Abbreviations

This page should serve as a reference for abbreviations relevant to the Orthodox Church.

Titles

Many clerical and lay titles are often abbreviated.

• Abp. - Archbishop
• Archim. - Archimandrite
• Bp. - Bishop
• Dcn. - Deacon
• Dn. - usu. Deacon, sometimes Dean
• Fr. - Father
• Hmk. - Hieromonk
• Kh. - Khouria (Arabic for presbytera)
• Mka. - Matushka (Slavonic for presbytera) · Sometimes this has been abbreviated "Mat." but this is problematic due to similarity with Russian slang, and is now actively discouraged.
• Metr. - Metropolitan
• Patr. - Patriarch
• Pr. - Priest
• Pres. - Presbytera
• Rdr. - Reader
• Sdn. - Subdeacon

Iconography

In icons, many names and titles are abbreviated. This is often acknowledged with an elision marker (like a tilde) placed above the letters. Most often, the first and last letters of the word or name are retained.

Christ

• IC or ΙΣ - Jesus from the Greek Ιησους
• XC or ΧΣ - Christ from the Greek Χριστος

The Theotokos

• MP or MHP - Mother from the Greek Μητηρ, part of the phrase Mother of God
• ΘΥ - of God from the Greek Θεου, part of the phrase Mother of God

The Saints

• ΑΓ - Holy or Saint from the Greek Αγιος
• Sf. - Sfânt (Romanian for saint)
• St. - Saint (plural: Sts. or Ss.)

See also

• Saint commemorations
• Iconography