You say goodbye and I say halo…

It’s been a while since I’ve written anything about icons….

Today I was at the Divine Liturgy with a small contingent from Good Shepherd and it prompted me to write a post explaining the letters which often appear on Christ’s halo:

In iconography, the halos of angels and Saints are typically filled with gold. In icons of Christ, however, there is also a cross superimposed upon the halo. In the icon above, known as the “Pantokrator” (“Almighty”) , you can clearly see this. Only three arms of the cross are visible, each symbolizing a member of the Trinity. Now, at the edge of each arm is a Greek letter:

Ό = The letter “omicron”

ώ = The letter “omega”
Ν = The letter “nu”

The Greek letters written on icons are often abbreviations, such as IC XC. However, in this case, those Greek letters make up two words:

Ό ώΝ

These words are pronounced “ho” (as in “hot”) and “on”. The phrase “ho on” means “the [Who] is” and it’s a phrase you find in the New Testament:

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” – Revelation 1:8

…as well as in the Greek Translation (the Septuagint) of the Old Testament:

God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM “; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” – Exodus 3:14

Therefore, placing Ό ώΝ on Christ’s halo is a declaration of His divinity and His eternal existence.

For more information on halos, please check out J. Andrew Deane’s article at Called To Communion.