EMMANUEL (IMMANUEL) – A greek word (second spelling is the Hebrew word) for “God with us.” The word is found in Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

IC XC – An abbreviation of the Greek name Jesus (Iasous) Christ (Christos). The first and last letters of both Jesus (IC) and Christ (XC) are placed together to form this monogram. The “s” and “c” in the Greek language were interchangable, as they made the same sounds. That is why a “c” is used in the symbol in place of the “s.”

IHS (Ihc) – 1. The Ihs monogram is a very old symbol, dating back to the first century. Ihs is the abbreviation of the Greek name Jesus (Iasous) pronounced ‘hasous. Because Ihs is an abbreviation, there should never be periods after the I, h, and s. When portrayed in art, sometimes the artist will include a line above the hs to show it is an abbreviation. Grammatically, the monogram can be written in two forms, as Ihs or as Ihc. The Ihc is grammatically more correct because the letter “s” (sigma) is represented as a “c” when in the middle of a word. However, it is an “s” when at the end of the word. 2. The Latin phrase Iesus Hominum Salvator (Jesus, Savior of Men) can be abbreviated as I.H.S. 3. A German phrase Jesus, Heiland, Seligmacher (Jesus, Lord, Savior) can be abbreviated I.H.S. 4.