An inscription of IHS.
Christianity has numerous symbols that represent various aspects of the Christian faith. For example, doves represent peace, while a fish represents answering the call to be "fishers of men" and spread the gospel. Christians also use the symbol IHS, but the exact meaning of the symbol is a matter of dispute. As a result, there is more than one explanation for what the symbol represents and how it came about.
IHESUS or IHESOUS
According to Dr. Ralph Wilson of Jesus Walk, Catholic Saints, Fish Eaters and Jesus Family Tomb, IHS is an abbreviation of Jesus' name, which in Greek is IHESUS or IHESOUS. The first letters of the Greek spelling of Jesus' name are iota, eta and sigma, which translate to I, H and S, respectively, in Latin or English.
Peace and the Jesuits
Wilson, Fish Eaters and Jesus Family Tomb all assert that IHS sometimes is translated as an acronym for Iesus Hominum Salvator, or Jesus Savior of Men. Catholic Saints explains that this acronym is distinct to the Catholic denomination because Bernadine of Sienna and St. Ignatius Loyala popularized IHS as a symbol of peace and the Jesuit order in the 15th and 16th centuries.
Victory
According to Wilson, the Christian leader Constantine supposedly dreamed of the symbol for Christ (a large P with an X on the stem) and believed that using this symbol would ensure him victory in battle. Some people thus believe that IHS is an acronym for the phrase "In Hoc Signo vinces", which translates as "In this sign you shall conquer."
Non-Christian Associations
Early Christians were besieged with a large number of beliefs, as demonstrated by Jesus Family Tomb. They were exposed not only to traditional Jewish beliefs about a Messiah or savior, but also to Egyptian and Roman pagan rituals. The IHS symbol thus sometimes appears with symbols of other religious practices, such as the sun--in fact, some experts associate the IHS symbol as reflecting not Christianity, but the mythological figures Isis, Horus, and Seb. The symbol also has links to Bacchus, the god of wine, with whom early Christians associated Jesus.
Modern Use
Christian churches, especially the Roman Catholic church, often believe that the communion wafer literally is the body of Christ, based on interpretation of the words of Jesus at the Last Supper. The IHS symbol thus appears on communion wafers as a visual reminder of what the wafer is supposed to be and to represent.
