Trying to find out what the," IHS," on a Roman Catholic Cross stands for.I have been told many different thing

Question

I saw this cross on a church in Manhatten and it had the letters " IHS," across the center of it. Can anyone tell me what this means. I have been told several different translations, but want to know if any one answer is correct. I have been told they are the leteers of Jesus in Greek. I have also been told it means, In his service and several other forms of Jesus name. Thanks for any help you can give me.

Answer 1

IHS are the first 3 letters of the Greek name of Jesus.

Jesus Christ in Greek is ΙΗΣΟΥΣ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ and written in the English alphabet is "IHCOYC XPICTOC" or "IHSOYS XPISTOS"

Starting in the third century the nomina sacra, or names of Jesus, were sometimes shortened by contraction in Christian inscriptions, resulting in sequences of Greek letters such as:

+ Jesus +
IH (iota eta)
IC (iota sigma) (first and last letter)
IHC (iota eta sigma)
IHS (iota eta sigma)
JH (iota eta)
JC (iota sigma)
JHC (iota eta sigma)
JHS (iota eta sigma)

+ Christ +
X (chi) as in Xmas
XP (chi rho)
XC (chi sigma) (first and last letter)
XPC (chi rho sigma)
XPS (chi rho sigma)

+ Jesus Christ +
IX
IC XC
IHS XPS
JX
JC XC
JHS XPS

The Greek letter sigma has been translated as both "C" and "S"
The Greek letter iota has been translated as both "I" and "J"

+ INRI +

Many crosses and all crucifixes have either the abbreviation "INRI" or the Latin phrase IESVS NAZARENVS REX IVDAEORVM, which translates to English as: "Jesus the Nazarene, the King of the Jews".

This phrase appears in the New Testament in the Gospels of Matthew (27:37), Mark (15:26); Luke (23:38), and John (19:19).

With love in Christ.

Answer 2

IHS: dating from the 8th c., this is an abbreviation for "IHESUS," the way Christ's Name was spelled in the Middle Ages (despite popular belief, the monogram stands neither for "Iesus Hominum Salvator" --"Jesus Saviour of Men" -- nor for "In His Service.") Popularized by St. Bernardine of Siena, the monogram was later used by St. Ignatius of Loyola as a symbol for the Jesuit Order.


What you will most often see on a cross are the letters INRI
According to scripture, Pilate commanded that a sign be posted, INRI (Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews). Use the Latin - note there is no "j" in Latin. King = Rex.

Answer 3

IHS
A monogram of the name of Jesus Christ. From the third century the names of our Saviour are sometimes shortened, particularly in Christian inscriptions (IH and XP, for Jesus and Christus). In the next century the "sigla" (chi-rho) occurs not only as an abbreviation but also as a symbol. From the beginning, however, in Christian inscriptions the nomina sacra, or names of Jesus Christ, were shortened by contraction, thus IC and XC or IHS and XPS for Iesous Christos

Answer 4

http://altreligion.about.com/library/glossary/symbols/bldefsihs.htm

the first three letters of the name Iesous (Greek for Jesus), the letters of which are also used to spell out the phrase "Iesous Hominum Salvator," "Jesus, savior of man."

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