#archimandrite

The right-glorifying Church of Christ honors above all heavenly and earthly creatures the one who is more venerable than the Cherubim and incomparably more glorious than the Seraphim: the Most Holy, Most Pure, Most Blessed, and Glorious Lady, our Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary.

According to the Church's teaching, she is the sole hope of the faithful, the deliverance from troubles and misfortunes for all who seek refuge in her, a fount of mercy and an unconquerable wall, an intercessor before the Creator, the unwavering hope of believers, the Joy of all who grieve, and the Protector of the oppressed. She intercedes unceasingly for us in prayers before God.

Archimandrite Arsène Attié, rector of the Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre Melkite Greek parish church in Paris

Archaeologists Find Grave of One of Last Senior Clergymen of Medieval Bulgarian Capital Tarnovgrad in Veliko Tarnovo

Archaeologists Hitko Vachev (front) and Iliyan Petrakiev (back) showing the newly discovered grave of a senior clergyman in Bulgaria’s Veliko Tarnovo. Photo: Yantra Dnes daily

The grave of a person who seems to have been one of the last senior clergymen of Tarnovgrad, the capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire (1185-1396/1422), before its capture by the invading Ottoman Turks has been discoveredby

In the Eastern Orthodox, the Abbot is referred to as the Hegumen. The Superior of a Convent of Nuns is called the Hēguménē. The title of Archimandrite (literally the head of the enclosure) used to mean something similar.

In the East, the principle set forth in the Code of Justinian still applies, whereby most abbots are immediately subject to the local bishop. Those monasteries which enjoy the status of being stauropegiac will be subject only to a primate or his Synod of Bishops and not the local bishop.

An archimandrite (literally, "chief of a sheepfold") is a celibate priest who has been elevated to an honorific rank, one level lower than bishop. Archimandrites are usually styled Very Reverend or Right Reverend and are always the most senior of all in the ranks of the priesthood. Elevation to archimandrite has often meant that the priest is a candidate for the episcopacy.

In Greek usage, archimandrite was originally equivalent to igumen, the traditional title for an abbot of a monastery, but after the 6th century came to refer to the abbots of particularly large or important monasteries, often having multiple monasteries under his care.

In Slavic usage, the rank of igumen is given to celibate priests as a lower rank than archimandrite.

Mantle

The mantiya worn by an archimandrite is joined in front at the bottom as well as at the neck, and has "tablets" or "pectorals" (Greek: πόματα, pómata; Slavonic: skrizhali)—large rectangular pieces of red or green cloth sewn onto the corners of the mantiya (i.e., two at the neck and two at the feet). The upper two tablets (those at the neck) are embroidered with crosses. The tablets symbolize the fact that the Archimandrites are to guide the brethren according to the commandments of God. The four tablets are symbolic of the Old and the New Testaments, and of the Four Gospels. When an archimandrite dies, his mantiya is laid on his coffin in place of a funeral pall.

Crosier

In Eastern Christianity, bishops use a pastoral staff. When a bishop is consecrated, the crosier (Greek: paterissa, Slavonic: pósokh) is presented to him by the chief consecrator following the dismissal at the Divine Liturgy.

An archimandrite, hegumen or hegumenia who leads a monastic community also bears a crosier. It is conferred by the bishop during the Divine Liturgy for the elevation of the candidate.

When he is not vested for worship, a bishop, archimandrite or abbot uses a different type of staff in the form of a walking stick topped with a silver pommel.

Crosiers are often made of fine metal, or at least gilded or silver-plated. They may also be made of wood, though this is more common of the crosier carried by an abbot than of a bishop.

The crosiers carried by Eastern bishops, archimandrites, abbots and abbesses differ in design from the Western crosier. The Eastern crosier is shaped more like a crutch than a shepherd's staff.

The sudarium (crosier mantle) is still used in the Eastern churches, where it is usually made of a rich fabric such as brocade or velvet, and is usually embroidered with a cross or other religious symbol, trimmed with galoon around the edges, and fringed at the bottom. The sudarium is normally a rectangular piece of fabric with a string sewn into the upper edge which is used to tie the sudarium to the crosier and which can be drawn together to form pleats. As the sudarium has grown more elaborate, bishops no longer hold it between their hand and the crosier, but place their hand under it as they grasp the crosier, so that it is visible.

The Eastern crosier is found in two common forms. The older form is tau-shaped, with arms curving down, surmounted by a small cross. The other has a top composed of a pair of sculptured serpents or dragons with their heads curled back to face each other, with a small cross between them, representing the bishop's diligence in guarding his flock.