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
• Bp. - Bishop
• Dn. - Deacon (also Dcn.)
• Fr. - Father
• Hmk. - Hieromonk
• Kh. - Khouria (Arabic for presbytera)
• Mat. - Matushka (Slavic for presbytera)
• Metr. - Metropolitan
• Patr. - Patriarch
• Pr. - Preot (Romanian for priest)
• Pres. - Presbytera
• Rdr. - Reader
• Sdn. - Subdeacon
• Sf. - Sfânt (Romanian for saint)
• St. - Saint (plural: Sts. or Ss.)

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 ΜΡ - 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

See also

• Saint commemorations
• Iconography