Christian_Symbolism

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                                  In Roman times, whenever someone was crucified a board
                                   would have been fixed to the cross above their head with the
                                   details of their crime written on it. ' INRI ' stands for the Latin words ' Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum ' meaning ' Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.' These words were ordered to be put above Jesus' head by Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea.

Used during a Communion service [ also called 'Mass', the 'Lord's Supper' or the 'Eucharist'], the bread and wine symbolise the body and blood of Jesus Christ. During the Last Supper he gave his disciples bread and called it his 'body.' Giving them wine he called it his 'blood.' When Christians eat the bread and drink the wine they remember Christ's sacrifice on the cross.

The cross is believed to be of the type on which Jesus was crucified by the Romans in about 30AD. It is the central image of Christianity, representing Christ's sacrifice for the sins of the world. A cross with the figure of Jesus on it is called a 'crucifix.' Christians may wear a cross or crucifix on a chain around their neck.

These three interlinked rings symbolise the Trinity. This means that God is made up of three separate parts, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. To show how something can be separate yet together Christians use this symbol. Another symbol used by Christians to explain the Trinity is the shamrock, which is one leaf but with three parts.

The Alpha and Omega are very early Christian symbols. They are also the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. Christians use these symbols to symbolise Jesus, who called himself "the first and last, the beginning and the end" in the New Testament Book of Revelation.

The Chi-Rho symbol [left] is another ancient Christian symbol for Jesus. Chi and Rho are letters of the Greek alphabet, being the same as ch and r in English. They are the first two letters of the Greek word christos or 'Christ.'

The fish symbol is another ancient symbol representing Jesus Christ. The Greek word for fish is ichthus [ ]
The early Christians took each letter of ichthus and used them as the first letters of other words. This is called an acronym.

i     =     Iesous        =       Jesus

ch    = Christos    =       Christ

th    = theos         =       God's

u     = uios           =       Son,

s     = soter         =       Saviour

During the time of the Roman persecution of the Christians it was not possible for Christians to wear a cross on their clothing as this would identify them and could lead to their deaths. So, instead, they devised some of the symbols you see on this page so that they could identify one another safely.

The Lamb of God: John the Baptist spoke of Jesus as the ' Lamb of God' who would take away the sins of the world. Lambs were used as sacrifices in the Temple in Jerusalem in the time of Jesus. In this symbol Jesus is shown as the Lamb of God carrying the banner of victory over death. Christians believe that his death on the cross may be seen as a victory, and not as a defeat.

It is said that many early Christians, possibly in keeping with Jewish traditions, refused to write the names 'Jesus' or 'God' in full so they used symbols or contractions instead. IHS or IHC is drawn from the first three letters of 'Jesus' in Greek.