''Skeuophylax'' (), feminine form ''skeuophylakissa'' (σκευοφυλάκισσα), meaning "keeper of the vessels", is an ecclesiastical office in the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

. Usually held by a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

, the office of the ''skeuophylax'' is entrusted with looking after the sacred vessels and furnishings of a church or monastery. In

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

times, the ''skeuophylax'' played an important role in the

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...

, and, alongside the ''

oikonomos ''Oikonomos'' (, from - 'house' and - 'rule, law'), Latinization of names, Latinized œconomus, oeconomus, or economos, was an Ancient Greek word meaning "household manager." In Byzantine Empire, Byzantine times, the term was used as a title of ...

'' or steward, administered the property of the respective church or monastery. The ''skeuophylax'' of the Great Church (the

Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia (; ; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque (; ), is a mosque and former Church (building), church serving as a major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The last of three church buildings to be successively ...

, the cathedral church of the

Patriarchate of Constantinople The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (, ; ; , "Roman Orthodox Patriarchate, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Istanbul") is one of the fifteen to seventeen autocephalous churches that together compose the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is headed ...

) was distinguished by the epithet ''megas'' ("great"), and was appointed by the

Byzantine emperors The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, which Fall of Constantinople, fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised s ...

until the reign of

Isaac I Komnenos Isaac I Komnenos or Comnenus (; – 1 June 1060) was Byzantine emperor from 1057 to 1059, the first reigning member of the Komnenian dynasty. The son of the general Manuel Erotikos Komnenos, he was orphaned at an early age, and w ...

(r. 1057–59), when the prerogative passed to the patriarchs. Until the late 11th century, the ''megas skeuophylax'' (μέγας σκευοφύλαξ) ranked second in the administrative hierarchy, after the ''megas oikonomos'' of the Patriarchate, dropping to third place next to the ''megas

sakellarios A ''sakellarios'' () or ''sacellarius'' is the title of an official entrusted with administrative and financial duties (cf. ''sakellē'' or ''sakellion'', "purse, treasury") in a government or institution. The title was used in the Byzantine Empi ...

'' after that. He headed a department (''sekreton'') known as the ''mega skeuophylakeion'' (μέγα σκευοφυλακείον), with a number of subordinate secretaries ('' chartoularioi''). This ''sekreton'' probably had its origins in the corps of 12 ''skeuophylakes'' (four

s, six

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

s and two

lector Lector is Latin for one who reads, whether aloud or not. In modern languages it takes various forms, as either a development or a loan, such as , , and . It has various specialized uses. Academic The title ''lector'' may be applied to lecturers ...

s) recorded as forming part of the staff of the Great Church in 612.

References

Sources

* {{italic title Byzantine ecclesiastical titles and offices Eastern Christian ecclesiastical offices