Hypothesis on the Ethnic Origin of Khrysaphes the New

In ancient times people's surnames had neither great importance nor a very definite use. The origin of many personalities, such as that of Khrisaphes the New, is consequently not particulary clear.

Khrisaphes the New was a protopsalt at Saint Sofia Church in the second half of the 17th century. His coming to and short stay in Wallachia was facilitated by the fact that during Brāncoveanu's reign the apostolic patriarchs residing at Bucharest and Iasi, took part in the coalition against Turkish rule. At the time when Khrisaphes was holding the position of protopsalt there, Dionisie the Seroglane, bailiff at Constantinopole, as well as Gherman, former metropolitan of New Patras, and disciple of Dionisie, were both residing in Wallachia.

The existence of certain chants in three manuscripts found at Mount Athos specifying that they belonged to "Khrisaph the Koutzovlach" (or Koutzo-Wallachian) or "Khrisapht the Macedonian" or "Khrisaph the Macedonian" or "the same one", confirms once more our presumption that Khrisaphes the New belongs to the large family of the Wallachians. If this hypothesis proves true this would bring yet another national and international personality back into fold of Romanian Byzantine musicology.

Sebastian Barbu-Bucur