stauropegion
noun
stau·ro·pe·gion
ˌstäurȯˈpēˌyȯn
plural stauropegia
-ē(ˌ)yä)
Eastern Church
: a church or monastery exempt from the jurisdiction of the local bishop and directly subject to the highest authority of the territorial church
Word History
Etymology
Middle Greek or New Greek stauropēgion, from Middle Greek, act of fastening a cross on the spot where a church is to be built, from Late Greek stauro- + Modern Greek -pēgion (from pēgnynai to stick in, fix, fasten together)