archimandrite

American  

[ahr-kuh-man-drahyt] / ˌɑr kəˈmæn draɪt /

noun

Eastern Church.

1. the head of a monastery; an abbot.

2. a superior abbot, having charge of several monasteries.

3. a title given to distinguished celibate priests.

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archimandrite British  

/ ˌɑːkɪˈmændraɪt /

noun

1. Greek Orthodox Church the head of a monastery or a group of monasteries

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Etymology

Origin of archimandrite

1585–95; < Late Latin archimandrīta < Late Greek archimandrī́tēs abbot, equivalent to Greek archi- archi- + Late Greek mándr ( a ) monastery ( Greek: fold, enclosure) + -ītēs -ite ¹

Example Sentences

Two days after his ascent, that gentleman paid a visit to the Armenian monastery at Echmiadzin, and was presented to the archimandrite as the Englishman who had just ascended to the top of “Masis.”

From Across Asia on a Bicycle by Allen, Thomas Gaskell

The lay brother was alarmed, and ran first to the archimandrite, then for the monastery doctor, Ivan Andreyitch, who lived in the town.

From The Bishop and Other Stories by Garnett, Constance

A tall thick-set deacon walked before me with a long red candle; the grey-headed archimandrite in his golden mitre hurried after him with the censer.

From The Bishop and Other Stories by Garnett, Constance

In Egypt, the first home of monasticism, the jurisdiction of the abbot, or archimandrite, was but loosely defined.

From The Project Gutenberg Encyclopedia Volume 1 of 28 by Project Gutenberg

She has already put Manchuria under the Greek archimandrite of Peking, and has sought to limit all Christian teaching to the members of the Orthodox Greek Church.

From New Forces in Old China An Inevitable Awakening by Brown, Arthur Judson