Why these particular letters should have been contracted, is, however, uncertain; and the question arises as to whether the
first arose as a contraction of such Greek letters, or as an amalgamation of the Roman letters Ρ and Χ, or as the cross
plus the Greek Ρ (our R) as the initial letter of the Greek name for Rome.
Moreover if it be decided that the symbol
first arose as a contraction of certain letters, yet further questions arise; viz.; in what order those letters were first read, and what word they first represented.
Before going into such matters as these, however, it is important that we should fully realise how certain it is that the so-called Monogram of Christ was originally a Pagan symbol. For even if this be not considered demonstrated by its occurrence upon a Roman coin long before, according to our Church, the Christ caused Constantine to use it as the military standard of the Gauls, it is clearly shown by its occurrence upon many relics of pre-Christian date.
The so-called "Monogram of Christ" can be seen, for instance, upon a monument of Isis, the Virgin Mother of the Sun-God, which dates from the second century before our era.[51] Also upon the coins of Ptolemaeus; on one of which is a head of Zeus Ammon upon one side, and an eagle bearing the