''Synkellos'' ( el, σύγκελλος), latinized as ''syncellus'', is an ecclesiastical office in the Eastern Rite churches. In the

Byzantine Empire 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 ...

, the ''synkellos'' of the

Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople The ecumenical patriarch ( el, Οἰκουμενικός Πατριάρχης, translit=Oikoumenikós Patriárchēs) is the archbishop of Constantinople ( Istanbul), New Rome and ''primus inter pares'' (first among equals) among the heads of th ...

was a position of major importance in the state, and often was regarded as the successor-designate to the reigning patriarch. The term is Greek and means "one who lives in the same cell" in a monastery. It is attested from the 5th century onward for the closest advisor of a bishop or archbishop, who then lived in the same residence or cell. In the

, the ''synkellos'' of the

Patriarch of Constantinople The ecumenical patriarch ( el, Οἰκουμενικός Πατριάρχης, translit=Oikoumenikós Patriárchēs) is the archbishop of Constantinople (Istanbul), New Rome and ''primus inter pares'' (first among equals) among the heads of the ...

quickly acquired a pre-eminent position, and it often happened that a ''synkellos'' succeeded to the patriarchal throne when it fell vacant. This was certainly the expectation by the 9th–10th centuries, when the ''synkellos'' was an official appointed by the

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( e ...

, and became a tool for imperial control of the patriarchal succession. Thus, although its members were lower-ranking clergymen—priests and

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 churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

s—in the ''

Kletorologion The ''Klētorologion'' of Philotheos ( el, Κλητορολόγιον), is the longest and most important of the Byzantine lists of offices and court precedence ('' Taktika'').. It was published in September 899 during the reign of Emperor Leo VI t ...

'' of 899 he is listed among the senior secular officials of the state. The ''synkellos'' was one of the "special dignities" (ἀξίαι εἰδικαί, ''axiai eidikai''), between the '' rhaiktor'', and before the '' chartoularios tou kanikleiou''. His exact duties are unclear, but he was considered a member of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...

and was accorded a role in imperial ceremonies. In the ''Kletorologion'', the ''synkellos'' was placed third of all secular offices in hierarchy, after the '' basileopator'' and the ''rhaiktor''; in the overall hierarchy, which included ecclesiastical offices and holders of semi-imperial titles like ''

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...

'', he came eighth after the ''rhaiktor'' and before the Archbishop of Bulgaria and the various '' patrikioi''. The ''synkellos'' of the

Patriarch of Rome The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certa ...

took precedence over that of Constantinople, if present, and the ''synkelloi'' of the other patriarchates followed. The prestige of the title was such that from the 10th century, it began to be sought by, and awarded to, ambitious

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, as well. Consequently, the title was gradually inflated to more grandiloquent forms like '' protosynkellos'' (πρωτοσύγκελλος, "first ''synkellos''") or ''

proedros ''Proedros'' ( el, πρόεδρος, "president") was a senior Byzantine 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 ...

ton protosynkellon'' (πρόεδρος τῶν πρωτοσυγκέλλων, "president of the ''protosynkelloi''), and the original title lost its erstwhile significance. From the

Palaiologan period The Byzantine Empire was ruled by the Palaiologos dynasty in the period between 1261 and 1453, from the restoration of Byzantine rule to Constantinople by the usurper Michael VIII Palaiologos following its recapture from the Latin Empire, founde ...

on, the ''synkellos'' of the Patriarch of Constantinople was designated as ''megas protosynkellos'' (μέγας πρωτοσύγκελλος, "grand ''protosynkellos'').

References

Sources

* * * {{ODB , last=Papadakis , first=Aristeides , authorlink= , title=Synkellos , pages=1993–1994 Byzantine ecclesiastical titles and offices Eastern Christian ecclesiastical offices