Sylvester (or Silvestros) Syropoulos (; c. 1400 – aft. 1464) was a Byzantine official, the grand ecclesiarch (megas ekklesiarches) of the Hagia Sophia and the dikaiophylax of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. He was a native of Constantinople.
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At the death of a priest or bishop, when his body is vested for burial, his face will be covered with an Aër to show his closeness to the Sacred Mysteries. In some of the monasteries on the Holy Mountain, when the Ecclesiarch (Sacristan) and Paraecclesiarch (his assistant) cense, each will wear an Aër on his left shoulder.
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Manuel Christonymos was probably a native of the Peloponnese in Greece. He became Grand Ecclesiarch (i.e. Head Sacristan) of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. This ministry soon after the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire (1453) took the functions also of the skeuophylax, taking care of the holy treasures and relics of the Patriarchate, and in this position Manuel clashed with Patriarch Gennadius Scholarius on economical issues.
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Seal or bulla of Aimery, with his bust on the obverse. Aimery or Aymery of Limoges (died 1196), also Aimericus in Latin, Aimerikos in Greek and Hemri in Armenian, was a Roman Catholic ecclesiarch in Frankish Outremer and the fourth Latin Patriarch of Antioch from c. 1140 until his death.His reign may have begun as early as 1139 or as late as c. 1142. Bernard Hamilton, "Ralph of Domfront, Patriarch of Antioch (1135-40)", Nottingham Medieval Studies, 28 (1984), p.
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In addition to the chain censer described above, a "hand censer" (Greek: Κατσί katzi or katzion) is used on certain occasions. This device has no chains and consists of a bowl attached to a handle, often with bells attached. The lid is normally attached to the bowl with a hinge. In Greek practice, particularly as observed on Mount Athos, during the portion of Vespers known as "Lord, I cry unto Thee" the ecclesiarch (sacristan) and his assistant will perform a full censing of the temple and people using hand censers.
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In 1725 he was ordained archimandrite, and in particular he was named by the Ecumenical Patriarchate as Grand Archimandrite, Grand Ecclesiarch of Mount Athos, and Bishop of Polyani and Kilkis. In 1731 he travelled to Germany and then to Russia as an envoy of the Patriarchate.«Ιόνιος Λόγος»- Τμήμα Ιστορίας, Ιόνιο Πανεπιστήμιο, τόμος Α' (Ελένη Αγγελομάτη-Τσουγκαράκη): Η λέξη «ζητεία» ειδικά αναφερόμενη στο Οικουμενικό Πατριαρχείο δήλωνε καταρχήν όλα τα συνήθη δοσίματα που αυτό λάμβανε από το ποίμνιο και τους κληρικούς που βρίσκονταν στη δικαιοδοσία του και αποτελούσαν μέρος των εκκλησιαστικών εισοδημάτων. (σελ.247) During his trips to Europe he visited Menorca, where he also served as a teacher and a pastor.
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Symeon was born between 1400 and 1420 to a noble family of the Empire of Trebizond. After Trebizond's fall to the Ottomans in 1461, all the nobles of the former empire were forced by Mehmed the Conqueror to move to Istanbul (Constantinople) and Symeon too, who was already a monk, went to the capital. The Trapezuntine nobility formed a separate faction among the Greeks of the capital, led probably by the scholar and politician George Amiroutzes. This faction supported Symeon as its own candidate for the patriarchal throne against the faction led by lay archons such as the Great Chartophylax George Galesiotes and the Grand Ecclesiarch (i.e.
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The Chapter was composed of six dignities (the Archdeacon, the Dean, the Cantor, the Treasurer, the Archpriest, and the Ecclesiarch-Theologian) and fourteen Canons.D'Avino, pp. 505-506. In 1472 the see was united to that of Gerace, under Bishop Athanasius Calceofilo, by whom the Greek Rite was abolished, although it remained in use in a few towns. In 1536 Oppido became again an independent see, under Bishop Pietro Andrea Ripanti; among other bishops were Antonio Cesconi (1609) and Giovanni Battista Montani (1632), who restored the cathedral and the episcopal palace; Bisanzio Fili (1696), who founded the seminary; Michele Caputo (1852), who was transferred to the See of Ariano, where it is suspected that he poisoned King Ferdinand II; eventually, he apostatized.
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In some traditions, the ecclesiarch (sacristan) and his assistant (paraecclesiarch) will perform the censing at specific moments of the service. The thurible (, Thymiato; Church Slavonic: Кадилница, kadilnitsa) used is often gold plated (combining in itself at the offering of incense the three gifts of the Biblical Magi: gold, frankincense, and myrrh). The thurible consists of a metal bowl (usually with a base so it can stand upright) into which the charcoal and incense are placed, and a lid (often topped with a cross), pierced by holes to allow the fragrance from the incense to escape. The censer will usually have three outer chains (for the Holy Trinity) attached to the bowl, and a fourth inner chain (for the Oneness of God) attached to the lid.
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He reorganised the economic section of the diocesan centre, so as to ensure better administration and control over resources, while he established clear objectives for the other sections (administrative and cultural). He restored the cathedral and the metropolitan's residence, as well as the nearby buildings, which had been marred by bullets and shells and left without windows, with cracked walls and holes in their roofs, and with the objects inside scattered and partly lost. He brought these buildings back into a well-functioning state, including the diocesan candle factory, which had almost ceased its activity during the war. At the same time, he hired young, virtuous monks to serve at the cathedral, naming the Archimandrite Fr. Teoctist Arăpaşu to the post of ecclesiarch.
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"Ghenadie, mitropolitul-primat al României", p.13; "Ilustrațiunile", p.261 Others mention that this happened only in 1858, at Cernica Monastery. Within four years, he was dispatched to the Metropolitan diocese of Bucharest, where he functioned as Deacon (Archdeacon as of 1865). In parallel, Ghenadie trained for the priesthood, was received into its ranks in 1869, eventually serving as the Metropolitan's Ecclesiarch. According to his biographical profile the literary magazine Familia (April 1894), he became one of the first Romanian clergymen to live up to modern expectations, as both an educated priest and a promoter of education."Ghenadie, mitropolitul-primat al României", p.13 Ghenadie was however noted for not having followed the academic path of theology, and for not having attended public school.Brusanowski, p.245; Dobrescu-Argeș, p.
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Concerning the early life of Mark our main source is a document of the Senate of Venice dated 26 June 1466, which orders the Venetian government in Crete to prevent Mark and his father in case they tried to seek refuge on the island. From this document scholars, such as Laurent, deduce that in June 1466 Mark was actually Patriarch, that he and his family had previously been in Crete and that they opposed the East-West Union of Churches established in the Council of Florence and supported by the Republic of Venice. Mark became Metropolitan of Adrianople in 1464, and in autumn 1465 (or early 1466) he was elected Patriarch of Constantinople with the support of lay archons such as the Great Chartophylax George Galesiotes and the Grand Ecclesiarch (i.e. Head Sacristan) Manuel (the future Patriarch Maximus III), as well as the secretary of the Sultan Demetrios Kyritzes.
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