Sakellarios

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Sakellarios is an official of Greek Orthodox Church who was in charge of sakelle (sakellion), which is the treasury of patriarch (bishop).

In the Byzantine times sakellion of the Emperor also kept records of imperial monasteries and their property. Therefore the sakellarios was also an administrative title; in particular the Sacellarius or Megas Sakellarios (Great Sakellarios) was in fact the Finance Minister of the Byzantine Empire. Etymologically the word derives from the Latin sacellus -i, a purse [for coins; at that time there was no paper money in the West, although the Chinese were already using it when Marco Polo visited the Great Han in the 1260s. Note : the Modern Greek word sakoula (= bag) has the same origin]. Now remember that the Byzantine Empire was the legal heir of the Roman Empire and its founder (Constantine the Great) was a Roman. Thus, the official in charge of the Emperor’s (Empire’s) pouch, i.e. the Treasury, was the Sacellarius. As monasteries also have treasuries, the title is also found in the Greek Orthodox Church hierarchy. In later years the title was replaced by that of the Grand Treasurer (Megas Thysaurofylax); however it remained unaltered in the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s structure and in the Synod of Ferrara-Florence (1438-9) that was supposed to unify the Greek Orthodox and the Catholic churches the Ecumenical (= of Constantinople) Patriarch had included in his entourage the Megas Sakellarios (among other officials and bishops).