Catholic Word of the Day: CHRISMA, 10-19-11

CatholicReference.net ^ | 10-19-11 | Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary

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Featured Term (selected at random):

CHRISMA

A symbol of Christ. It is a monogram of the Greek letters chi and rho, shaped like an X and P, but equivalent to CH and R in Latin and English. Also called Chi Rho. (Etym. Latin chrisma; from Greek khrisma, ointment, from khriein, to anoint.)

All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

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I thought this said "chrism" at first!

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IHS AND CHI-RHO

The letters IHS often appear on liturgical items, building plaques and gravestones and sacred vessels. IHS is a shortened form of the Greek word for Jesus.

The letters X and P are often used as another symbol for "Christ". The first two letters of Christ's name in Greek are X and P. In the Greek alphabet X equals CH and P equals R.

Also known as the CHi-RHO cross, the letters are usually inscribed one over the other sometimes enclosed within a circle becoming both a cosmic and a solar symbol.

 

 

 

 

Anchor, fish, and Chi-Rho symbols from the Catacombs of St. Sebastian.

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Catholic Word of the Day – links will be provided later by another FReeper.  (Would anyone like to help with this?)

 

Book of Ruth	Beati Possidentes	Reader/Lector
Standing	Beadle	Chrismatory
Crown	Matrimonial Jurisdiction	Mother of God
Poor Men of Lyons	Our Lady of Copacabana	Eucharistic Intercession
Divini Redemptoris	Disestablishment	Anacephalaeosis
La Negrita	Passover	Hylozoism
Chapter House	Internal Peace	Free Churches
Similitude	Gehenna (Hinnom)	Holiness
Chrisma

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