The Metropolitan’s staff from the collection of the Bishop’s House is a carved wooden staff with a curved crossbar at the top. It used to be stored in a special case, which was upholstered with velvet inside. The main part of the staff is decorated with four round details called ‘apples’. There is some gilding remaining on them and the handle.
The metropolitan is the highest ranking official in the Orthodox Church. This honorary title was given to clergymen for special merits. Only the patriarch was above them in the church hierarchy. A staff that had a special shape symbolized the power of Siberian metropolitans. It represented wise management, firmness of faith, and the ability to lead the followers.
At first, the staffs of metropolitans looked like those of shepherds, with a hook-shaped top: in this way the priest was likened to a spiritual shepherd. Later, staffs with a crossbar came from Byzantium — the ends of the crossbar were slightly bent down. The staff began to look like an anchor, a traditional symbol of strong faith in Orthodoxy. The Christian church itself was compared to a safe ship, and the everyday, worldly life of man to a rough sea to be crossed.
In the 16th–17th centuries, another traditional form of the Metropolitan’s staff appeared — with a top in the form of two intertwined snakes with their heads facing each other. This staff resembled the antique caduceus with which the ancient Greeks traditionally depicted Hermes — the god of trade and cunning, the patron of travelers who guided souls to the underworld. His staff was considered a symbol of wisdom and justice. Probably, that is why Orthodox priests adopted the image from ancient mythology.
The staffs with which the metropolitans conducted services were decorated with precious stones, carvings, and incrustations. Everyday staffs looked much simpler. In Russia, it was customary to fix two handkerchiefs on the handle of the metropolitan staff. If the cross procession took place in winter, in severe frost, the lower handkerchief prevented the metropolitan’s palm from touching the cold metal, and the upper handkerchief covered the hand from the outside.
The metropolitan is the highest ranking official in the Orthodox Church. This honorary title was given to clergymen for special merits. Only the patriarch was above them in the church hierarchy. A staff that had a special shape symbolized the power of Siberian metropolitans. It represented wise management, firmness of faith, and the ability to lead the followers.
At first, the staffs of metropolitans looked like those of shepherds, with a hook-shaped top: in this way the priest was likened to a spiritual shepherd. Later, staffs with a crossbar came from Byzantium — the ends of the crossbar were slightly bent down. The staff began to look like an anchor, a traditional symbol of strong faith in Orthodoxy. The Christian church itself was compared to a safe ship, and the everyday, worldly life of man to a rough sea to be crossed.
In the 16th–17th centuries, another traditional form of the Metropolitan’s staff appeared — with a top in the form of two intertwined snakes with their heads facing each other. This staff resembled the antique caduceus with which the ancient Greeks traditionally depicted Hermes — the god of trade and cunning, the patron of travelers who guided souls to the underworld. His staff was considered a symbol of wisdom and justice. Probably, that is why Orthodox priests adopted the image from ancient mythology.
The staffs with which the metropolitans conducted services were decorated with precious stones, carvings, and incrustations. Everyday staffs looked much simpler. In Russia, it was customary to fix two handkerchiefs on the handle of the metropolitan staff. If the cross procession took place in winter, in severe frost, the lower handkerchief prevented the metropolitan’s palm from touching the cold metal, and the upper handkerchief covered the hand from the outside.
