The Sign of the Cross
Catholic historians and ecumenical religious teachers would have us to
believe the following about this episode in the life of Constantine.
ìHe was extremely troubled at the upcoming battle. If he won, he would
be Emperor. If he lost, he would be destroyed. He had sought the help of
his god, but to no avail. He thought that perhaps the God of the Christians
would help him, and asked for His help. While Constantine was marching
with his forces in the afternoon, a very bright cross appeared in the
heavens. It was brighter than the sun, and over the cross were the words,
ëIn Hoc Signo Vincesí (By this Sign you will conquer). He pondered the
vision and itís meaning until night. While still mired in confusion as to what
the vision might mean he fell asleep. Then Christ appeared to him in a
dream, and told him to make use of the symbol as a military ensign.
Constantine obeyed and had the ëSigní painted on the shields of his
soldiersí, and won the battle for the throne.î
However, the ìcrossî that Constantine saw in that sky that day was not the one
that you would associate with the crucifixion of Christ. It was a symbol called a
Labarum.
This insignia has become
known as the ìChi-Rhoî. The
X and P are the first letters of
Christos, the Greek name for
ChristThere is also this further evidence from the roman catacombs that conflicts
with the belief that the Chi-Rho was the Celestial Sign of Jehovah.
ìÖon a Christian monumentÖthere is a distinct allusion to
the story of the vision; but that allusion also shows that the
X, and not the cross, was regarded as ëthe heavenly sign.íî 7It is highly suspicious if Constantine actually saw Greek lettering at all. If the
words over the sign were in Latin, why would the image be in Greek?
Although the Chi-Rho is said to have begun with the vision of Constantine, an
inscription bearing this monogram was found on a tomb in the City of Pompeii
dating from two and a half centuries earlier. 8