What is "protopope"

Protopope \Pro"to*pope\, n. [Proto- + pope: cf. F. protopope, Russ. protopop'.] (Gr. Ch.) One of the clergy of first rank in the lower order of secular clergy; an archpriest; -- called also protopapas.

n. One of the clergy of first rank in the lower order of secular clergy; an archpriest.

A Protopope, or Protopresbyter, is a priest of higher rank in the Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic Churches, corresponding in general to the Western archpriest or Latin dean.