Stauropegic

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Stauropegic or stauropegial (from Greek: stauros - cross, pegio - to affirm) is an epithet applied to the monasteries subordinated directly to the Patriarch or Synod. It derives from the Byzantine tradition of summoning the Patriarch to place a cross at the foundation of such monasteries.

[edit] Stauropegic monasteries in the Russian Orthodoxy

The first stauropegic monastery in Russia 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.

In 1561 Ivan the Terrible decreed that the following seven monasteries should precede all the rest:

• Trinity Lavra, Sergiev Posad
• Chudov Monastery, Moscow
• Andronikov Monastery, Moscow
• Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, Kirillov
• Epiphany Monastery, Moscow
• Pafnutiev Monastery, Borovsk
• Joseph-Volokolamsky Monastery near Volokolamsk

After the establishment of the Patriarchy in Moscow, there were no stauropegic monasteries subordinated directly to the Patriarch, until Nikon founded the New Jerusalem Monastery, Valdai Iversky Monastery and Kiy Island Monastery, which he governed himself, instead of a father superior, or hegumen.

The Greek custom, first introduced by Nikon, was continued by other Patriarchs and by the Holy Synod. It should be noted that stauropegic were not always the most important monasteries, the holiest, the richest, or the largest. They might have been dear to the ruling Patriarch for personal reasons. In the 19th century, apart from four lavras, seven monasteries were considered stauropegial:

• Novospassky Monastery, Moscow
• New Jerusalem Monastery, Istra
• Simonov Monastery, Moscow
• Donskoy Monastery, Moscow
• Solovetsky Monastery, Solovki
• Yakovlevsky Monastery, Rostov
• Zaikonospassky Monastery, Moscow

As of 2000, the following monasteries were recognized as stauropegial by the Russian Orthodox Church:

Monasteries of Moscow:

• Danilov Monastery, Moscow
• Donskoy Monastery, Moscow
• Novospassky Monastery, Moscow
• Sretensky Monastery, Moscow
• Zachatyevsky Convent, Moscow
• Intercession Convent, Moscow
• Nativity Convent, Moscow

Monasteries of Central Russia:

• Joseph-Volokolamsky Monastery, Moscow Oblast
• New Jerusalem Monastery, Moscow Oblast
• Optina Monastery, Kaluga Oblast
• St. Savva Monastery, Moscow Oblast
• Ugreshi Monastery, Moscow Oblast
• Amvrosievsky Shamordinsky Convent, Kaluga Oblast
• Borisoglebsky Anosin Convent, Moscow Oblast
• Intercession Convent, Khotkovo, Moscow Oblast
• Krestovozdvizhensky Convent, Moscow Oblast

Monasteries of North-Western Russia:

• Solovetsky Monastery, Arkhangelsk Oblast
• Valaam Monastery, Republic of Karelia
• Vyashchizhi Monastery, Novgorod Oblast
• Ioannovsky Convent, Saint Petersburg

Monasteries outside Russia:

• Assumption Monastery, Zhirovitsy, Hrodna Oblast, Belarus
• Assumption Monastery, Zimnee, Volyn Oblast, Ukraine
• Glinsky Monastery, Sumy Oblast, Ukraine
• St. George Monastery, Gorodnitsa, Zhytomyr Oblast, Ukraine
• Puhtitsa Convent, Estonia
• Trinity Convent, Korets, Rivne Oblast, Ukraine

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