Most people think that R.I.P. stands for “Rest in Peace,” but the Latin phrase, “Requiescat in Pace” actually means “May he (or she) rest in peace.” In the West, this was a familiar prayer and invocation for God’s mercy on the soul of the deceased and the abbreviation R.I.P. can be found in some of the earliest catacombs in and around Rome.
Many cemeteries have rules regarding what can or cannot be put on headstones (and foot stones), but I personally don’t see anything wrong with this abbreviation. However, the much more traditional Orthodox phrase would be “Memory Eternal.”
