Holy Name of Jesus

Early history of veneration

The reverence and affection with which Christians have regarded the Holy Name of Jesus goes back to the earliest days of Christianity, as shown in Acts 4:10 and Philippians 2:10.

If you think on the name Jesus continually and hold it stably, it purges your sin and kindles your heart

Devotion to and veneration of the IHS monogram, derived from the Greek word for Jesus, ΙΗΣΟΥΣ (and sometimes erroneously interpreted as Iesus Hominum Salvator, Jesus saviour of mankind), also dates back to the early days of Christianity, where it was placed on altars and religious vestments, ornaments and other objects. The IHS monogram is also found on a gold coin from the eighth century.

Medieval devotions to the Holy Name in England were promoted by Anselm of Canterbury early in the 12th century. In continental Europe, shortly after Anselm, the veneration of the Holy Name was strongly encouraged by Bernard of Clairvaux in his sermons and writings. Bernard's writings such as the Sermon on the Canticles later influenced others such as Richard Rolle who expressed similar views, e.g. that of the Holy Name acting as a "healing ointment" for the soul.

A number of religious communities dedicated to the Holy Name Jesus have been formed since the Middle Ages. In the 16th century, the Jesuits made the IHS monogram the emblem of their society, by adding a cross over the H and by showing three nails underneath it. Official recognition for the Holy Name was provided by Pope Gregory X at the Council of Lyons in 1274. In the 14th century, Henry Suso in Germany and Richard Rolle in England promoted devotions to the Name of Jesus. Rolle believed that the name Jesus has awesome intrinsic power, in a manner reminiscent of the Old Testament reverence of the name Jehovah. In Rolle's view the act of calling on the Holy Name purifies the soul and amounts to a reconstruction of the self as a contemplative. Rolle composed a number of lyrics about the Holy Name.

The tradition of devotion to and reverence for the Holy Name continued through the 14th and 15th centuries in England as the belief in its miraculous powers became widespread. Walter Hilton's classic work Scale of Perfection included a long passage on the Holy Name. In this period popular beliefs on the power of the Name of Jesus at times coincided with the belief in the power of the Holy Name of Mary. The belief in the power of the Holy name had a strong visual component and the IHS monogram as well as Crucifixion scenes were widely used along with it.

Roman Catholic devotion

In the 15th century, the Franciscan Bernardine of Siena actively promoted the devotion to the Holy Name. At the end of his sermons he usually displayed the trigram IHS on a tablet in gold letters. Bernardine would then ask the audience to "adore the Redeemer of mankind". Given that this practice had an unorthodox air, he was brought before Pope Martin V, who instead of rebuking Bernardine, encouraged the practice and joined a procession for it in Rome. The devotion to the Holy Name became so popular in Italy that the IHS trigram was often inscribed over the doorways of houses. The tablet used by Bernardine is now venerated at the basilica of Santa Maria in Aracoeli in Rome.

Sacramentals such as the Little Sachet (associated with the Holy Name) are used by Roman Catholics. The Little Sachet bears the statement: "When Jesus was named — Satan was disarmed."

Protestantism

John Calvin believed in reverence for the Holy Name and encouraged Christians to: "glorify His holy name with our whole life". Martin Luther encouraged "pure faith and confidence, and a cheerful meditation of and calling upon His holy Name".

O nomen Jesu by Peter Philips (1612) and Johann Rosenmüller (1648) are motets intended for the service commemorating the naming of Jesus. O Jesu, nomen dulce is a motet by Heinrich Schütz.

Eastern Christianity

The Jesus prayer, which perhaps dates to the 4th century, is widely used in the Eastern Church. Devotions to the Holy Name continued also in the Eastern Church into the 19th and 20th centuries. St. Theophan the Recluse regarded the Jesus Prayer stronger than all other prayers by virtue of the power of the Holy Name and St. John of Kronstadt stated: "The Name of the Lord is the Lord Himself". The doctrine of imiaslavie (имяславие, or onomatodoxy), the worship of the Name of God as identical with God Himself, was condemned by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1913.