Chi-Rho: The Sign Constantine Saw in the Sky
In this sign, Constantine the Great did conquer his rivals, and after this victory, the Roman Empire had quickly begun to follow Christianity.
This is the sign that Constantine I, (Popularly known as Constantine the Great) the first Roman Emperor to embrace Christianity, saw in the sky.
The Story
Constantine the Great was emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, and after he won the Battle of Milvian Bridge in 312 AD, he became the emperor of both the Eastern Roman Empire and Western Roman Empire.
Constantine had to battle against Maxentius for the throne of the Western Roman Empire. He was unsure about how he would win against Maxentius because his rival had far greater numbers of men on his side.
When he was thinking about his strategy for defeating Maxentius, he looked up at the sky and heard from Heaven:
“In hoc signo vinces”
When translated from Latin to English, it means “In this sign thou shalt conquer.”
God had spoken to Constantine and revealed to him that the victory was his as soon as he took on his sign.
Constantine I decided to engrave the sign of the Chi-Rho on the shields that his army used in the battle. This decision led to his victory as he and his army fought his rivals and later made Rome accept Christianity.
The Chi-Rho sign is a monogram of the first two letters of Christ’s name in Greek which are the letters Chi and Rho. The full name is ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ and the X and P come from the Greek spelling of his name.
Constantine the Great strengthened the Roman Empire immensely after his battle against his rivals who wanted control.
He paved the way for Christianity to become the dominant religion in the Roman Empire as well as in all of Europe with his decree in 313 AD that made Christianity an officially recognized religion in the Roman Empire
This was this week’s Rome Rebirth newsletter on the Chi-Rho sign. I hope you enjoyed it.
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