Editing Christogram (section)

=== IHS ===
[[File:IHS Christogram 1864 Bible.jpg|thumb|IHS Christogram embossed on an 1864 leather-bound King James Bible]]
In the [[Latin]]-speaking Christianity of medieval Western Europe (and so among Catholics and many [[Protestant]]s today), the most common Christogram became "IHS" or "IHC", denoting the first three letters of the [[Greek language|Greek]] name of Jesus, {{lang|grc|ΙΗΣΟΥΣ}}, ''[[iota]]-[[eta (letter)|eta]]-[[sigma (letter)|sigma]]'', or {{lang|grc|ΙΗΣ}}.<ref name=Gieben>''Christian sacrament and devotion'' by Servus Gieben 1997 {{ISBN|90-04-06247-5}} page 18</ref><ref name=Becker>''The Continuum encyclopedia of symbols'' by Udo Becker 2000 {{ISBN|0-8264-1221-1}} page 54</ref><ref name=CathHoly>{{cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07421a.htm|title=CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Holy Name of Jesus|work=New Advent}}</ref>

The Greek letter ''iota'' is represented by 'I', and the ''eta'' by 'H', while the Greek letter ''sigma'' is either in its lunate form, represented by 'C', or its final form, represented by 'S'. Because the Latin-alphabet letters ''I'' and ''J'' were not systematically distinguished until the 17th century, "JHS" and "JHC" are equivalent to "IHS" and "IHC".

"IHS" is sometimes interpreted as meaning {{langx|grc|ΙΗΣΟΥΣ ΗΜΕΤΕΡΟΣ ΣΩΤΗΡ|Iēsous Hēmeteros Sōtēr|Jesus our Saviour|label=none}} or in Latin {{lang|la|Jesus Hominum}} (or {{lang|la|Hierosolymae}}) {{lang|la|Salvator}}, ('Jesus, Saviour of men [or: of Jerusalem]' in Latin)<ref name=IHS_CathEnc>Maere, René. "IHS." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910.</ref> or connected with {{lang|la|[[In hoc signo vinces|In Hoc Signo]]}}. English-language interpretations of "IHS" have included "In His Service".<ref name="Bush(NA)2004">{{cite book|last1=Bush|first1=Brian Paige|last2=(NA)|first2=Bush|title=His Blueprint In The Bible: A Study Of The Number Three In Scripture|date=1 March 2004|publisher=Dorrance Publishing Co.|language=English|isbn=9780805963823|page=9}}</ref> Such interpretations are known as [[backronym|backformed acronyms]].

Used in Latin since the seventh century, the first use of ''IHS'' in an English document dates from the fourteenth century, in ''[[Piers Plowman]]''.<ref>{{OED|IHS}}</ref> In the 15th century, [[Saint Bernardino of Siena]] popularized the use of the three letters on the background of a blazing sun to displace both popular pagan symbols and seals of political factions like the [[Guelphs and Ghibellines]] in public spaces (see [[Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus]]).

The IHS monogram with the H surmounted by a cross above [[triclavianism|three nails]] and surrounded by a [[Sol Invictus|Sun]] is the emblem of the [[Jesuits]], according to tradition introduced by [[Ignatius of Loyola]] in 1541.<ref name=IHS_CathEnc />

IHS has been known to appear on gravestones, especially among Irish Catholics.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Romano |first1=Ron |title=Portland's Historic Eastern Cemetery: A Field of Ancient Graves |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |page=87}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=New Jersey Cemeteries and Tombstones: History in the Landscape |date=2008 |publisher=Rutgers University Press |page=179}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Irish South Australia: New histories and insights |date=2019 |publisher=Wakefield Press |page=81}}</ref>

====Gallery with different formats of the symbol====

<gallery>
File:IHS with cross.jpg|[[File:Christogram.jpg|thumb|Northwood Cemetery Isle of Wight]]IHS or JHS Christogram of western Christianity
File:IHC-monogram-Jesus-medievalesque.svg|Medieval-style IHC monogram
File:Interlaced IHS monogram on ceiling of church of Saint-Martin de L'Isle-Adam.jpg|Intertwined IHS monogram, Saint-Martin's Church, [[L'Isle-Adam, Val-d'Oise]]
File:Clontuskert Priory Doorway IHC Monogram 2009 09 16.jpg|IHC monogram from [[Clontuskert Abbey]], Ireland
File:Jesuit emblem 1586.jpg|The Jesuit emblem from a 1586 print
File:ReformationWallGeneva IHS cropped.jpg|ΙΗΣ on the [[Reformation Wall]] in [[Geneva]], [[Switzerland]]
File:Church Door, Church of the Good Shepherd (Rosemont, Pennsylvania).jpg|Door at [[Church of the Good Shepherd (Rosemont, Pennsylvania)]] showing (from left) arms of the parish; Marian monogram; the IHS Christogram; and arms of the [[Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania]]
</gallery>