Stauropegial

A stauropegic monastery, also rendered stavropegic, stauropegial, or stavropegial (from Greek: σταυρός stauros "cross" and πήγνυμι pegnumi "to affirm"), is an Eastern Orthodox or Eastern Catholic Christian monastery subordinated directly to a Patriarch or Synod, rather than to a local Bishop. The name comes from the Byzantine tradition of summoning the Patriarch to place a cross at the foundation of such monasteries.

Stauropegic monasteries are distinguished from the greatest monasteries, called lavras, and from the patriarchal , where the patriarch serves as a parish priest. The metochions of the Patriarch of Moscow are the Vysokopetrovsky Monastery and Nikolo-Perervinsky Monastery.

The Bulgarian Orthodox Church has 5 stauropegic monasteries:[1]

The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral and the Sofia Seminary are also directly subordinate to the Bulgarian Patriarch and Synod.

Several major Serbian Orthodox monasteries had special status in Middle Ages. Today, the Serbian Orthodox Church has one stauropegic monastery: the Patriarchal Monastery of Peć, ancient seat of the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć (1346-1463 and 1557-1766). The principal title of Serbian Patriarchs still is: Archbishop of Peć.

The first stauropegic monastery in the Russian Orthodox Church was Simonov Monastery (1383). It was subordinated directly to the Ecumenical Patriarch, because it was founded by Greeks and was home to the patriarch during his visits to Moscow.

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