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Is It Appropriate To Wear A Ring With This Sign

SkyWriting

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Hello all,
I have a ring that is mine, but I've lost a lot of weight and need to rebuild it. I would like to put the Chi Rho sign on it. Is it appropriate for an orthodox christian to do so?
https://www.dhresource.com/0x0s/f2-...devout-faith-ancient-christian-chi-rho-px.jpg

If applicable:

3Your beauty should not come from outward adornment such as braided hair or gold jewelry or fine clothes, 4but from the inner disposition of your heart, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in God’s sight.
 
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HTacianas

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ArmyMatt

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RobNJ

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What does the chi ro mean?

".... formed by superimposing the first two (capital) letters—chi and rho (ΧΡ)—of the Greek word ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ (Christos) in such a way that the vertical stroke of the rho intersects the center of the chi
 
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TheLostCoin

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You know, that's a good question.

While Orthodox Christians have no problem with symbols identifying themselves as Christian - for example, Crucifixes, rings, etc.

How do we draw the line between what's schlock to wear and what isn't?

Uncut Mountain Supply has released lines of what I consider to be "schlock" and even "cringey" Orthodox merchandise - but is it schlock or prideful to wear such merchandise?

Die Before Death - Men's T-Shirt
Orthodox Christianity - Men's T-Shirt

And why is this unacceptable in comparison to Crucifixes or rings?

Another question would be tattoos.

I personally see tattoos as taboo...



However....

I have a massive respect for tattoos in the context of the Coptic Church. The Ottoman Empire forced tattoos on Coptics to designate their inferior social status, and even though the Ottoman Empire is dead (thank God), the Coptics still get these tattoos today as a symbol of solidarity.

So, the question is, how do we draw these lines?
 
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ArmyMatt

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why would it be proud to wear those t-shirts? whether or not the shirt is worn in pride has to do with the individual wearing the shirt, not the shirt itself.

and I have respect for Copts getting their wrist tattoos.

you draw the line at asking your priest.
 
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FenderTL5

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One of my favorite teeshirts is black with a small "ΙϹ ΧϹ ΝΙΚΑ" emblem on the left 'breast (where a breast pocket would be)'
I will sometimes put the chi-roh or the ΙϹ ΧϹ ΝΙΚΑ subliminally into graphics.
 
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Willie T

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I wondered too.
So i Googled it, and i found this overview with reference links on Facebook:

Pax Mundi

Apparently it's a very old symbol, like 2½ centuries BC.
Then, it wouldn't be considered Christian?
 
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RobNJ

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Then, it wouldn't be considered Christian?

If you make the mistake of clicking the FB link, you'll find you're in conspiracy theory territory.. The example shown is "a bit" of a stretch, to be compared to a 1st century Chi Rho. I'm afraid if I kept reading, I'd find they tried linking it to the Masons, Templars, Bilderbergers, Big Foot, & Disco.
 
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Willie T

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If you make the mistake of clicking the FB link, you'll find you're in conspiracy theory territory.. The example shown is "a bit" of a stretch, to be compared to a 1st century Chi Rho. I'm afraid if I kept reading, I'd find they tried linking it to the Masons, Templars, Bilderbergers, Big Foot, & Disco.
I meant that if it was a symbol used in religious worship long before the concept of Christianity was even known, could it be considered to be Christian?
 
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ArmyMatt

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I meant that if it was a symbol used in religious worship long before the concept of Christianity was even known, could it be considered to be Christian?

yes, because we use it to symbolize Christ as they are the first two letters in His title.
 
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~Anastasia~

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You know, that's a good question.

While Orthodox Christians have no problem with symbols identifying themselves as Christian - for example, Crucifixes, rings, etc.

How do we draw the line between what's schlock to wear and what isn't?

Uncut Mountain Supply has released lines of what I consider to be "schlock" and even "cringey" Orthodox merchandise - but is it schlock or prideful to wear such merchandise?

Die Before Death - Men's T-Shirt
Orthodox Christianity - Men's T-Shirt

And why is this unacceptable in comparison to Crucifixes or rings?

Another question would be tattoos.

I personally see tattoos as taboo...



However....

I have a massive respect for tattoos in the context of the Coptic Church. The Ottoman Empire forced tattoos on Coptics to designate their inferior social status, and even though the Ottoman Empire is dead (thank God), the Coptics still get these tattoos today as a symbol of solidarity.

So, the question is, how do we draw these lines?

Somehow I thought your links would be to something like the t-shirts with the Great Schema printed on them - which I find the idea of appropriating that image as a t-shirt design to be - well, not something I'd want to do.

IMG_4694.PNG


I have this horror of a mental image of wearing a tshirts like that with a 300-knot prayer rope tucked into the belt. Just - no.

But other than that, I guess it depends on the person, their reasons, their heart. I personally wouldn't be very likely to wear any designs I've seen. Especially the ones that are a tad snarky or triumphalistic - the only reason I could see wearing them is to spark a good conversation, and anything that basically says "my Church is better than yours" isn't likely to do that. In my opinion. I could be wrong too. But I just wouldn't be likely to wear any design I've yet seen (not that I've been looking at many).

Some folks could do it out of pride and that wouldn't be good for them. I couldn't know what someone's reasons are though.

I also don't personally care for icons printed on clothing. I just can't be comfortable when I imagine an icon crumpled up and mixed in with various dirty clothing.

The chi-rho (along with various Byzantine or Orthodox crosses) are the probable exception for me. I of course wear a baptismal cross, and I appreciate the Chi-Rho as well. Both pretty simple and understated but with their meaning.

But in the "what should I do" category, a good answer is always "ask your priest". I only know something of my own opinions and motives, nothing of anyone else's. :)
 
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GreekOrthodox

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I also don't personally care for icons printed on clothing. I just can't be comfortable when I imagine an icon crumpled up and mixed in with various dirty clothing.

Frederica Mathewes-Green writes about her encounter with a monk while she is wearing a shirt with an icon on it when she was new to the Orthodox faith. The monk asked her how he is supposed to venerate the icon.
 
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~Anastasia~

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Frederica Mathewes-Green writes about her encounter with a monk while she is wearing a shirt with an icon on it when she was new to the Orthodox faith. The monk asked her how he is supposed to venerate the icon.
Leave it to a monk to get right to the point! And sometimes in very memorable ways!
 
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TheLostCoin

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If you make the mistake of clicking the FB link, you'll find you're in conspiracy theory territory.. The example shown is "a bit" of a stretch, to be compared to a 1st century Chi Rho. I'm afraid if I kept reading, I'd find they tried linking it to the Masons, Templars, Bilderbergers, Big Foot, & Disco.

Let me tell you something. It is one of the easiest things to do to find correlations without causations in terms of similar aesthetics.

In fact, on another forum I was a part of (before I left only for the admins to ignore confirmations of any account coming from my ip address, thus shadow-banning me), I actually intentionally made a fraudulent "pagan origins" comparison image with only a couple of Google searches and misinformation.

lol.png


There is no historical connection whatsoever to the Patriarch of Alexandria and it's liturgical development (which looked much, much different before the Chalcedonian controversy with the Copts) to this depiction of a Babylonian god - but if I said that the Patriarch of Alexandria has a direct cultural connection to Egyptian Paganism, which has direct connection to Babylonian Paganism, and that the Patriarch is supposed to represent a Babylonian god, without much research or thought people would believe it.

It's often the case that there's either coincidence, or maybe perhaps there's some underlying human tendencies which are universal in all cultures to make similar aesthetics.

For example, some people will claim that artwork of the Virgin Mary in the East and West have origins from Pagan artwork of pagan goddesses breastfeeding their children.

mae-e-filho-isis-e-maria.jpg



But can you name me a culture in human history in which mothers don't breastfeed their children? Is it really a stretch that different cultures would paint this theme which by its very nature is natural to all of humanity?




I'm not denying that there was no Pagan influence whatsoever in Christian societies - nobody can deny that. I'm arguing that people draw spurious correlations all the time with art because it isn't hard to do whatsoever, because both coincidence and themes which are constant in different human societies show up.

But even in situations where there are pagan appropriations (like the Christmas tree, which most people can't deny is pagan in origin), even in aesthetics, it doesn't necessarily follow that the entire religion or society is compromised by holding pagan beliefs.

Your use of the weekly calendar is completely, 100% pagan in origin. "Monday" means "Moon day," "Thursday" literally means "Thor's day," "Wednesday" means "Woden's Day" or "Odin's Day", "Saturday" means "Saturn day," and Sunday means "Sun day." Does this mean you are a pagan who is worshiping the Sun, Moon, Thor, Odin, and Saturn indirectly? Are you summoning demons by invoking these gods names (after all, Saint Paul says the gods of the world are devils)? No, of course not.

What's funny is that the Russian weekly calendar is far more Christian than the English weekly calendar. When you translate their days in terms of where the days come from it literally goes (from Monday to Sunday), "the day after the weekend," "second day," "third day", "fourth day", "fifth day", "Sabbath", and "Resurrection."
 
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