Loukas, synkellos and abbot of the Monastery of the Gerotropheion, 11th century. Seal (Lead, 31 mm, 15.18 g, 12 h). Nimbate, facing bust of a beardless Saint. Traces of a circular invocational legend and sigla in the right field. Rev. Λ૪KA / CVΓKЄΛ / KAΘHΓ૪[M] / MON T૪ ΓH/POTPO[Φ…] in six lines. Unpublished in the standard references. An intriguing monastic seal. Rough surfaces, otherwise, good fine.



A gerotropheion was a type of old age home, with many such establishments spread across the Byzantine Empire, including in the capital. These institutions were often associated with churches and monasteries, and our seal likely belongs to an abbot of one of them. While this particular monastery is unattested in the sources, there is mention of a monastery of the gerokomeion, which is another term for an old age home, in 1140 (Janin, Églises p. 78).