The word “archimandrite” derives from the Greek term archimandrites, signifying “head (archos) of the sheepfold (mandra),” and it describes the ecclesiastical office, in the eastern Christian churches, of a senior monastic clergyman (higher in rank than an ordinary hieromonk, or ordained monastic; Church Organization). It is usually a priest who is so designated, but in some notable cases in the 5th century CE, the office holder was a monk in deacon’s orders (hierodiakonos; Thalassius of Constantinople, Libellus ad Theodosium, PG 91.1472; Cyr.Alex. Ep. 69), and the Acts of the C…