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In 1978, at the Ninth Conference in London, the Association
approved the following:
The outer circle depicts the oneness of
mankind. Inside this circle
are the first two letters of the word Christ. The Greek letter
Chi and Rho (XP) form the ancient symbol that
early Christians painted on the walls of the catacombs. It was used by
the YMCA to remind all that Christ was at the center of the movement.
Finally, an open Bible was added
because the divine book is the weapon of warfare which St. John gave to young men
and because it's the distinguishing mark of the great Reformation.
The bible opens on the Savior's High Priestly prayer, from
which we have especially chosen the 21st verse: "That they all
may be one...as We are one"-John 17:21.
Luther H. Gulick,
who revolutionized sports and physical fitness at the YMCA, proposed a
red equilateral triangle as a symbol in 1891. It was adopted immediately
by Springfield College. The sides of the triangle, Gulick
said, stood for "man's essential unity-spirit, mind, and body- each
being a necessary and eternal part of man, being neither one alone but
all three," a "wonderful combination of dust of the earth
and the breath of God."
The inside ring represented friendship and
love without end among individuals.
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