Stauropegion

A stauropegion, also spelled stavropegion (from Greek: σταυροπήγιον from σταυρός stauros "cross" and πήγνυμι pegnumi "to affirm"), is a monastery or a parish which depends directly on the primate or on the Holy Synod of a particular Church, and which is not under the jurisdiction of the local bishop.

The name comes from the Byzantine tradition of summoning the Patriarch to place a cross at the foundation of stauropegic monasteries or parochial churches.

In time, those practices included not only monasteries, but also various parochial churches, to the extent that authorities had to regulate the issue by imposing stricter criteria for the creation of such exemptions.

Several major Serbian Orthodox monasteries had special status in Middle Ages.

The Greek custom, first introduced by Nikon, was continued by other Patriarchs and by the Holy Governing Synod.