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Pardos annonarios of the Nea Ekklesia (ninth/tenth century)

 
 

Obverse

Cross potent on four steps with vine tendrils arising from the base up to just below the transverse bar. Circular inscription beginning at 7 o'clock. Border of dots.

κΕ̅οηθητ.σδουλ

Κ(ύρι)ε βοήθη τ[ῷ] σ δούλ

Reverse

Inscription of four lines preceded by decoration. Border of dots.


πρδο
ννρη
τισνεσεˊ
κλησι

Πάρδο ἀνωναρή(ῳ) τῖς Νέας ἐ(κ)κλησία(ς)

Obverse

Cross potent on four steps with vine tendrils arising from the base up to just below the transverse bar. Circular inscription beginning at 7 o'clock. Border of dots.

κΕ̅οηθητ.σδουλ

Κ(ύρι)ε βοήθη τ[ῷ] σ δούλ

Reverse

Inscription of four lines preceded by decoration. Border of dots.


πρδο
ννρη
τισνεσεˊ
κλησι

Πάρδο ἀνωναρή(ῳ) τῖς Νέας ἐ(κ)κλησία(ς)

Accession number BZS.1955.1.4925
Diameter 26.0 mm; field: 21.0 mm
Previous Editions

DO Seals 5 no. 48.1.

Translation

Κύριε βοήθη τῷ σῷ δούλῳ Πάρδο ἀνωναρήῳ τῖς Νέας ἐκκλησίας.

Lord, help your servant Pardos annonarios of the Nea Ekklesia.

Commentary

One assumes that Pardos was engaged in organizing and maintaining the provisioning of the church. The design of the obverse, with short tendrils arising from the base of the cross, suggests a more precise dating to the early tenth century.

The Nea Ekklesia was a sanctuary built in the Great Palace in 880 by Basil I and consecrated to the Mother of God, St. Elias, St. Michael, and St. Nicholas. The ceremony commemorating its inauguration was marked by a procession departing from the church of the Theotokos of the Pharos and leading to the Nea, where a liturgy was celebrated followed by a banquet in the Chrysotriklinos (Listes, 214; ODB 2:1146). By the twelfth century the church had become a monastery. From the fact that chartoularioi and oikonomoi were attached to the church we may infer that the church enjoyed revenues from extensive estates.

Bibliography

  • Catalogue of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and in the Fogg Museum of Art, Volume 5: The East (continued), Constantinople and Environs, Unknown Locations, Addenda, Uncertain Readings (Open in Zotero)
  • Les listes de préséance byzantines des IXe et Xe siècles (Open in Zotero)
  • Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium (Open in Zotero)