| Thus at the first Council of Constantinople, AD 448, 23 archimandrites or abbots sign, with 30 bishops. |
| A staff is also granted to archimandrites and abbots, as they are the heads of monasteries. |
| Friaries were occupied by friars, abbeys were headed by abbots, priories by priors. |
| Most of the early medieval saints were bishops, abbots, and abbesses with an impeccable social pedigree. |
| Until the Reformation, the spiritual peerage also included abbots and priors, and spiritual peers formed a majority of the House of Lords. |
| The council was attended by 500 bishops, 70 abbots and over 1,000 other clergy. |
