John (metropolitan) of Patras (twelfth century)
Obverse
St. Andrew standing, offering a blessing and holding a patriarchal cross. Inscription: |Α|ΝΔ|ΡΕ|Α|Σ: ὁ ἅ(γιος) Ἀνδρέας. Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of six lines, a cross above and a decoration below. Border of dots.
ΓΡΦ.Σ
ΣΦΡΓΙΖ
ΤΟΥΠΡ̅ΝΙ̅
ΧΥ̅ΜΘΗΤΗΣ
ΠΡΤΟΚΛΟΣ
ΝΔΡΕΣ
γραφ[ὰ]ς σφραγίζει τοῦ Π(ατ)ρῶν Ἰω(άννου) Χ(ριστο)ῦ μαθητὴς πρωτόκλητος Ἀνδρέας
Obverse
St. Andrew standing, offering a blessing and holding a patriarchal cross. Inscription: |Α|ΝΔ|ΡΕ|Α|Σ: ὁ ἅ(γιος) Ἀνδρέας. Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of six lines, a cross above and a decoration below. Border of dots.
ΓΡΦ.Σ
ΣΦΡΓΙΖ
ΤΟΥΠΡ̅ΝΙ̅
ΧΥ̅ΜΘΗΤΗΣ
ΠΡΤΟΚΛΟΣ
ΝΔΡΕΣ
γραφ[ὰ]ς σφραγίζει τοῦ Π(ατ)ρῶν Ἰω(άννου) Χ(ριστο)ῦ μαθητὴς πρωτόκλητος Ἀνδρέας
| Accession number | BZS.1951.31.5.779 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 38.0 mm; field: 29.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 2, no. 34.3; Laurent, Corpus V/1, no. 636. Cf. Wassiliou-Seibt, Siegel mit metrischen Legenden I, no. 327. |
Translation
γραφὰς σφραγίζει τοῦ Πατρῶν Ἰωάννου Χριστοῦ μαθητὴς πρωτόκλητος Ἀνδρέας.
Andrew, the first disciple of Christ to be called, seals the letters of John (metropolitan) of Patras.
Bibliography
- Catalogue of the Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and at the Fogg Museum of Art, Vol. 2: South of the Balkans, the Islands, South of Asia Minor (Open in Zotero)
- Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)
- Notitiae Episcopatuum Ecclesiae Constantinopolitanae (Open in Zotero)
- Corinth, Vol. 12, The Minor Objects (Open in Zotero)
- Hierarchia Ecclesiastica Orientalis: Series episcoporum ecclesiarum christianarum orientalium (Open in Zotero)
- La Morée franque: Recherches historiques, topographiques et archéologiques sur la principauté d’Achaïe (1205-1430) (Open in Zotero)
- Corpus der byzantinischen Siegel mit metrischen Legenden, Vol. 1, Siegellegenden von Alpha bis inclusive My (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
The inscription consists of two dodecasyllabic verses.
Today Patras, the city of St. Andrew. The see of Patras was functioning by the 4th century; it is mentioned as an archbishopric in the iconoclastic notitia and perhaps in the council of 787 (Darrouzès, Notitiae, 23, note 1 and no. 3, line 55). Sometime between 802 and 806 it was raised to the rank of a metropolis by being attributed three suffragans: Lakedaimonia, Methone and Korone. All this information concerning the foundation of the metropolis and its right to collect taxes from the neighboring Slavic populations is related to a miraculous intervention of St. Andrew to save the city from Slav rebels. In the 10th century, an archon exercised authority in Patras (Corinth XII, no. 2705). See Laurent, in REB 21 (1963) 129-36; Laurent, Corpus V/1, 471; Fedalto, 517-19; ODB II, 1597-98; Bon, Morée francque, 449-57.