The Greek Alphabet (2): The Chi-Rho

As in English, Greek letters have names as well as sounds. Just as "w" is called "double-you", α / Α is called alpha, ι / Ι is called iota, and κ / Κ is called kappa.

The first new letter for today is chi (usually said "kye"), which is written as χ (or Χ as a capital), and pronounced like "ch" in the Scottish "loch".

The other new letter for today is rho, written ρ (or Ρ as a capital), and pronounced like "r" in English -- not like "p", in spite of what the capital looks like!

The letters Χ and Ρ are the first two letters of the name "Christ" in Greek, and the combination of the two is an ancient Christian symbol, called the "chi-rho":

With these two letters, we can also make a new Greek word: χαρα, which means "joy", and is one of the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23:

ὁ δὲ καρπὸς τοῦ πνεύματός ἐστιν ἀγάπη, χαρά, εἰρήνη, μακροθυμία, χρηστότης, ἀγαθωσύνη, πίστις, πραΰτης, ἐγκράτεια· κατὰ τῶν τοιούτων οὐκ ἔστιν νόμος.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.