Signum in Latin means "a standard," a flag of sorts used in the Roman army. Thus, Constantine's vision merges Christian and traditional Roman emblems of victory and gives the cross a new military connotation. The irony cannot have escaped many in the day, that a traditional form of capital punishment in Rome was now emblazoned on the emperor's regalia. Imagine if the U.S. President decided to put a depiction of the electric chair on his stationery.

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