Christian Crosses with Lettering

also known as Titulus Crosses

When crucifixions were commonplace, it was customary to affix a board at the top of the cross detailing the crimes of the crucified person. This board was called titulus hence the name Titulus Cross. The plaque is stylised as an upper beam on the Patriarchal Cross, Orthodox Cross, Papal Cross and others. Sometimes the lettering is carved onto the vertical beam, without the additional upper horizontal bar, which we still refer as a Titulus Cross.

Titular Cross

If a Christian cross has an inscription, it is most often INRI, since this represents the wording on Christ's cross. Other lettering includes PAX and ΦΩΣ ΖΩΗ (Phos Zoe), and monograms (Christograms or Chrismons) such as ΑΩ (Alpha & Omega), XP (Chi Rho), ICXC, IHS and ΙΧΘΥΣ (Ichthys). The characters are usually Latin or Greek.

Logo Cross

Such crosses are shown below, plus a few other crosses which happen to include significant lettering. These are popular with various Christian organisations, such as the 'Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops', whose logo (shown on the right) is a Latin Cross with a circular arrangement of letters to form a Celtic Cross.

Mouse over a cross for its name
Click on a cross for its details

Mouse over a cross for its name
Click on a cross for its details

Some of the more common lettering includes:

Acronym	Latin (or Greek)
AD	Anno Domini	Year of Our Lord Used to indicate a year after Christ's birth. The current year is AD (not AD). Before the year of Christ's birth is BC. The increasingly common secular version is CE (Common Era) and BCE (Before Common Era) but of course these tend not to appear in a religious context.
AM	Ave Maria	Hail Mary A salutation asking for the intercession of the Virgin Mary.
AMDG	Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam	For the greater glory of God Said to have been coined by St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits).
ΑΩ	Alpha & Omega	Jesus Christ eternal
BC		Before Christ See also AD (above). Where AD comes before the year, BC comes after. For example Abraham lived around 1700 BC ¹, which is about 3,700 years ago.². The calendar system that gave rise to the use of AD and BC began in the 6th or 7th century.
BM	Bonae Memoriae	Of Happy Memory
BVM		Blessed Virgin Mary
C AOMPS D	Christus Ab Omni Malo Plebem Suam Defendat	Christ defends His people against every evil
C et CaT	Contemplare et Contemplata aliis Tradere	To Contemplate and hand on to others the fruit of our contemplation A motto of the Dominican Order
CSSML	Crux sacra sit mihi lux	Holy Cross be my light Often on the St. Benedict Medal
CV CR CI	Christus vincit, Christus regnat, Christus imperat	Christ conquers, Christ reigns, Christ commands
DMeO	Deus Meus et Omnia	My God and My All A motto of the Franciscan Order
DN	Dominus Noster	Our Lord
DNJC	Dominus Noster Jesus Christus	Our Lord Jesus Christ
EAD	Ecce Agnus Dei	Behold the Lamb of God From "Ecce Agnus Dei qui tollit peccata mundi" (Behold the Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world). See John 1:29
EENS	Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus	Outside the Church there is no salvation Not usually seen outside Catholicism
Fel Mem	Felicis Memoriae	Of Happy Memory Inscribed on grave crosses
ΙΧΘΥΣ	Ichthys	Fish Acrostic: "Jesus as Christ, God's Son, and Saviour"
IC XC	Iota Sigma, Chi Sigma	Jesus Christ IC represents the Greek characters Iota (Ι) and Sigma (Σ) - the first and last letters of Jesus (ΙΗΣΟΥΣ). (UC is sometimes seen in place of, or in addition to, IC. See below.) The letters XC represent Chi (Χ) and Sigma (Σ) - the first and last letters of Christ (ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ).
IHS	ΙΗΣ	The first three letters of 'Jesus' in Greek Sometimes written as IHC or JHS
INRI	Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudeorum	Jesus the Nazorean, King of the Jews The titulus placed at the top of Jesus' Cross
IX	Iota-Chi	Christ Iota is the first letter of 'Jesus' in Greek and Chi is the first letter 'Christ' in Greek. A simpler explanation is sometimes given: In Christo (In Christ).
JHS	ΙΗΣ	The first three letters of 'Jesus' in Greek More commonly written as IHS
LBP	Laudare, Benedicere, Praedicare	To praise, to bless and to preach From the Dominican Missal, Preface of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and motto of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans)
MR QU	Meter Theou	Mother of God Greek acronym
ND	Notre Dame	Our Lady French
NIKA		Victor Greek, often seen with IC XC to form 'Jesus Christ, Victor'
OL	Ora et Labora	Prayer and Work A motto of the Benedictine Order and of the Trappists. Also an acronym for 'Our Lady'
PAX	Pax	Peace A motto of the Benedictine Order
ΦΩΣ ΖΩΗ	Phos Zoe	Light and life of Christ
RIP	Requiescat In Pace	May he / she rest in peace Inscribed on grave crosses. On war memorials RIP may be considered in the plural is Requiescant in pace.
SD	Servus Dei	Servant of God)
TF et OP	Tuitio Fidei et Obsequium Pauperum	To defend the faith and to serve the poor A motto of the Knights of Malta
UC XC		Jesus Christ See IC XC above
UIOGD	Ut In Omnibus Glorificetur Deus	That God may be glorified in all things A motto of the Benedictine Order
Veritas		Truth (Named after the mythical Roman goddess of truth, a daughter of Saturn and the mother of Virtue). Veritas is a motto of the Dominican Order
VGFA	Votum Fecit Gratiam Accepit	Vow made, graces received Seen on crosses above votive offering plates
XP	Chi Rho	Chrismon Constantine's sign from God

1:	The date depends largely on which school you went to
2:	A long time, whichever school you went to