of the Church; Arthur Charles Fox-Davies, Guide to Heraldry; Shirley C. Hughson of the Order of the Holy Cross, Athletes of God; Dr. F. C. Husenbeth Emblems of Saints; C. Wilfrid Scott-Giles, The Romance of Heraldry; and F. R. Webber, Church Symbolism. W. ELLWOOD POST Foreword Contents Ellwood Post's book is a genuine addition to the ecclesiological library. It contains a monumental mass of material which is not Page ordinarily available in one book - particularly if the reader must depend in general on the English language.
    [Show full text]
  • The Other Symbols
    The Other Symbols Monograms Alpha And Omega: These are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, signifying that Jesus Christ is the beginning and end of all things (Rev. 22:13). Chi Rho: This is a monogram of the first two letters X and P of the Greek word for Christ. Chi Rho with Alpha and Omega: This symbol for the Lord comes from the catacombs and indicates that he is the beginning, continuation and end of all things. Chi Rho with Alpha and Omega in a Circle: The symbol for Christ is within the symbol for eternity (the circle), thus signifying the eternal existence of the Savior. IHC or IHS: This is more often seen in Protestant churches and is almost as common as the Cross. They are the first three letters of the Greek word for Jesus. IHC is more ancient, but IHS is more common. I X: This symbol for the Lord consists of the initial letters of the Greek words for Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ The Victor: This is a Greek Cross with the abbreviated Greek words for Jesus Christ, the lines above the letters indicating that the words are abbreviated. The letters NIKA are translated victor or conqueror. I.N.R.I.: These are the initial letters for the Latin inscription on the Cross of the Crucified Christ. Iesus Nazaremus Rex Indaeorum: Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews (John 19:19). I.H.B.I [Greek] І.Н.Ц.І [Slavonic] Sun and Chi Rho: The sun is the source of light and Jesus is referred to as the Light (John 1:4).
    [Show full text]
  • For Praying for Individuals Using the Ancient Christogram of Chi Rho
    where world and worship meet creative idea for praying for individuals using the ancient Christogram of Chi Rho Chi and Ro describe the first two letters used to spell ‘Christ’ – which means the anointed one, or the special one – in Greek and have been used together as a symbolic/pictoral monogram to represent or abbreviate Christ since very early on in Christian history. We’ve found it provides an incredibly helpful way to visualise and pray into the presence, power and mercy of Christ over any given individual – whether they’re someone close to us or a public figure such as a church leader, politician or celebrity. There is something extraordinarily powerful about using something so ancient and global in its reach in new ways and to intercede about our own contemporary and specific contexts. You will need: tracing paper, a pencil, images of those you want to pray for (printed out or displayed on your device) 1. Hold and/or look at the image of the person you want to pray for, consciously lifting them and their situation and/or role to God. 2. Place the tracing paper over their image and begin by drawing an ‘X’ shaped ‘Chi’ over them with a pencil, imagining as you do so that you are praying the mercy of Christ over the totality of their person and life – physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Originally it’s thought that the cross used here didn’t symbolise the crucifixion, which was generally pictured as a T shape, but you can still picture it as this – alongside perhaps the totality of every direction it implies.
    [Show full text]