Rare word #20: Hagiopolite

Hagiopolite - of Jerusalem (ἅγιος πόλις - Holy City).


People see the word often in relation to a saint (e.g. Cosmas the Hagiopolite) and continue past without giving the descriptor much thought, but once you understand the meaning, you'll see it all the time. It also comes into play when we look at liturgical history. For example, Hagiopolitan is often used when discussing the origins of this or that practice (often in contrast to Constantinopolitan or other ancient sees). There are quite a few of these titles milling about. From something like the relatively common Studite to the mysterious Tishbite.

Comments

  1. Hmmm. I would have guessed it referred to a well mannered saint.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Meaning aide, people's real question is likely to be how to pronounce it.

    In English: [hay gee AH poh 'light']. In Greek: [ah yee oh POH lee tay].

    ReplyDelete

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