 "Nomina sacra" are consistently observed in even the earliest extant Christian writings, along with the codex form rather than the roll, implying that when these were written, in approximately the second century, the practice had already been established for some time.However, it is not known precisely when and how the "nomina sacra" first arose.The initial system of "nomina sacra" apparently consisted of just four or five words, called "nomina divina"