What are Christograms and why Christians used them?

Christograms in Christian tradition are abbreviations that represent Jesus Christ. The use of these abbreviations dates back to early Christianity. Their emergence was heavily influenced by the political atmosphere of the Roman Empire, which was the birthplace and environment in which Christianity emerged and developed. Until the Councils of Milan and Thessalonica in the 4th century AD Christians were frequently subjected to persecution and torture under Roman rule. Due to the constant threat of Roman inquisition, Christians adopted Symbolic ways of referring to the name of Jesus and Christian teachings. Over time, these abbreviations—Christograms—evolved into sacred symbols within Christian tradition.

Beyond the constraints of political necessity, the inherent need of the religion for symbolic and coded language also contributed to the development and spread of these abbreviated symbols.

What is "ICXC"?

In the Eastern Church and the context of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, one of the most well-known Christograms is the four-letter abbreviation ICXC. This is a traditional abbreviation of the Greek words for “Jesus Christ,” derived from the first and last letters of ΙΗΣΟΥΣ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ, commonly written as ΙΗCΟΥC ΧΡΙCΤΟC.

In religious icons, this Christogram may appear split—“IC” on the left side of the image and “XC” on the right—with a line often drawn above the letters (called a titlos) to indicate the sacredness of the name.

What is "Ο ωΝ"?

The Greek monogram Ο ωΝ has been highly regarded in the Eastern Church and possesses extensive and profound theological foundations. The phrase Ο ωΝ is directly derived from the Book of Exodus in the Old Testament, where God tells Moses: "I AM WHO I AM."

This monogram is deeply venerated in the Eastern Christian tradition and is widely used in Orthodox iconography, typically inscribed in a triangular form or on three sides of a cross within a halo.

Ο = The Greek definite article ("the")

ωΝ = The present participle form of the verb "to be"

Ο ωΝ literally means: "He Who Is"

This phrase signifies the oneness of the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament, and the divinity of Jesus Christ.

There is no consensus on the origin of this monogram and where it was first used. Some researchers believe it was first used in the Balkans or Russia (territory of the Eastern Orthodox Church) between the 11th and 13th centuries AD. They suggest it was a response to dualistic, Manichaean, and Gnostic heresies, such as those espoused by the Bogomil sect. Other scholars contend that its widespread use in the halo of Christ in 14th-century Byzantine paintings occurred particularly after the consolidation of Hesychasm (the mysticism of quietude) in the Orthodox Church, and it was used as a symbol of the luminous and mystical theology of this movement.