The Parish Church of St George the Martyr, Waterlooville
Recently, Rod attended a sung Eucharist at Holy Trinity Church, Blendworth. The augmented choir sang parts of The Armed Man -
The Kyrie
The Benedictus
Agnus Dei
Sanctus
When the priest ascended the beautiful octagonal pulpit made of marble to give the sermon on Peace in the World, Rod noticed an ornate cypher on the front of the structure. This he recognised as a Christogram which comprised the first three Greek letters of Christ, combined with a cross.
On the altar of our own church of St George the current ‘fair white linen cloth’ (as the canon expresses it) has embroidery at each end comprising a pattern element JHS and a cross. In various places this cypher -
There are many analogous symbols, such as the Vesica Piscis (the fish design), the Celtic Chi-
ROTAS
OPERA
TENET
AREPO
SATOR
-
As for the initials IHS, other ways have been proposed of devising interpretations:
Jesu Hominem Salvator (Jesus Saviour of Mankind)
In Hoc Servitium (In His Service)
In Hoc Signo (this one was used as a war cry by the Emperor Constantine)
In His Steps
St Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, used the monogram as his seal. The cypher should be looked for in its various forms wherever congregations meet.
Rod Dawson
Winter Edition 2013