The chi-rho symbol he adopted is now displayed in churches throughout the world.
David F. Wright is dean of the Faculty of Divinity at the University of Edinburgh. | posted 7/01/1990 12:00AM
In October 312, Constantine and his forces marched toward Rome. Arrayed against them were the armies of Maxentius—four times greater. At stake was control of Rome and sole rule of the Western Empire.
According to Christian historian Eusebius, the troubled Constantine sought help in prayer to his father’s god. Constantine then had a vision of a cross of light emblazoned against the sun and saw the words In hoc signo vinces: “In this sign you will win.” Constantine ordered the monogram of Christ to be painted on his soldiers’ shields. When he later engaged Maxentius, Constantine won a decisive victory. What was this emblem? Where did it originate? Historian David F. Wright offers this brief history.
The military standard or ensign carried by the Roman legions was normally a metal pole surmounted by a figure of an eagle and often bearing other decorative features. The name labarum (a word of disputed origin—perhaps Celtic) may already have designated such a standard, but it became the distinctive ...
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