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''Proedros'' ( el, πρόεδρος, "president") was a senior
''Proedros'' ( el, πρόεδρος, "president") was a senior Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
court and ecclesiastic title in the 10th to mid-12th centuries. The female form of the title is ''proedrissa'' (προέδρισσα).
Court dignity
The title was created in the 960s byNikephoros II Phokas
Nikephoros II Phokas (; – 11 December 969), Latinized Nicephorus II Phocas, was Byzantine emperor from 963 to 969. His career, not uniformly successful in matters of statecraft or of war, nonetheless included brilliant military exploits whi ...
and was first awarded to Basil Lekapenos Basil Lekapenos ( gr, Βασίλειος Λεκαπηνός, Basíleios Lekapēnós; – ), also called the Parakoimomenos () or the Nothos (, "the Bastard"), was an illegitimate child of the Byzantine emperor Romanos I Lekapenos. He served as the ...
, the eunuch '' parakoimōmenos''. It was placed very high in the court hierarchy, coming immediately below the position of the '' zostē patrikia'' and before the '' magistros'', meaning that it was the most senior non-imperial title open to males. The title apparently continued to be restricted to eunuchs until the mid-11th century, when it was opened up to the wider aristocracy and extensively awarded. The holder of this dignity was also the president of the Senate (), and the term ''proedros'' was often used to denote precedence in other offices, e.g. ''proedros'' of the ''notarioi'' for the '' prōtonotarios''. The title was widely awarded in the 11th century, after it was opened up to non-eunuchs, prompting the creation of the ''prōtoproedros'' (πρωτοπρόεδρος, "first ''proedros''") to distinguish the most senior amongst its holders. The title, along with most of the middle Byzantine court nomenclature, fell into gradual disuse in the Komnenian period
The Byzantine Empire was ruled by emperors of the Komnenos dynasty for a period of 104 years, from 1081 to about 1185. The ''Komnenian'' (also spelled ''Comnenian'') period comprises the reigns of five emperors, Alexios I, John II, Manuel I, A ...
, and disappeared in the latter 12th century. According to the '' De Ceremoniis'' (I.97) of Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos
Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe K ...
(r. 913–959), the clothing and insignia of the ''proedros'' in the 960s were: "a rose-colored and gold-embroidered tunic
A tunic is a garment for the body, usually simple in style, reaching from the shoulders to a length somewhere between the hips and the knees. The name derives from the Latin ''tunica'', the basic garment worn by both men and women in Ancient Rome ...
, a gem-encrusted belt, and a white '' chlamys'' loaktrimmed with golden bands and with two gold ''tablia'' quare patchesand decoration of ivy leaves."
Ecclesiastic office
The term ''proedros'' was often used for abishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...
, who was naturally the president of the local clergy, and in some rare cases for metropolitan bishop
In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan (alternative obsolete form: metropolite), pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis.
Originally, the term referred to the ...
s. In the 13th century, however, it acquired a more specific meaning: it was given to bishops who at the same time held jurisdiction over a vacant episcopal see. As the ''proedros'' of the vacant episcopal see, that bishop ran its administration, but was differentiated from the regular bishop, since he was never officially installed into that episcopal see. As in the court, the term ''proedros'' was also used to denote precedence among a group of officials.
See also
*Prokathemenos
( gr, προκαθήμενος, , the presiding one) is a Greek term for a president or chairman.
In the Byzantine Empire, the term appeared in a technical use during the 12th century. In the central administration, the of the (state courts) i ...
* Praeses
''Praeses'' (Latin ''praesides'') is a Latin word meaning "placed before" or "at the head". In antiquity, notably under the Roman Dominate, it was used to refer to Roman governors; it continues to see some use for various modern positions.
...
* Primicerius
References
Sources
* *{{cite book, last=Spatharakis, first=Ioannis, title=The Portrait in Byzantine Illuminated Manuscripts, location=Leiden, publisher=E. J. Brill, year=1976, isbn=978-90-04-04783-9, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AQ4VAAAAIAAJ Byzantine court titles Eastern Christian ecclesiastical offices