A Latin crucifix with a stylized INRI plaque attached, in cornfields near Mureck in rural Styria, Austria.

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INRI is an acronym of the Latin inscription IESVS·NAZARENVS·REX·IVDÆORVM (Jesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum), which translates to English as "Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews." The Greek equivalent of this phrase, Ἰησοῦς ὁ Ναζωραῖος ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων (Iesous o Nazoraios o Vasileus ton Ioudaion), appears in the New Testament of the Christian Bible in the Gospel of John (19:19). Each of the other accounts of Jesus' death has a slightly different version for the inscription on Jesus' cross: Matthew (27:37), "This is Jesus, the King of the Jews"; Mark (15:26), "The King of the Jews"; and Luke (KJV), "This is the King of the Jews." John and Luke state it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, while Matthew and Mark describe it as the charge for crucifying Jesus. Luke states that it was a statement hung above Jesus's head. Since John's form is the most complete it is the one that is usally found on depictions of the Crucifixion of Jesus.

In the Gospel of John (19:19-20), the inscription is explained:

And Pontius Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS. This title then read many of the Jews: for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin. (King James Version)

According to all four Gospels, Pilate challenged Jesus to deny that he was the "King of the Jews" and Jesus did not deny the accusation. ^[1]

According to John, the chief priests asked Pilate to change the inscription so that it did not say "the King of the Jews", but rather, "This man said he was the King of the Jews", but Pilate refused to change it, saying, "What I have written, I have written" (John 19:20-22).

[edit] Western Christianity

Eastern Orthodox crucifix, displays the lettering in Greek: INBI (Trapeza of Holy Trinity Monastery, Meteora, Greece).

Within Western Christianity, many crucifixes and other depictions of the crucifixion of Jesus include a stylized plaque or parchment, called a titulus, or title, bearing only the Latin letters INRI, occasionally carved directly into the cross and usually just above the head of Jesus.

[edit] Eastern Christianity

In the East (both Eastern Catholics and Eastern Orthodox) use the Greek letters INBI, based on the Greek version of the inscription, Ἰησοῦς ὁ Ναζωραῖος ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων. Some representations change the title to "ΙΝΒΚ" ὁ Bασιλεὺς τοῦ κόσμου ("The King of the World"), or to ὁ Bασιλεὺς τῆς Δόξης ("The King of Glory"), not implying that this was really what was written but reflecting the tradition that icons depict the spiritual reality rather than the physical reality. Some other Eastern Orthodox churches (such as the Romanian Orthodox Church) use the Latin version, INRI, which is the same to the abbreviation of the Romanian equivalent. The Russian Orthodox Church uses ІНЦІ (the Church Slavonic equivalent of INBI) or the abbreviation Цръ Слвы ("King of Glory").

[edit] Versions

[edit] See also

• Tetragrammaton
• Christogram
• Ichthys
• Jewish Messiah
• Titulus Crucis
• Passion (Christianity)
• King of the Jews
• Timeline of the Bible

[edit] References