The Chi Rho tattoo is one of religious importance to the people wearing it. It’s identified as one of the earliest kinds of chrisotgrams. It is formed by superimposing the capital letters for chi and rho which are the first two letter of the ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ. This word means Christos. This is going to look like ‘X’ and ‘P’ respectively.

The Roman emperor Constantine I used this symbol as part of a vexillum or military standard. His standard, specifically, was called the Labarum.

Before Christian times, the Chi Rho symbol was used to notate an important section of a passage in the page margin and was known to be a symbol of good fortune for the pagan Greeks. Some coins were also marked with this symbol as well.

The Chi Rho symbol clearly has spiritual relevance for Christians, so we can understand why this would be a popular tattoo. While most people donning a tattoo representing Christianity might go with the peace fish or a cross, the Chi Rho tattoo has just as much a connection as any symbol.

History of the Chi Rho Symbol

Emperor Constantine I had a dream where he was told he needed to add a “heavenly divine symbol” to the shields of his soldiers. This fact came from the tutor of Constantine’s son, Lactantius. Lactantius was a North African Latin historian that was brought out of poverty Constantine. The morning after the symbol was chosen, Constantine’s army faced the army of Maxentius in the Battle of the Milvian Bridge of 312.

To be more specific about what happened, Eusebius wrote a memoir of Constantine after his death. It was called On the Life of Constantine. In this, Eusebius wrote that long before the battle of the Milvian Bridge, Constantine and his army saw a sign in Gaul. What he saw would change the course of his time as emperor. Constantine had been pondering what happened to commanders before him that praised multiple gods and their misfortune on the battle field. He then decided he would direct his focus and prayers toward one god, the almighty God. It was at noon that Constantine noticed the sun with a cross imposed over it. In that cross Constantine and his army saw the Greek characters, “Τούτῳ Νίκα!”. This means “In this sign you will conquer!”. After Constantine had laid down to rest that night, he had a dream. In this dream, Christ appeared and told Constantine to create a copy of the sign he saw in the sun on the prior day and this would work as a defense for him and his army.