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The titlearchimandrite (/ˌɑːrkɪˈmændraɪt/;Greek:ἀρχιμανδρίτης,romanized: archimandritēs), used inEastern Christianity, originally referred to asuperiorabbot (hegumenos,Greek:ἡγούμενος, present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") whom abishop appointed to supervise several "ordinary" abbots andmonasteries, or as the abbot of some especially great and important monastery.
In theEastern Orthodox Church and theEastern Catholic Churches, "archimandrite" is most often used purely as atitle of honor (with no connection to any actual monastery) and is bestowed on ahieromonk as a mark of respect or gratitude for service to the Church. This title is only given to thosepriests who have been tonsured monks, while distinguished non-monastic (typically married) priests would be given the title ofprotopresbyter. In history, somewomen were able to obtain that title, notably whencross-dressing as male monks, such asSusanna the Deaconess.
The termarchimandrite derives from the Greek: the first element fromἀρχι-archi- meaning "highest" or fromarchon "ruler"; and the second root fromμάνδραmandra meaning "enclosure" or "corral", "pen" and denoting a "monastery" (compare the usage of "flock" for "congregation").
The title has been in common use since the 5th century, but is mentioned for the first time in a letter toEpiphanius, prefixed to hisPanarium (c. 375), but theLausiac History ofPalladius may evidence its common use in the 4th century as applied to SaintPachomius.[1]
When the supervision of monasteries passed to another episcopal official—the GreatSakellarios ("sacristan")—the title of archimandrite became an honorary one for abbots of important monasteries (compared to an ordinary abbot, ahegumenos).
TheEastern Orthodox andByzantineCatholic churches commonly select theirbishops from the ranks of the archimandrites.
As abbots, the duties of both a hegumen and an archimandrite are the same; however, during theDivine Service, a hegumen wears a simplemantle, while the mantle of an archimandrite is decorated with sacral texts; an archimandrite also bears a pastoral staff (pateritsa).
Initially, in some cases it served as an extra title: for example, manuscripts of 1174 mentionHegumen Polikarp ofKiev Cave Monastery as "Hegumen Archimandrite".
In 1764, theRussian Orthodox Church organized its monasteries and ranked them in one of three classes, awarding only the abbots at the head of monasteries of the second or first class the title of archimandrite. Abbots of third class monasteries were to be styled "hegumen".
In the Russian tradition, an archimandrite wears amitre.
Churches under the spiritual jurisdiction of the four ancient Eastern Orthodox Patriarchates generally require that such a monastic priest possess a university degree intheology before he is elevated to the rank of archimandrite. Sometimes, the requirement is waived if the priest can show outstanding achievement in other academic fields, such as the humanities or science.
An archimandrite who does not function as an abbot has the style "The Very Reverend Archimandrite" whilst one with abbatial duties uses the style "The Right Reverend Archimandrite".
The word occurs in theRegula Columbani (c. 7), anddu Cange gives a few other cases of its use in Latin documents, but it never came into vogue in the West; yet, owing to intercourse with Greek and Slavonic Christianity, the title sometimes appears in southern Italy and Sicily, and in Croatia, Hungary and Poland.[1] From 1979, there is at least one exemplar in Britain.[2]
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Archimandrite".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 2 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 368. This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: "Архимандрит" .Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary (in Russian). 1906.
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