What does the Ankh mean for Christians and is it okay for a Christian to use one?
Early Egyptian believers incorporated it centuries ago, like the life/divine breath symbolism tied into their faith somehow. I can’t figure out if the historical connection means it’s fine to use or if there’s a reason it got dropped. Nobody at my church would know what to do with that question lol
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Some history to go through here.
The ankh was adopted directly by the Coptic Christians in Egypt around the 4th century CE. They called it the ‘crux ansata’… which literally means ‘handled cross.’ They modified it slightly, made the loop more circular instead of the oval shape, but kept using it as their version of the Christian cross.
When Christians were dismantling the Serapeum (a major pagan temple) in Alexandria they found ankh symbols carved into the stones and both pagans and Christians present claimed the symbol. The pagans said it meant ‘life to come’ and the Christians said it was basically theirs.
So from pretty early on, Egyptian Christians saw enough overlap with their beliefs that they could embrace it. The core symbolism of ‘life’ and ‘breath of life’ translated well. The Copts used it specifically to represent Christ’s promise of eternal life and resurrection. They kept using it in church decorations and textiles for centuries. It just never caught on in Western Christianity the same way, which is probably why your church folks wouldn’t know what to make of it.
So historically? Egyptian Christians used this symbol as part of their faith. It was ‘baptized’ into Christianity early on. Whether you personally feel comfortable wearing one is a personal thing, but there’s real modern Christian history behind it, but (on the other hand) anyone telling you this is idolatry probably doesn’t know the history.
If anyone has a problem with a Christian using an Ankh, their words are not from God but from their own insecurity of not knowing what an Ankh even is.
I’ll leave the meaning answer for the buffs who know the details of this stuff but you won’t have a problem.
The Coptic use of the ankh-cross helped establish the cross as the Christian symbol.
Early Christians in Rome used the fish symbol because the cross was an execution method. Would’ve been like wearing an electric chair pendant today. The ankh-cross gave them a life-affirming symbol that could represent Christ’s victory over death.
You can still see it in Coptic churches today. For them, it represents the resurrection and eternal life through Christ. Similar to how the Celtic cross has a specific regional flavor but is still Christian. Or Armenian crosses. The reason it ‘got dropped’ in the West is probably just geography and cultural distance from Egypt. But the Coptic tradition kept it alive. It’s a valid Christian symbol with centuries of use, just not one most Western churches know about.
In short: You’d probably get a few weird looks from judgmental people, some interested questions from the brighter ones and anyone who knows what it is won’t bat an eye.
It became a symbol of resurrection and eternal life in Christ for them. That’s real Christian usage with historical grounding.
That said, the ankh today gets used in a lot of contexts that have nothing to do with Coptic Christianity. Goth subculture picked it up (partly from that vampire movie in the 80s), new age spirituality uses it, some people wear it for the aesthetic. One source mentioned that sometimes, when used symbolically today, it represents religious pluralism - the idea that all paths lead to life equally.
So whether it’s okay probably depends on why you’re using it.
But if you personally associate it more with its pagan origins or modern occult meanings, that’s different. Paul talks about similar stuff in Romans 14 - our conscience matters in these decisions. The symbol has legitimate Christian history through the Copts, but the meaning you attach to it matters.
Before those Christians used it, the ankh represented Egyptian deities’ authority to resurrect souls, which in Christian belief belongs only to God. He actually judged those same Egyptian gods in Exodus 12.
Shouldn’t the symbols we wear or display as Christians point specifically to Christ and his work? The ankh carries meaning from Egyptian religion, so I’m not sure it really communicates what we’d want it to about our faith.
I wonder what it says to others about where our hope comes from.
If the ankh is ‘just a thing’ without the belief behind it, then the question isn’t really whether Christians can use it. It’s whether there’s any point. What would someone even be trying to communicate by wearing one? The early Egyptian Christians found meaning in connecting it to their faith, but if you’re not in that tradition, you’re just wearing jewelry.
I guess you can do that; it doesn’t cause any kind of problem, but I would not replace your cross with one. People are so focused on the wrong symbols and the wrong displays of faith that they’ve lost the actual substance.
