The Icon
The Icon
The sites original name OWN IC_XC_NIKA (The One Who Is - Jesus Christ Conquers) Comes from the Greek lettering typically found on Icons depicting Jesus Christ. The letters depicted have certain meaning.
The site name itself breaks down to this from the Greek; OWN = "The One Who Is." IC_XC is short for Jesus Christ. NIKA in Greek means to Conquer. In total, IC_XC_NIKA = "Jesus Christ Conquers"
OWN
The letters in the nimbus (halo) of the icon going clockwise from the left, top and right, it looks like "OWN." These are the letters omicron (O), omega (W) and nu (sometimes a backwards N). These letters are (very) roughly translated to mean "the one who is."
The fuller meaning is "The one who is because it is His nature to be!" This is a reference to the Greek translation of Exodus 3.14, in which Moses asks for God's name. God's response is difficult to translate, and is often rendered something like "I am what I am" or "I am the one who is." In responding this way to Moses he is telling him I have no beginning and no end "I always am" or "am always being."
The letters on the left and the right respectively are "IC" and "XC"
IC - Coming from the Greek Alphabet these letters are; iota (I) and sigma(C). This is Short for Jesus
XC - Coming from the Greek Alphabet these letters are; chi (X) and sigma(C). This is short for Christ
NIKA
NIKA is not depicted in the icon shown. However it does appear on other icons of Jesus Christ. Coming from the Greek Alphabet these letters are; N(nu), iota (I), kappa(K) and alpha(A). This means conquers; is the victor or triumphant. It is applied in a very absolute way. In current days one can recognize the brand name NIKE (as in the athletic shoe manufacturer) which gets this name from the Greek to mean 'conquers or to conquer.'