Asakellarios (Greek:σακελλάριος) orsacellarius is the title of an official entrusted with administrative and financial duties (cf.sakellē orsakellion, "purse, treasury") in a government or institution. The title was used in theByzantine Empire with varying functions and the title remains in use in theEastern Orthodox Church.

The first knownsakellarios was a certain Paul, afreedman appointed by EmperorZeno (reigned 474–491).^[1] Hence, thesakellarios usually is presumed to have headed asakellion (orsakella,sakelle), a term that appears in earlyByzantine sources with the apparent sense of "treasury", more specifically of "cash", as opposed to thevestiarion that was for goods.^[2]

Despite the origin of the term, thesakellarioi of the early Byzantine period (fifth–seventh centuries) are not directly associated with financial matters. Rather they appear connected with the imperial bedchamber (koiton), bearing court titles such asspatharios orkoubikoularios, while some holders of the office were entrusted with distinctly non-financial tasks: EmperorHeraclius (r. 610–641) appointed thesakellariosTheodore Trithyrius to command against the Arabs, and yet anothersakellarios conducted the examination ofMaximos the Confessor underConstans II (r. 641–668).^[1]

It is only in the early eighth century thatsakellarioi are directly mentioned as treasurers.^[1] By the time of theTaktikon Uspensky of c. 843, thesakellarios had become a generalcomptroller of the fiscal bureaux (thesekreta), with notaries reporting to the office holder in each department.^[1] The head of thesakellion department from this period on became thechartoularios tou sakelliou.^[2]

From the late eleventh century, the prefixmegas ("grand") was added to it.^[1]The post continues in evidence until at least 1196, although for a time, it may have been subsumed into that of themegas logariastes underAlexios I Komnenos (r. 1081–1118).

Imitating the practice of the imperial court, thePatriarchate of Constantinople had its ownsakellion.^[2] Like the office holder's secular counterpart, the patriarchalsakellarios lost its function as treasurer. By the late eleventh century the ecclesiastic official took over the supervision of donations to, and the administration of, the monasteries of Constantinople. At the same time, it also acquired the prefixmegas and replaced themegas skeuophylax as the second-most important official of the patriarchate.^[1] By the thirteenth century, the institution ofmegas sakellarios had been replicated in the provincial sees as well.^[1]

• Bury, John B. (1911),The Imperial Administrative System of the Ninth Century. With a Revised Text of the Kletorologion of Philotheos, Oxford University Publishing
• Kazhdan, Alexander, ed. (1991).The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. Oxford University Press.ISBN 978-0-19-504652-6.

• Eastern Christian ecclesiastical offices
• Byzantine fiscal offices

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