IHS
Abbreviation with 2 meanings
| Stands for | Indian Health Service |
|---|---|
| Meanings | 2 |
| Categories | Government & Politics, Religion |
IHS has two meanings. It stands for Indian Health Service (US federal agency) or Christogram for the name of Jesus (religious term).
Meanings of IHS at a glance
| # | IHS stands for | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Indian Health Service | Government & Politics › US Federal Agency |
| 2 | Christogram for the name of Jesus | Religion › Religious Term |
1. Indian Health Service
Government & Politics · US Federal Agency Abbreviations
Provides health care to members of federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native tribes, directly through its own hospitals and clinics and through facilities run by tribes. The HHS agency serves more than 2.5 million people and is led by a Director.
Example: She receives prenatal care at the IHS clinic on the reservation.
Health services for tribes moved from the Bureau of Indian Affairs to the Public Health Service in 1955, creating the IHS. Its obligations stem from treaties and the federal trust responsibility rather than an insurance model. Many tribes now run their own health programs with IHS funding under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975.
2. Christogram for the name of Jesus
Religion · Religious Term Abbreviations
Monogram formed from the first three letters of the Greek name of Jesus (iota, eta, sigma), widely carved on altars, vestments, church doors and communion wafers. It is the central element of the emblem of the Jesuits.
Example: The gold IHS embroidered on the altar cloth catches the light at Mass.
Because the Greek eta looks like a Latin H, the letters were later reinterpreted as Latin phrases such as Iesus Hominum Salvator ("Jesus, Savior of humanity"), but those are backronyms. St. Bernardino of Siena popularized the monogram in the 15th century. It is also written IHC or JHS.
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More religious term abbreviations
- ELCA – Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
- ESV – English Standard Version
- GNT – Good News Translation
- HCSB – Holman Christian Standard Bible
- INRI – Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum (Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews)
- ISKCON – International Society for Krishna Consciousness
- JB – Jerusalem Bible
- JW – Jehovah's Witnesses