Archimandrite Sees Need for Catholic-Orthodox Unity

Okay, I'll admit that the only reason I'm mentioning this Zenit article is because I wanted an excuse to talk about one of the coolest words in Christianity - Archimandrite.

"Archimandrite", according to the Wikapedia entry:

"...derives from the Greek aρχι (archi-) meaning "highest" and μάνδρα (mandra) meaning "enclosure", or "pen" to denote "monastery."

It is a "title in the Eastern Orthodox Church for a superior abbot who has the supervision of several abbots and monasteries appointed by a bishop. The title has been in use since the 5th century, with some evidence of the 4th century usage."

If you ever get the chance to meet an Archimandrite (which I haven't - yet), one "who is not the abbot of a monastery is styled "The Very Reverend Archimandrite" and one who is an abbot is styled "The Right Reverend Archimandrite"."

I could deal with being greeted that way!

Read the Catholic Encyclopedia entry for "Archimandrite."

And for some pictures (update: per Neri in the combox, not all these are actually Archimandrites - I don't know the differentiating marks for sure...):

Here is a picture of an Archimandrite looking very Archimandrite-ish. (Probably a Bishop?)

Here is an icon of an Archimandrite looking superbly Archimandrite-like. (This one looks pretty sure, however.)

And - *wow* - here is photo gallery of a whole Archimandrite-arch-gathering. (At least one of these is an Archimandrite...)

Finally, here is an Archimandrite-in-training (center). (Darn, just a glorified altar boy.)