Meaning of IC XC NIKA
I seem to get a lot of searches trying to figure out what “IC XC NIKA” means, so briefly…
IC XC is an ancient Greek Christogram. This comes from the Greek spelling of Jesus Christ, Ιησους Χριστος, and IC XC is simply the first and last letter of each individual word. Often a bar is depicted over each to signify that it is an abbreviation and to signify Christ’s divinity. NIKA is a Greek word meaning “conquers” (and is not an abbreviation!), referring to Christ’s conquest of Hades and His victory over death and sin. Usually IC XC NIKA can be seen in the cross formation shown above.
Notable also is that IC XC will appear next to Christ’s head in Orthodox iconography, and He almost always has His right hand in the configuration shown below in blessing:
As the illustration shows, the letters IC XC are formed by the fingers (and thumb). During the Divine Liturgy, clergy of priestly rank or higher also bless the congregation using this same hand configuration.
There you have it. IC XC NIKA! +
3 May 2008 at 7:37 am
Nice explanation. Western images of Christ holding up two fingers are unrelated. The two fingers are for his humanity and divinity.
The old game of presuming that everything in the West is a corruption or defect is so tiring coming from the Orthodox. You collectively are spending very quickly the good will of us Catholics who have in recent years tried to extend and olive branch. Dont expect the positive regard to last too long with such cheap shots being the Eastern norm.
3 May 2008 at 4:09 pm
I honestly was not aware of this and will delete the entire reference. Nevertheless, this was not intended as a “cheap shot” — I grew up Roman Catholic, and my catechism as a child was rather lacking. Nobody was ever able to tell me what the two fingers meant, and so years later, I drew my own (obviously false) conclusions. The fact that you are so quick to blame the Orthodox for the error of someone who was up until a week ago still Roman Catholic speaks volumes about your own attitudes, as far as I am concerned, especially since you have not left a single other comment on this blog except to chide me.
At any rate, thank you for the information, and I apologize for the error.
4 May 2008 at 8:54 pm
Actually, I did not realize that you had just left the Church. I hope you find happiness in the East. What I also hope for you is that you dont get caught up in the anti-Catholicism of the Orthodox, which typically happens to new converts to them.
4 May 2008 at 9:51 pm
I believe the condition to which you are referring has a name, “convertitis.” Being anti-Catholic, or perhaps better put as anti-West since that terminology seems more popular, is poisonous both to one’s own soul and the souls of anyone else who happens to witness it. I still have my Roman crucifix over my bed, I still have my little painting of the child Christ and the Blessed Virgin next to it, and I still have a paschal postcard with a photograph of a statue of the risen Christ next to those. Some “purists” might be tempted to throw them away, but frankly, I think that would be plain stupid.
At any rate, your point is well taken. I would also point out that while I have seen venom from some Roman Catholics, to the point of declaring that all Orthodox hate Our Lady no less!, it certainly is not fair to judge the entire Roman Catholic Church because of those few. I believe the same should be applied in reverse — I know the anti-Western types are out there, but they are to be ignored, so far as I’m concerned.
Lastly — thank you for the well wishes, and I apologize again for the error that sparked this conversation.
7 May 2008 at 9:57 am
When I first started exploring Orthodoxy, I wondered about the IC XC NIKA. At first I thought IC was Latin for Iesu Christo.
Then knowing it was Greek, I was confused until I realised C was not Kappa, but Sigma: abbreviated much like the English Wm. for William.
Nice post.
30 June 2008 at 5:08 am
ic xc nika
9 August 2008 at 11:58 am
Ο ΧΡΗΣΤΟΣ ΣΤΑΥΡΩΘΗΚΕ ΓΙΑ ΝΑ ΕΝΩΣΕΙ ΤΟΝ ΚΟΣΜΟ ΚΙ ΕΣΕΙΣ ΕΞΑΚΟΛΟΥΘΕΙΤΕ ΝΑ ΤΣΑΚΩΝΕΣΤΕ ΧΑΝΟΝΤΑΣ ΤΗΝ ΟΥΣΙΑ.
Ο ΧΡΙΣΤΙΑΝΙΣΜΟΣ ΔΕΝ ΕΙΝΑΙ ΤΙΠΟΤΑ ΑΛΛΟ ΑΠΟ ΑΓΑΠΗ…ΑΚΟΡΕΣΤΗ ΑΓΑΠΗ…
ΟΠΟΙΟΣ ΑΓΑΠΑ ΑΛΛΗΛΟΥΣ ΕΙΝΑΙ ΚΑΙ Ο ΠΡΑΓΜΑΤΙΚΟΣ ΧΡΙΣΤΙΑΝΟΣ.
ΟΛΑ ΤΑ ΑΛΛΑ ΘΑ ΓΚΡΕΜΙΣΤΟΥΝ ΣΑΝ ΤΟΝ ΝΑΟ ΤΟΥ ΣΟΛΩΜΟΝΤΑ
ΞΥΠΝΗΣΤΕ ΚΑΙ ΠΕΤΑΞΤΕ ΑΠΟ ΠΑΝΩ ΣΑΣ ΤΟΝ ΜΑΥΡΟ ΜΑΝΔΥΑ ΤΗΣ ΜΑΤΑΙΟΔΟΞΙΑΣ ΚΑΙ ΤΟΥ ΕΓΩΙΣΜΟΥ
9 August 2008 at 1:06 pm
I have deleted comments pertaining to politics concerning Macedonia and Greece — I have no idea what that’s about, but please debate that elsewhere.
Andreas, I do not understand Greek that well… please translate!
25 October 2008 at 2:14 pm
Seraphim, Congratulations for your Chrismation, and I wish you MANY YEARS TO COME. Our Lord to Keep you safe, strong and fit to fight the one took us outside Paradise, until the time comes to pass to the Real Life.
With regard to the meaning of IC XC NIKA, the explanation you gave is the right one. Actually because the early Christians wanted everything in their life to be related with Jesus Christ, and because by that time the Greek language was the international language, like the English today, they gave to the blessing hand of the priest something to the name of Jesus. And this is the shape, the one you explain here. To take you a little back in the history of Greek language:
By that time, early centuries, in the Greek alphabet, the nowadays Greek letter Σ, σ or ς, standing today for English letter S, s, were represented by the letter of shape C. To mention as well that in the Greek alphabet there were only capital letters. So, if you write down Jesus Christ in the Greek of that time is : IHCOYC XPICTOC. And now to explain, the first finger stands straight meaning I, the 2nd shapes the letter C, the 3rd and the 5th cross each other to shape X, and the 4th again shapes C.
With regard to Fr. J.
Something that the most of the world has not understood, is that the religion is not a Football Club. So you may be fun of the A FC and myself or anyone else, fun of the B FC. So there is a natural dispute between us, or among us, whose FC is better, or stronger if you want, or even more which has better tactics. This this not the case. This is wrong. Today is in better fit the X FC, the other day is the Y FC. This does not have anything to do with everyday people’s needs. This has nothing to do with your or my needs in real life. What you and I, and every one needs, is a “FC” which will be ready and reliable 24 hours a day, 7 days a week 365 days the year to meet his/her needs. Orthodoxy claims and is able to meet everyone’s needs, and through the ages has proven it. Does not depend on persons. Does not depend on policies. Is it clear? Just to give you a sense how a conscious orthodox should see life. NO OPPONENTS, NO RIVALS among us, the people. Opponent for orthodox is only the one who got the mankind outside the Paradise.
More on that, Orthodoxy is not a religion. For the Orthodoxy, religion is a conventional term to use, so to understand each other with folks out of it. Is difficult to accept it, because of the meaning given internationally. But think that religions are made by people for people. Orthodoxy Is the Truth. And the Truth can not be a religion. Orthodoxy cures every bad thing in the life of people, and gives happiness. If somebody is outside, please believe me, is not possible to have the feeling.
I Know a couple, French Catholics, they could not have a baby, although they had gone everywhere to doctors all over the World. It happened to learn that in Greece, Mount Athos, there is an icon of St. Anna, mother of Theotokos, where whoever childless goes and kneel before this icon, returns with the photo of his baby, and the icon is surrounded of hundreds of baby icons. So he, although Catholic, decided to make the journey. And he succeeded. He has a baby, who baptised Orthodox Nikolaos. This is Orthodoxy. Cures everyone’s vital needs.
Why should I go elsewhere? To find what? To do what?
A Catholic, who converted to Orthodox, was telling me that he was trying to find a meaning for his life in the Catholic Church, and the only thing he found was a deadend surrounded by tall walls with no hope to get over.
Seraphim, I apologize for abusing this space with such a long comment.
Lord Bless all of us.
P.S. if some of my expressions are not so clear, I apologise. I am not an English habitual speaker.
25 November 2008 at 8:46 am
Please, if someone can help me find some documentation that the Roman Letter C stands for Sigma in Greek I would be very blessed. I had persumed that the C was the Slavonic Form…I never knew that is was an older form for Sigma.
Thanks in advance,
Blessigns,
Pateras Diakonos
25 December 2008 at 4:19 pm
to Pateras Diakonos
The self-evident documentation are papyrus containing portions of the Gospels of Luke and John from 175-225 AD in Greek language (I don’t know if there are some others) http://www.ascaniusyci.org/freeactivities/greekalexandria2006.pdf
EN APXH HN O ΛΟΓΟC KAI O ΛΟΓΟC HN ΠΡΟC TON ΘΕΟΝ ΚΑΙ ΘΕΟC HN O ΛΟΓΟC …
I don’t know if you should try to find something else, since there has been a lot of discussion if the greek alphabet is original or originates by others. The document I propose is self-evident.
Lord bless all of us
31 August 2009 at 1:02 pm
nicka ppo du une ejo fottooo heeey
1 October 2009 at 7:13 am
it also make 3 crosses
the index with the second finger is first cross
the the thumb and the ring holder make the second cross
and the small finger with the forth finger make the third cross
God Bless!
8 October 2009 at 3:55 am
Dear friends, I have got a coin has got the same ICXC-NIKA. Altough I havent got any relation with Christinity, I have some question. First of all the coin was found in the middle part of Turkey but I Mother Mary lived in the west part of Turkey, and the Muslim lived in the center, how come this money goes there?