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Ignatios metropolitan of Nicaea (tenth century)

 
 

Obverse

A cross on two steps mounted on a ball. Three pellets, in form of a trilobe, adorn the three ends of the cross. Within a border of dots, circular inscription:

+ΚΕΟΗΘΕΙΤΣΔΟΥΛ.

Κ(ύρι)ε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ

Reverse

Inscription of five lines. Border of dots:

+ΙΓΝΑ
ΤΙΩΜΗ
ΤΡ.ΠΟΛ
ΙΤΗΝΙ
ΚΑΙΑΣ

Ἰγνατίῳ μητρ[ο]πολίτῃ Νικαίας

Obverse

A cross on two steps mounted on a ball. Three pellets, in form of a trilobe, adorn the three ends of the cross. Within a border of dots, circular inscription:

+ΚΕΟΗΘΕΙΤΣΔΟΥΛ.

Κ(ύρι)ε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ

Reverse

Inscription of five lines. Border of dots:

+ΙΓΝΑ
ΤΙΩΜΗ
ΤΡ.ΠΟΛ
ΙΤΗΝΙ
ΚΑΙΑΣ

Ἰγνατίῳ μητρ[ο]πολίτῃ Νικαίας

Accession number BZS.1955.1.4809
Diameter 21.0 mm; field: 16.0 mm
Previous Editions

DO Seals 3, no. 59.9.
Laurent, Corpus V/3, no. 1713.

Translation

Κύριε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ Ἰγνατίῳ μητροπολίτῃ Νικαίας.

Lord, help your servant Ignatios, metropolitan of Nicaea.

Commentary

Laurent was right not to assign this seal to Ignatios of Nicaea who was active in the first half of the ninth century. He proposed a certain Ignatios Magentios, who seems to have occupied the throne of Nicaea sometime around 945: he is mentioned in one letter of Alexander of Nicaea as being his successor, but in another letter of the same prelate the successor is called Lazaros (Darrouzès, Épistoliers, line 6, cf. 77, line 23). There is no way to solve this contradiction, except to hypothesize that the name Lazaros was used as a pun to indicate someone returned from oblivion ("resurrected"); but this is sheer hypothesis.

Bibliography