Brother:

I have always heard it said that Christos simply means "Annointed," or covered
with oil. The word, as one might expect, seems to have been used for divine
beings before Jesus of Nazareth. Christos Helios, for example, where "Helios" is
the God of the Sun.

Now, the fabulous Online Etymology Dictionary, relying upon various sources such
as the Oxford English Dictionary, has the following entry for the word "Christ":

O.E. crist, from L. Christus, from Gk. khristos "the anointed" (translation of
Heb. mashiah, see messiah), from khriein "to rub, anoint," title given to Jesus
of Nazareth. The L. term drove out O.E. hæland "healer" as the preferred
descriptive term for Jesus. A title, treated as a proper name in O.E., but not
regularly capitalized until 17c. Pronunciation with long -i- is result of Ir.
missionary work in England, 7c.-8c. The Ch- form, regular since c.1500, was rare
before. Christmas is O.E. Cristes mæsse and retains original vowel sound; Father
Christmas first attested in a carol attributed to Richard Smart, Rector of
Plymtree (Devon) from 1435-77. Christmas tree first attested 1835 in Amer.Eng.,
from Ger. Weihnachtsbaum. Christmas cards first designed 1843, popular by 1860s.
See http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Christ

Yet I suppose that this question, in a sense, can only be answered in the heart
^^ The "actual" meaning of a word is much more profound than a simple definition
or translation; especially one laden with so many cultural and spiritual
connotations and underpinnings...

If anyone else feels called to add anything or comment, please feel free to jump
right in!

In Her light,

Charles+


--- In mariavite@yahoogroups.com, "thecountyman" <thecountyman@...> wrote:
>
> Fr. Charles,
>
> What does the Greek word - Christos actually mean? Understand the word Christ
comes from it.
>
> Know what the Hebrew word Messiah means.
>
> Bless You
>