An apocrisiarius, the Romanization form of apokrisiarios (), sometimes Anglicization as apocrisiary, was a high diplomacy representative during Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages. The corresponding (purist) Latin language term was responsalis ("he who answers").[.] The title was used by Byzantine Empire ambassadors, as well as by the representatives of to the secular authorities.[; .] The closest modern equivalent is a papal nuncio; the title apocrisiarius is also still employed by the Anglican Church.
Byzantine apocrisiarii
An
apocrisiarius was a
cleric who served as the representative (also described as
Papal legate, a less precise term) of a
patriarch or other bishop to the Byzantine imperial court of
Constantinople. The office existed since the 5th century, but was institutionalized by
law only under Emperor
Justinian I (r. 527–565). Several of the more important ecclesiastical sees maintained permanent
apocrisiarii in the imperial capital.
The most important of these were the papal
apocrisiarii (circa 452 till 743). The title was also used for the representative of a metropolitan archbishop at the court of his "territorial" patriarch in either Constantinople,
Alexandria,
Antioch, or
Jerusalem and for secular officials carrying correspondence of the Byzantine emperor.
[.]
Frankish apocrisiarii
From the reign of
Charlemagne (r. 768–814), the court of the
Franks king/emperor had clerical members styled
apocrisiarii. However, they were only royal
decorated with the title of the ancient papal envoys, since they did not perform any diplomatic duties.
Anglican Church
In the modern Anglican Communion, representatives of the Archbishop of Canterbury to various churches are styled
apocrisiarioi.
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