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Astauropegion, also spelledstavropegion (fromGreek:σταυροπήγιον, in turn from σταυρόςstauroslit. "cross" and πήγνυμιpegnumilit. "to affirm"), is amonastery or aparish which depends directly on theprimate or on theHoly Synod of a particular Church, and which is not under the jurisdiction of thelocal bishop. The name comes from theByzantine tradition of summoning thePatriarch to place across at the foundation of stauropegic monasteries or parochialchurches.[1]
Such exempt jurisdictions, both monastic and parochial, are common inEastern Christianity, mainly inEastern Orthodox Churches, but also in someEastern Catholic Churches. Their institutional counterparts in theLatin Rite ecclesiastical order of theCatholic Church are variousexempt jurisdictions, such as monasteries directly subjected to theHoly See of Rome.
A stauropegic monastery, also rendered "stavropegic", "stauropegial" or "stavropegial", is anEastern Orthodox orEastern Catholic Christianmonastery, subordinated directly to aprimate orSynod, rather than to alocal Bishop.
The practice of exempting some monasteries from jurisdictions of local bishops, placing them under a direct jurisdiction of the patriarch, was present at least since the reign ofByzantine EmperorMaurice (582-602). Such exemptions became more common after theCouncil of Constantinople (861). In time, those practices included not only monasteries but also various parish churches, to the extent authorities had to regulate the issue by imposing stricter criteria for exemption.[2][3]
Stauropegic monasteries are distinguished from the greatest monasteries, calledlavras, and from the patriarchalmetochions, where the patriarch serves as a parish priest. Themetochions of the Patriarch of Moscow are theVysokopetrovsky Monastery andNikolo-Perervinsky Monastery.
TheBulgarian Orthodox Church has three stauropegic monasteries:[4]
TheAlexander Nevsky Cathedral and theSofia Seminary are also directly subordinate to the Bulgarian Patriarch and Synod.
TheEastern Orthodox Church has one stauropegic monastery:
Several major Serbian Orthodox monasteries had special status inMiddle Ages. Today, theSerbian Orthodox Church has two stauropegic monasteries:[5]
The first stauropegic monastery in theRussian Orthodox Church wasSimonov Monastery (1383). It was subordinated directly to theEcumenical Patriarch, because it was founded by Greeks and home to thepatriarch during his visits toMoscow.
In 1561,Ivan the Terrible decreed that the following seven monasteries should precede all the rest:
After the establishment of thePatriarchate in Moscow, no stauropegic monasteries were subordinated directly to the Patriarch for some time.Nikon then founded theNew Jerusalem Monastery,Valday Iversky Monastery, andKiy Island Monastery, which he governed himself, instead of placing each under anhegumen (abbot).
The Greek custom, first introduced by Nikon, was continued by other Patriarchs and theHoly Governing Synod. Stauropegic houses were not always the most important monasteries, the holiest, the richest, or the largest. They might have been dear to the ruling Patriarch for personal reasons. In the 19th century, apart from fourlavras, seven monasteries were considered stauropegial:
As of 2000[update], the following monasteries were recognized as stauropegial by the Russian Orthodox Church:
Monasteries ofMoscow:
Monasteries of Central Russia:
Monasteries of North-Western Russia:
Monasteries outside Russia:
A stauropegial monastery (monasterium stauropegiaceum) under patriarchal jurisdiction (monasterium iuris patriarchalis) is a monastery subject directly to thepatriarch (can. 434Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches).[6]
Monasteries in Ukraine:
Stauropegic parishes in Eastern Orthodoxy are exempt parishes not under jurisdiction of a local bishop, but directly subjected to a higher hierarch, usually a patriarch. Such parishes are created for various reasons, symbolic or practical.
The dictionary definition ofstauropegion at Wiktionary