The Chi Rho is one of the earliest
christograms used by Christians. It is
formed by superimposing the first two letters in the Greek spelling of
the word
Christ (
Greek : "Χριστός" ), chi = ch and rho =
r, in such a way to produce the
monogram ☧. The Chi-Rho
symbol was also used by pagan Greek scribes to mark, in the margin, a
particularly valuable or relevant passage; the combined letters Chi and
Rho standing for chrēston, meaning "good."
Although not technically a cross, the Chi Rho invokes the
crucifixion of Jesus as well as symbolizing his status as the Christ.
There is early evidence of the Chi Rho symbol on Christian Rings of the
third century.
The labarum (Greek:
λάβαρον) was a
vexillum (military standard) that
displayed the "Chi-Rho"
symbol, formed from the first two
Greek letters of the word "Christ"
(Greek:
ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ, or Χριστός) Chi (χ)
and Rho (ρ).
It was first used by the
Roman emperor
Constantine I. Since the vexillum
consisted of a flag suspended from the crossbar of a cross, it was
ideally suited to symbolize
crucifixion. The Chi-Rho symbol was
also used by Greek scribes to mark, in the margin, a particularly
valuable or relevant passage; the combined letters Chi and Rho standing
for chrēston, meaning "good."
Flavius Gratianus (18 April/23 May 359 25
August 383), known usually by the
anglicised name Gratian, was a
Western Roman Emperor from 375 to 383.
He favoured the Christian religion against
Roman polytheism, refusing the
traditional polytheistic attributes of the emperors and removing the
Altar of Victory from the
Roman Senate.
Life
Gratian was the son of Emperor
Valentinian I by
Marina Severa, and was born at
Sirmium (now
Sremska Mitrovica,
Serbia) in
Pannonia. He was named after his
grandfather
Gratian the Elder. Gratian was first
married to
Flavia Maxima Constantia, daughter of
Constantius II. His second wife was
Laeta. Both marriages remained
childless. His stepmother was Empress
Justina and his paternal half siblings
were Emperor
Valentinian II,
Galla and Justa.
On 4 August 367 he received from his father the
title of
Augustus. On the death of Valentinian
(17 November 375), the troops in Pannonia proclaimed his infant son (by
a second wife Justina) emperor under the title of
Valentinian II.
Gratian acquiesced in their choice; reserving for
himself the administration of the
Gallic
provinces, he handed over
Italy,
Illyricum and
Africa to Valentinian and his mother,
who fixed their residence at
Mediolanum. The division, however, was
merely nominal, and the real authority remained in the hands of Gratian.
The
Eastern Roman Empire was under the rule
of his uncle
Valens. In May, 378 Gratian completely
defeated the
Lentienses, the southernmost branch of
the
Alamanni, at the
Battle of Argentovaria, near the site
of the modern
Colmar. Later that year, Valens met his
death in the
Battle of Adrianopole on 9 August.
Valens refused to wait for Gratian and his army to arrive and assist in
defeating the host of
Goths,
Alans and
Huns; as a result, two-thirds of the
eastern Roman army were killed as well.
In the same year, the government of the Eastern
Empire devolved upon Gratian, but feeling himself unable to resist
unaided the incursions of the barbarians, he promoted
Theodosius I on 19 January 379 to
govern that portion of the empire. Gratianus and Theodosius then cleared
the
Balkans of
barbarians in the
Gothic War (376-382).
For some years Gratian governed the empire with
energy and success but gradually sank into indolence, occupying himself
chiefly with the pleasures of the chase, and became a tool in the hands
of the
Frankish general
Merobaudes and bishop
St. Ambrose of
Milan.
By taking into his personal service a body of
Alans, and appearing in public in the dress of a
Scythian warrior, after the disaster of
the Battle of Adrianopole, he aroused the contempt and resentment of his
Roman troops. A Roman general named
Magnus Maximus took advantage of this
feeling to raise the standard of revolt in
Britain and invaded
Gaul with a large army. Gratian, who
was then in
Paris, being deserted by his troops,
fled to
Lyon. There, through the treachery of
the governor, Gratian was delivered over to one of the rebel generals,
Andragathius, and assassinated on 25 August 383.
Empire
and religion
The reign of Gratian forms an important epoch in
ecclesiastical history, since during that period
Orthodox Christianity for the first
time became dominant throughout the empire.
Under the influence of Ambrosius, Gratian
prohibited
Pagan worship at
Rome; refused to wear the insignia of
the
pontifex maximus as unbefitting a
Christian; removed the
Altar of Victory from the
Senate House at Rome, despite protests
of the pagan members of the Senate, and confiscated its revenues;
forbade legacies of real property to the
Vestals; and abolished other privileges
belonging to them and to the pontiffs. Nevertheless he was still
deified after his death.
Gratian also published an edict that all their
subjects should profess the faith of the bishops of Rome and Alexandria
(i.e., the Nicene faith). The move was mainly thrust at the various
beliefs that had arisen out of
Arianism, but smaller dissident sects,
such as the
Macedonians, were also prohibited.
