Greek letters in a Zoetermeer church? That’s how they get there

If you ever visit a Zoetermeer church, you will see all kinds of different symbols. The best known is of course the cross, but did you know that the Greek letters Alpha and Omega can also often be spotted?

That may sound strange, Greek letters in a church. Yet there is a very logical explanation for this!

The beginning and the end

The Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet and the Omega the last. Even before Christianity used the symbols, they were already used to indicate the beginning and end of the cosmos. This was during Hellenism. The Hellenistic period was the era when ancient Greece was at its peak in power and lasted from 323 BC to 33 BC.

Alpha and Omega in Christianity

But how did those letters from the Greeks end up in the Christian church? For that, we have to dig into the Bible. In the book of Apocalypse of John (1, 8) is the text: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, saith the Lord God, He who is and who was and who is to come, the All-Controller.” The first and last letter of the Greek alphabet thus point to God, the beginning and end of everything.

Alpha and Omega on graves

The two Greek letters can also be found on tombstones. The Alpha and the Omega indicate on Christian graves that the deceased saw in God his beginning and end.

(Source: church net and heinpragt.com)