Alpha and Omega
religious symbol, first and last letters of the Greek alphabet
Alpha (Α, α) and Omega (Ω, ω) are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, and a title of Christ or God in the Book of Revelation. This pair of letters is used as a Christian symbol, and is often combined with the Cross, Chi Rho or other Christian symbols.
Origin
The first written record of the phrase "alpha and omega" is from some old manuscripts of the Christian New Testament.
The phrase "I am the Alpha and the Omega" (Koiné Greek: ἐγώ εἰμί τὸ Ἄλφα καὶ τὸ Ὦ), is an appellation of Jesus and of the Father in the Book of Revelation (verses 1:8, 21:6, and 22:13). The first part of this phrase ("I am the Alpha and the Omega") is first found in chapter 1 verse 8, and is found in every manuscript of Revelation that has 1:8. Several later manuscripts repeat "I am the Alpha and the Omega" in 1:11 as well, but do not receive support here from most of the oldest manuscripts, including the Alexandrine, Sinaitic, and Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus. It is, therefore, omitted in some modern translations. Scholar Robert Young stated, with regard to "I am the Alpha and the Omega" in 1:11, the "oldest [manuscripts] omit" it.
A similar reference is found in Isaiah 44, where God is said to be the first and the last. Elsewhere in the New Testament, the phrase "I am" is used several times by Jesus, particularly in the Gospel of John.
The public source identifies “Alpha and Omega” as religious symbol, first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Alpha, Omega and religious.
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Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q217342. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Alpha and Omega” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.