John bishop of Rhodopolis (eleventh century)
Obverse
Bust of the Virgin orans with a medallion of Christ before her. Sigla: μ̅-θ̅ : Μ(ήτηρ) Θ(εοῦ). Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of four lines. Border of dots.
+θ̅κ̅εR
Rοηθ,Ι̅
επισκοπ,
ροδπ,
Θ(εοτό)κε {β} βοήθ(ει) Ἰω(άννῃ) ἐπισκόπ(ῳ) Ῥοδωπ(όλεως)
Obverse
Bust of the Virgin orans with a medallion of Christ before her. Sigla: μ̅-θ̅ : Μ(ήτηρ) Θ(εοῦ). Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of four lines. Border of dots.
+θ̅κ̅εR
Rοηθ,Ι̅
επισκοπ,
ροδπ,
Θ(εοτό)κε {β} βοήθ(ει) Ἰω(άννῃ) ἐπισκόπ(ῳ) Ῥοδωπ(όλεως)
| Accession number | BZS.1947.2.144 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 12.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 4, no. 38.1. Laurent, Corpus V/1, no. 669 (tenth/eleventh century); listed by Laurent as Coll. Shaw, no. 1148). |
Translation
Θεοτόκε βοήθει Ἰωάννῃ ἐπισκόπῳ Ῥοδωπόλεως.
Mother of God, help John, bishop of Rhodopolis.
Bibliography
- Catalogue of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and in the Fogg Museum of Art, volume 4: The East
- Notitiae Episcopatuum Ecclesiae Constantinopolitanae
- Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin, vol. 5, L’Église
- Hierarchia Ecclesiastica Orientalis: Series episcoporum ecclesiarum christianarum orientalium
Commentary
This is the sole bishop listed for Rhodopolis in Fedalto, HEO I, 404.
Rhodopolis (today Vartzike, Vardistzikhe) was a suffragan bishopric of the metropolis of Phasis (in Lazica). It disappears from the Constantinopolitan notitiae episcopatuum after the eighth century, more or less at the same time as the metropolis of Phasis (Darrouzès, Notitiae, no. 4, l. 435). The existence of the specimen published below, which cannot be attributed to Rodope, as Laurent rightly pointed out, may attest a short-lived revival of the bishopric. See Laurent, Corpus V/1, 503.