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The diakonia of the Antiphonetes (eleventh century, second half)

 
 

Obverse

Christ standing, raising his right hand before him in blessing and holding a book in his left. Sigla: ΙΣ̅ΧΣ̅ : Ἰ(ησοῦ)ς Χ(ριστό)ς. Circular inscription beginning at 7 o'clock: ΟΠΑΝ.ΤΡ : ὁ Παν[τοκρά]τωρ. No visible border.

Reverse

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


ΗΙΑ
.ΝΗΑ
.ΑΝΤ
..ΝΗ
ΤΟΥ

Ἡ δια[κ]ωνήα [τ]οῦ Ἀντ[ιφ]ωνητοῦ

Obverse

Christ standing, raising his right hand before him in blessing and holding a book in his left. Sigla: ΙΣ̅ΧΣ̅ : Ἰ(ησοῦ)ς Χ(ριστό)ς. Circular inscription beginning at 7 o'clock: ΟΠΑΝ.ΤΡ : ὁ Παν[τοκρά]τωρ. No visible border.

Reverse

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


ΗΙΑ
.ΝΗΑ
.ΑΝΤ
..ΝΗ
ΤΟΥ

Ἡ δια[κ]ωνήα [τ]οῦ Ἀντ[ιφ]ωνητοῦ

Accession number BZS.1958.106.169
Diameter 19.0 mm
Previous Editions

DO Seals 5 no. 30.1; Laurent, Corpus 5.2: no. 1208. A parallel specimen is Seibt Collection, 335.

Translation

Ἡ διακωνήα τοῦ Ἀντιφωνητοῦ.

The diakonia of the Antiphonetes.

Commentary

An anonymous thirteenth-century source records that the empress Zoe came to be buried in a church that she built and dedicated to Christ Antiphonetes (ODB 1:439; Janin, Églises, 520). On the other hand, the famous icon of Christ Antiphonetes was preserved from the ninth century in the church of the Mother of God at Chalkoprateia.

It is possible that the diaconate of Christ Antiphonetes may have been attached to the church built by the empress Zoe, or it may have centered on the icon at the Chalkoprateia and was a service organization involved in the promotion of the icon's cult. Supporting this latter view is Cheynet's argument that an eleventh-century seal referring to the "pious servants" of Christ Antiphonetes (Cheynet, "Sceaux byzantins," 435 [no. 73]) could have referred to both officials of the sekreton (see also BZS.1955.1.4928) as well as members of a confraternity.

See Laurent, Orghidan, no. 192, for a similar seal, but from a different boulloterion.

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)
  • Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)
  • Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium (Open in Zotero)
  • La géographie ecclésiastique de l’empire byzantin, Vol. 1, Le siège de Constantinople et le patriarcat oecuménique, Pt. 3, Les églises et les monastères (Open in Zotero)
  • Sceaux byzantins des Musées d’Antioche et de Tarse (Open in Zotero)
  • Documents de sigillographie byzantine: La collection C. Orghidan (Open in Zotero)