The Chi Rho: Then and Now
Constantine the Great; the Reorganization of the Empire and the Triumph of the Church. Photo by Wikimedia Commons
Over 1,700 years ago, Constantine stood at the edge of the river Tiber, his head and soul bowed down by fear and doubt. He was well aware of how Maxentius, the dishonorable tyrant of Rome, practiced sorcery and relied on the ‘gods’ to overthrow his enemies. There had been story after story of such tragedies taking place.
Constantine had come to overthrow Maxentius, but weighed down by fear and distress, he stood pondering at the edge of the river. His army was preparing for battle, encamped around him. As he stood there, humble in heart, yet burdened, above the sun in the sky, the Cross appeared, divinely-brilliant. And above the Cross read the inscription, “In this conquer.”
As C.S. Lewis wrote in, “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe”, the magic of Evil is a powerful reality; and yet, there exists a ‘deeper magic.’
Grounding himself in this brilliant light of Christ, Constantine had the men of his army place the Chi Rho, the heavenly symbol of the Cross, on their shields. He courageously fought Maxentius, emerging victorious with his people.
Entering Rome and proclaimed the Supreme Caesar, Constantine gave glory to Christ the Lord, the King of Kings. He had the Cross, through which they had emerged victorious, placed in the prominent place of the city. The martyrs were honored, the captive Christians released and the hearts of the people given full reign to glorify the Lord, who had delivered them as Moses and the Israelites of old.
As we surge through the modern era, in a world shaped very differently from Constantine’s – one with unique afflictions of dis-integration and de-sacrilized understandings of the cosmos – the Chi Rho holds as much relief for us as it did for Constantine. Yet, it can be tempting to believe we must return to the monarchy of Constantine’s time or re-institute similar political structures in order to find such relief. However, such a solution misses the point.
Nicholas Gomez Davila, the Columbian writer and philosopher wrote,
“The pure reactionary is not a dreamer of abolished pasts, but a hunter of sacred shades on the eternal hills... The reactionary does not aspire to turn back, but rather to change direction. The past that he admires is not a goal but an exemplification of his dreams.”
The real point is their love for Christ. That love – burning and aflame for the Lord – is the ‘solution.’ Everything else flowed out of that and, in an indistinguishable way, was a perpetrator of the very love that produced it.
Christian Halls International’s Logo
Dr. Nicholas Ellis, and those who founded Christian Halls International, chose the Chi Rho as the symbol and logo of CHI. It stands for the central purpose around which CHI was founded: to run towards Christ.
The first letters that make up the Chi Rho are the first two letters of the name of Christ. The question of governance, the emphasis on the type of battle we participate in and where our strength and goal lie are all bound up in this symbol. Someone or something will govern our hearts and, in turn, govern our communities. Right now, it is not Christ.
As a people, we have turned our hearts away from Christ. Christ, and those who follow Him, no longer govern us. We have surrendered our governance to something else. Institutions – whatever that means – now govern us.
But who are the institutions? The children in our communities are in the hands of the state. But whose hands are the state?
A grave mistake we in the modern world have made is that the world can be neutral. The pagans believed there was a throne at the heart of each person and culture, and someone would rule that throne. The pagans worshipped the pagan gods. The Christians enthroned Christ.
Today, it is not a matter of who is on the throne , but the belief that there is no throne at all. Unless it makes us feel better or we feel some sort of obligation, we can float through a neutral world, ‘living well’ as we see fit. But, our beliefs and way of life are not insignificant and contained in ourselves and immediate surroundings, but participate in a deeper reality. We will and do worship something – and if we do not choose, something else will choose for us.
We are in a battle, as Constantine was, and as every Christian has been. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesians 6:12)
Photo by Changbok Ko for Unsplash
And yet, though spiritual, this is not an abstract battle. The dualism between what is spiritual and what is material is also unique to the modern age. This battle is very real. It expresses itself each moment of our lives. We see it and meet it in other souls. That which is very much a part of our physical world participates in this battle, and forms us. Our schools form us. Our universities form us. Thus, unlike the gnostics, we cannot ignore this earthly life, tied so tightly to the heavenly.
In a lecture classroom, unknown and uncared for, not knowing and not caring, we become. In a lecture classroom in which high and lofty words are spoken about abstract goodness without any real living community, we become. What we become is the question. In a cup of tea with our grandmother, a morning sunrise, in the instruction of a loving mentor, we are also formed. We touch that reality – we touch the beauty and grace. We meet Christ.
In the West, we are so tightly bound in the system that to break entirely free of, for example, the higher educational structures is impossible for most, if not all of us. Our livelihood and the bulk of all further education has become tied up in it, and alternative routes are scarce and often unstable in our world. What we need is community, mentors and teachers, friends and peers, to pour in and be poured into. We need the earth, and more specifically our places, our homes. We need to be present and alive in them. We were created to be known and begin to know; in the deepest sense of the word, to be educated.The work of those at Christian Halls International is to clear space for these very things to take root and grow – to clear space so that we can run.
As space is cleared, we must resist the human desire to build systems or impose grand solutions, and rather open ourselves to see the sacred shades on the eternal hills. Whatever that looks like in the place we live and the people we are surrounded by. In such a love, through such a love, love will conquer. The love of a Cross, sealed with the initials of Lord Jesus Himself.
