Here is a seal for Kosmas, Apo Eparchon and Apokrisiarios. Apokrisiarios, from what I can gather, is pretty uncommon to see on a seal.
Dumbarton Oaks only has 3 in their database and 1 of them has other possible interpretations. I could not find any previously sold ones listed on
ACSearch.
Apokrisiarios is a title that seems to have multiple meanings. The
Oxford Dictionary of
Byzantium lists this position as a messenger or representative of a
bishop or
head of a monastery that deals with higher authorities. It seems these higher authorities could be clergy higher in the
Church hierarchy (like the Patriarch), but the main function was to represent
provincial churches at the imperial court.
Oxford lists another meaning as a diplomat/ambassador to foreign nations. In my
search, I also came across a role that seems to be more akin to imperial mailman than ambassador exactly. I found that St. Theodore Of Sykeon's father was an imperial messenger from Justinian. On several Greek language sites, the term apokrisiarios is actually explained as the Greek word for mailman.
Does anyone have any other info to share on this obscure position? Has anyone seen any other
seals besides the ones listed on
Dumbarton Oaks?
I take it from the title Apo Eparchon, this is not a
church official, so he must be a diplomat or imperial messenger. Can anyone estimate the aproximate date for this seal? It is 28.6 mm and 16.2 grams.