View source for Hegumen

{{Short description|Head of an Eastern Orthodox or Eastern Catholic monastery}}
{{Distinguish|Hegemon}}{{Redirects here|Ihumen|the modern village of that former name|Chervyen}}{{One source|date=December 2016}}
'''Hegumen''', '''hegumenos''', or '''igumen''' ({{langx|el|ἡγούμενος}}, [[Transliteration|trans]]. {{grc-tr|ἡγούμενος}}), is the title for the head of a [[monastery]] in the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] and [[Eastern Catholic Churches]], or an archpriest in the [[Coptic Orthodox Church]], similar to the title of [[abbot]]. The head of a [[convent]] of [[nun]]s is called a '''hegumenia''' or '''igumeni''' ({{langx|el|ἡγουμένη}}).

==Overview==
[[Image:Solovki genealogy.jpg|thumb|200px|right|"Family Tree of the [[Solovetsky Monastery]]". A hand-drawn [[lubok]] listing the names of the monastery's hegumens (1870s).]]
Initially, the title was applied to the head of any monastery. After 1874, when the Russian monasteries were reformed and classified into three classes, the title of ''hegumen'' was reserved only for the lowest, third class. The head of a monastery of the second or first class holds the rank of [[archimandrite]]. In the [[Greek Catholic Church]], the head of all monasteries in a certain territory is called the ''protohegumen''.

The duties of both hegumen and archimandrite are the same, archimandrite being considered the senior dignity of the two. In the [[Russian Orthodox Church]], the title of Hegumen may be granted as an honorary title to any [[hieromonk]], even one who does not head a monastery.

A ruling hegumen is formally installed in a ceremony by the bishop, during which he is presented with his [[crozier|pastoral staff]] (Greek: ''paterissa'', Slavonic: палица, ''[[palitza]]''). Among the Russians, the pastoral staff for a Hegumen tends to be of wood (usually ebony), rather than metal. The hegumen is awarded the gold [[pectoral cross]] by the bishop, as for an [[archpriest]]. During divine services, the hegumen wears a simple black monastic [[Mantle (vesture)|mantle]], while the higher-ranking archimandrite wears a mantle similar to one worn by a bishop (though without the white "rivers" along the sides, and decorated with unadorned "tablets" at the neck and feet). An archimandrite also wears a [[Mitre#Eastern Christianity|mitre]] similar to one worn by a bishop; a hegumen does not (however, in the Russian tradition, a bishop may grant an hegumen the [[Privilege (canon law)|privilege]] of wearing the mitre as an ecclesiastical award). A hegumen may carry his pastoral staff in processions and when giving blessings in the church (though it is never carried into the sanctuary), although it usually stands upright next to his [[kathisma]] (monastic choir stall). When outside the church, a hegumen may use a wooden [[walking stick]] similar to that used by a bishop or archimandrite, only not adorned with a silver knob.

In the [[Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria]], the rank is used in the capacity of an [[archpriest]] and actually is one. The name in [[Arabic language|Arabic]] is ''kommos'' (قمص); this honorary title is granted to both married priests and hieromonks without distinction and is not used in the capacity of an Abbot, although the monasteries' abbots used to be Hegumen until the beginning of the 20th century, but by mid-century the Church of Alexandria started to appoint [[Bishop]]s in the capacity of [[Abbot]]s. On the other hand, the rank of [[archimandrite]] fell into disuse in the Church of Alexandria from the late 16th century.

== References ==
*{{efron|Игумен, настоятель монастыря}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Hegumens| ]]
[[Category:Eastern Christian ecclesiastical offices]]
[[Category:Religious leadership roles]]
[[Category:Eastern Christian monasticism]]