STAUROPEGIO. — In Byzantine canon law, this denotes a privilege granted by the patriarch whereby a place or foundation is withdrawn from the ordinary authority of the local Bishop and subjected, directly and exclusively, to the patriarch, or to the head of the Church in a given nation, archbishop, or synod (this second form exists only among dissidents).
The name (from σταυρός = cross and πηγνώναι = to drive in or plant) derives from the fact that a cross is customarily planted at the foundation of a church or other sacred place in order to mark it with this privilege. The cross is planted chiefly where the altar or sanctuary will be erected. The practice is due to the rule according to which tracing a cross on a person or thing means, in the Byzantine rite, consecrating it to God and consequently making it dependent upon the Church. If the thing is already sacred, either in itself or by designation, planting the cross in it means taking possession of it on behalf of the ecclesiastical authority. The institution of the s. is due to an immemorial custom (Balsamon, on can. 31 apostolic); it is mentioned as early as the 8th century; but, probably, even before the term existed, there were monasteries dependent upon the patriarchs or emperors. This custom is based on canons 6 and 7 of the Council of Nicaea and 1 and 2 of Constantinople I, which recognize true ecclesiastical jurisdiction over the entire patriarchal territory as belonging to the patriarchs. The granting of immunities to monasteries by the emperors also contributed to the introduction of the s. The reaction of monastic superiors against the excessive interference of certain bishops in the affairs, including the internal affairs, of monasteries also exerted an influence in this matter. To justify this interference, the bishops invoked the rather general provisions of can. 4 of the Council of Chalcedon. The faculty attributed to the founder of a monastery or other place to designate the authority upon which it was to depend also played a part; founders generally designated the patriarchal authority. The s. flourished from the 9th century onward and reached its greatest development at the end of the 13th century and until the fall of Constantinople (1453). Balsamon speaks of the reaction of the metropolitans and bishops against the granting of the s. and of their persistent demands that it be abolished; this reaction led the patriarchs to define the institution more precisely and to suppress many abuses.
In addition to planting the cross at the foundation of the sacred place, the s. is granted by a decree, that is, a seal of the patriarch. The decree establishes penalties against anyone who violates the s. The s. is also instituted through the omission of the sinthronon (= a throne with seats, erected in the apse of the church behind the altar), where the bishop sits during the divine offices. The sinthronon indicates, in fact, that the bishop has jurisdiction over the Church. The rite of the s. is described in the Euchologion (ed. Rome 1873, pp. 316–17).
The s. includes, besides the privileged place, the metochia (μετάγια) dependent upon it and the property belonging to II. The metochia, however, do not necessarily share the juridical status of the principal monastery. As regards duration, the grant is perpetual and irrevocable.
The patriarch has full ecclesiastical jurisdiction in the stauropegic place and over the persons belonging to II. Thus he is entitled by right to be commemorated in the divine offices and to receive the tribute (κανονικὸν ο συνῆθειά), to conduct the canonical visitation, with the right and obligation to promote ecclesiastical discipline, including the suppression of abuses, and to bless the egumen and ordain priests or deacons. The first two prerogatives are sometimes omitted in favor of the local bishop, especially when the s. is granted to a building already constructed.
The granting of the s. entails autonomy in the governance and administration of the stauropegic place; the immunities defined in the typika (foundation charters); the free election of the egumen of a stauropegic monastery; moreover, the egumen ordinarily has the faculty of issuing letters dimissory for ordinations and certificates for ordinations received; the egumen may be adorned with certain pontifical insignia.
The recent motu proprio of Pius XII Postquam apostolicis Litteris (9 February 1952) lays down precise norms concerning stauropegic monasteries.