''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 Constantin ...

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 by Nikephoros II Phokas and was first awarded to Basil Lekapenos, 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, and disappeared in the latter 12th century. According to the '' De Ceremoniis'' (I.97) of Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos (r. 913–959), the clothing and insignia of the ''proedros'' in the 960s were: "a rose-colored and gold-embroidered tunic, a gem-encrusted belt, and a white '' chlamys'' loaktrimmed with golden bands and with two gold ''tablia''

quare patches Quare is a subset of queer theory exploring the intersectionality of race and sexuality. Quare could also mean: * “ The Quare Fellow”, a Brendan Behan play produced in 1954 * quare impedit English law writ commencing an advowson * Daniel Quar ...

and decoration of ivy leaves."

Ecclesiastic office

The term ''proedros'' was often used for a

bishop 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 ...

, 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 b ...

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.

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

Court dignity

Ecclesiastic office

See also

References

Sources