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[[Image:Labarum.jpg|right|thumb|''Chi-Rho,'' the first two letters of [[Jesus Christ]] in Greek, which [[Constantine the Great|Constantine]] saw in a vision along with the words ''"in this sign you will conquer".'']]
The '''Labarum''' (Greek: λάβαρον / láboron) was a Christian imperial standard incorporating the sacred '''"[[w:Chi Rho|Chi-Rho]]"''' [[w:Christogram|Christogram]], which was one of the earliest forms of christogram used by Christiansand one of the most familiar and widely used emblems in Chrisitan tradition. It was adopted by emperor Saint [[Constantine the Great]] after receiving his celestial vision and dream, on the eve of his victory at the [[w:Battle of the Milvian Bridge|Milvian Bridge]] in 313 AD.
The Labarum of [[Constantine the Great]] was a [[w:Vexillum|vexillum]]<ref group="note">The [[w:Vexillum|vexillum]] (plural vexilla) was a military standard (flag, banner) used in the Classical Era of the Roman Empire. On the vexillum the cloth was draped from a horizontal crossbar suspended from the staff; this is unlike most modern flags in which the 'hoist' of the cloth is attached directly to the vertical staff. The bearer of a vexillum was known as a ''vexillarius''. The vexillum was a treasured symbol of the military unit that it represented and it was closely defended in combat.</ref> that displayed the "[[w:Chi Rho|Chi-Rho]]" [[w:Christogram|Christogram]], formed from the first two Greek letters of the word "[[Jesus Christ|Christ]]" (Greek: '''ΧΡ'''ΙΣΤΟΣ, or '''Χρ'''ιστός) — [[w:Chi (letter)|Chi]] (χ) and [[w:Rho (letter)|Rho]] (ρ). Fashioned after legionary standards, it substituted the from of a [[cross]] for the old pagan symbols, surmounted by a jewelled wreath containing the monogram of Christ, intersecting '''Chi''' (χ) and '''Rho''' (ρ), on which hung a purple banner beset with gold trim and embroidery, inscribed with ''' ''"Εν Τουτω Νικα"'' (''in hoc signo vinces'') — "In this sign, conquer." '''
It is commonly stated that on the evening of October 27, 312, with his army preparing for the [[w:Battle of the Milvian Bridge|Battle of the Milvian Bridge]], the emperor [[Constantine the Great|Constantine I]] had a vision which led him to fight under the protection of the Christian [[God]]. The details of that vision, however, differ between the sources reporting it, namely those of Lactantius and [[Eusebius of Caesarea]].
===Lactantius===
[[w:Lactantius|Lactantius]] states<ref>Lactantius, ''[http://orderofcenturions.org/documents/lactantius.html On the Deaths of the Persecutors],'' chapter 44.5.</ref> that, in the night before the battle, Constantine was commanded in a dream to "delineate the heavenly sign on the shields of his soldiers". He obeyed and marked the shields with a sign "denoting Christ". Lactantius describes that sign as a "staurogram", or a Latin cross with its upper end rounded in a P-like fashion(i. There is no certain evidence e. a ''"[[w:Tau|Tau]]-[[w:Rho (letter)|Rho]]"'' Christogram).<ref group="note">Dr. Larry Hurtado has stated that Constantine ever used that signcontrary to some widely influential assumptions, this ''"[[w:Tau|Tau]]-[[w:Rho (letter)|Rho]]"'' staurogram appears to be the earliest of the Christograms, rather than and not the better known more familiar ''"[[w:Chi Rho|Chi-Rho sign described by Eusebius]]"''. He writes that the earliest extant Christian use of the ''"Tau-Rho"'' is not as a freestanding symbol and general reference to Chirst, but in manuscripts dated as early as around 175-225 AD, where it functions as part of the abbreviation of the Greek words for "cross" (σταυρός) and "crucify" (σταυρόω), written (abbreviated) as ''[[w:Nomina sacra|nomina sacra]]''. (Hurtado, L.W. ''[http://books.google.ca/books?id=w5FpP9ZxqlYC&source=gbs_navlinks_s The Earliest Christian Artifacts: Manuscripts and Christian Origins].'' Cambridge, 2006. p.136.)</ref>
===Eusebius===
From [[Eusebius of Caesarea]], two accounts of the battle survive. The first, shorter one in the ''Ecclesiastical History'' leaves no doubt that God helped Constantine. In this version the emperor saw the vision in Gaul on his way to Rome, long before the battle with Maxentius: the phrase as he gives it was: '''"Εν τουτο νικα"''' — literally, '''"In this, win!"'''<ref>''[http://www.economicexpert.com/a/Labarum.html Labarum].'' '''EconomicExpert.com.'''</ref>
* Grant, Michael. ''The Emperor Constantine''. London, 1993.
* Hassett, Maurice. ''"[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08717c.htm Labarum (Chi-Rho)]."'' '''The Catholic Encyclopedia.''' (New Advent). Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910.
* Hurtado, L.W. ''[http://books.google.ca/books?id=w5FpP9ZxqlYC&source=gbs_navlinks_s The Earliest Christian Artifacts: Manuscripts and Christian Origins].'' Cambridge , 2006.
* [[w:Alexander Kazhdan|Kazhdan, Alexander]], ed.. ''Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium.'' Oxford University Press, 1991. p.1167. ISBN 978-0-19-504652-6
* Lieu, S.N.C and Montserrat, D. (Eds.). ''From Constantine to Julian.'' London, 1996.
* [[w:Constantine I and Christianity|Constantine I and Christianity]]
* [[w:Christianity and Paganism|Christianity and Paganism]]
* [[w:Early Christian inscriptions|Early Christian inscriptions]]
* [[w:Idolatry and Christianity|Idolatry and Christianity]]
* [[w:IX monogram|IX monogram]]
* [[w:Labarum|Labarum]]
* [[w:Nomina sacra|Nomina sacra]]
* [[w:Talisman|Talisman]]
'''Other'''