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Upon emerging victorious after the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, Constantine the Great created the Chi-Rho from the first two letters of the Greek word ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ meaning "Christ".

Given that Constantine the Great was a Roman emperor, whose "mother tongue" was Latin, and that the sign that appeared before him on the eve of battle was also in Latin ( In hoc signo vinces ), why on earth did he choose to create a Christogram out of a Greek word? What could've possibly influenced him in this regard?

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The short answer is that Constantine didn't create the Chi-Rho Christogram. There is evidence that it was already being used before Constantine, but he certainly raised the symbol's prominence after the Battle of Milvian Bridge in 312AD.

Most of the early Christian texts were written in Greek, and Greek actually continued as the language of the eastern Roman, or "Byzantine", Empire. It was therefore natural that the symbol would have derived from the first two letters of the Greek word ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ.

You are right that Latin was the language of Constantine's court, but as an educated Roman he would probably have known some Greek, and he was probably aware of some of the Christian symbols in use at that time. He certainly wasn't fluent in the language though as he had to use an interpreter to address Greek-speaking bishops at the Council of Nicaea.

In the story of the Battle, the sign that appeared was a cross, or something similar (Lactantius is the first author to mention the story (just a couple of years after the battle), and he is not entirely clear on that point). The sign was associated with a dream in which Constantine received the message (in Latin) "In hoc signo vince!" ("In this sign, conquer!")

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    To be more precise: Greek was the Lingua Franca of the time. Latin was spoken among the Romans but, as you mentioned the interpreter, the majority of the people in what was left of Alexander's empire would speak Greek at least as second language (hence the necessity for the Septuagint, just as an example). May 12, 2017 at 12:32
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    @PatricHartmann That is absolutely right. But in this context especially, it was the language of the early Christian church, which explains why the Chi-Rho Christogram was based on Greek, rather than Latin, as asked by the OP. May 12, 2017 at 12:37
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    I did not mean to correct or criticise your answer, sorry if it was received that way. I simply meant: The Church's language was Greek because the Lingua Franca was Greek (and the Church at the time already a pretty "international" thing). May 12, 2017 at 12:40
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Although Constantine was a Roman Emperor, he was not ethnically or genealogically Roman. His Mother, Helena, was Greek, his Father was Illyrian/Albanian and he was born and raised in the Balkans.

During his early years, Constantine, would have been exposed to the Latin, Greek and Illyrian languages, due to his geographic, demographic and familial settings. While Latin was Constantine's main language, he probably would have had a very basic knowledge/command of the Greek and Illyrian languages as well, again, due to his geographic, demographic and familial settings. So that his use/creation of the famous "Chi-rho", would not necessarily have been that foreign to him considering the fact that his Mother was Greek and that the Greek language was widely spoken and written throughout much of the Roman Empire-(including parts of the Balkans/Southeast Europe).

(Eusebius is a good source for understanding Early Church History and yes, Eusebius wrote in Greek).

(There are Wikipedia articles on Constantine which detail his biographical background).

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Constantine was ethnically Greek and Illyrian, that is to say his mother, Helena, was of ethnic Greek descent and his Father, was Illyrian-(most likely of Albanian descent).

While Constantine certainly had a Roman cultural orientation for much of his life-(particularly, with regard to the Latin language and of course having been the First "Eastern Roman" Emperor), he was also of a mixed Hellenic and ancient Balkan background, both ethnically and culturally.

(Wikipedia articles on Constantine, Helena and The Byzantine Empire).

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    Your answer could be improved with additional supporting information. Please edit to add further details, such as citations or documentation, so that others can confirm that your answer is correct. You can find more information on how to write good answers in the help center.
    – Community Bot
    Dec 27, 2022 at 21:45
  • Can you provide detailed sources for 'albanian descent'?
    – justCal
    Dec 27, 2022 at 22:49
  • I currently don't have any "detailed sources" on Constantine's patrilineal heritage-(or more specifically, his Albanian heritage), though from what I remember from past sources as well as various Wikipedia articles, it was stated that his Father was of an ethnically Illyrian background. The Ancient Illyrians, were the original, pre-Slavic Balkan peoples, who were likely, the progenitors of the Albanian ethno-racial group of Southeastern Europe. Incidentally, Constantine was born and raised in a Balkan town-(which I believe is in present-day Serbia), though during Constantine's time.....
    – Alex
    Dec 27, 2022 at 22:56
  • this town in present-day Serbia would have been an ethnically Illyrian town under Roman imperial rule.
    – Alex
    Dec 27, 2022 at 22:56
  • So you are assigning an ethnicity to an individual based on where people will live a thousand years later? How can one be descended from a people that don't exist yet? You can see here the Albanian language 'was first attested in the 15th century'.
    – justCal
    Dec 27, 2022 at 23:04

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