The Anglican ministry is both the leadership and agency of Christian service in the Anglican Communion. Narrowly, the ministry can be defined as consisting of the ordained clergy: the threefold order of bishops, priests and deacons. More broadly, Anglican ministry includes many laypeople who devote themselves to the ministry of the church. Ultimately, all baptized members of the church are considered to partake in the ministry of the Body of Christ. The Anglican Communion uses the compass rose as its symbol, signifying its worldwide reach and decentralized nature. ... Ordination is the process in which clergy become authorized by their religious denomination and/or seminary to perform religious rituals and ceremonies. ... Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. ... A bishop is an ordained member of the Christian clergy who, in certain Christian churches, holds a position of authority. ... Roman Catholic priests in traditional clerical clothing. ... Deacon is a role in the Christian Church which is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. ... In religious organizations, the laity comprises all lay persons collectively. ... Baptism in early Christian art. ... The Body of Christ is a term used by Christians to describe believers in Christ. ...

Each of the provinces of the Anglican Communion has a high degree of independence from the other provinces, and each has slightly different structures for ministry, mission and governance. However, personal leadership is always vested in a member of the clergy (a bishop at provincial and diocesan levels, and a priest at parish level) and consensus derived by synodical government. At different levels of the church's structure, laity, clergy and bishops meet together with prayer to deliberate over church governance. These gatherings are variously called conferences, synods, convocations, councils, chapters and vestries. An ecclesiastical province is a unit of religious government existing in certain Christian churches. ... The Anglican Communion uses the compass rose as its symbol, signifying its worldwide reach and decentralized nature. ... Pope Pius XI blesses Bishop Stephen Alencastre as fifth Apostolic Vicar of the Hawaiian Islands in a Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace window. ... A parish is a type of administrative subdivision. ... Consensus has two common meanings. ... A synod (also known as a council) is a council of a church, usually a Christian church, convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. ...

Bishops

Main article: Bishop

Bishops provide the leadership for the Anglican Communion, as an episcopal polity. All bishops, constituting a worldwide College of Bishops, are considered to be equal in orders. However, bishops have a variety of different responsibilities, and in these some bishops are more senior than others. All bishops receive the title Right Reverend at their consecration to the episcopate. The most senior bishops in the Anglican Communion receive the title Most Reverend. Most bishops oversee a diocese, some bishops are consecrated to assist diocesan bishops in busy dioceses, and some bishops are relieved of diocesan responsibilities so they can minister more widely (especially primates who concentrate on leading a member church of the Communion). A few member churches of the Anglican Communion ordain women as bishops, many more have prepared the legislation for women bishops but have not yet ordained a woman to the episcopate (see Ordination of women in the Anglican Communion). A bishop is an ordained member of the Christian clergy who, in certain Christian churches, holds a position of authority. ... It has been suggested that episcopal be merged into this article or section. ... The College of Bishops is an organization consisting of all the bishops in the Roman Catholic Church. ... The Right Reverend (Rt. ... The Most Reverend (Most Rev. ... Pope Pius XI blesses Bishop Stephen Alencastre as fifth Apostolic Vicar of the Hawaiian Islands in a Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace window. ... Catholic Patriarchal (non cardinal) coat of arms Primate (from the Latin Primus, first) is a title or rank bestowed on some bishops in certain Christian churches. ... There are a variety of positions on the ordination of women among different religions, sects and denominations within each religion. ...

Anglican bishops are often identified by the colour purple. Usually, a bishop's cassock and clergy shirt are purple. However, bishops are permitted to wear other colours, and the current Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, is frequently seen wearing a black cassock. Bishops also usually wear a pectoral cross and episcopal ring. The choir dress or convocation habit for bishops, which used to be their only vesture until Catholic vestments were revived, consists of the cassock, rochet, chimere and tippet. Bishops carry a crosier as the sign of their ministry, and, on formal occasions, often wear a mitre and cope. When presiding at the Eucharist, most Anglican bishops now wear albs, stoles and chasubles. Purple is any of a group of colors intermediate between deep blue and red. ... An Anglican priest wearing a single-breasted cassock. ... A Clergy shirt is an item of clerical clothing worn by some members of the Christian clergy. ... Arms of the see of Canterbury The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior clergyman of the established Church of England and symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion. ... The Most Reverend and Right Honourable Rowan Douglas Williams, DPhil, DD, FBA, (born 14 June 1950) is the 104th and current Archbishop of Canterbury, metropolitan of the province of Canterbury, Primate of All England and head of the worldwide Anglican Communion. ... A Pectoral cross (sometimes simply Pectoral, from the Latin pectoralis, of the chest) is a cross, usually large, worn around the neck on a cord or a chain. ... Choir Dress is the term for the clothes worn by Cardinals and Bishops when attending Mass, but not celebrating or concelebrating. ... An Anglican priest wearing a single-breasted cassock. ... A rochet is a vestment generally worn by a Catholic or Anglican Bishop in choir dress. ... A chimere is a garment that can be worn as part of academic dress, or by Anglican bishops in choir dress. ... Meriwether Lewis wearing a tipped presented to him by Sacagaweas brother, Cameahwait. ... Crosiere of arcbishop Heinrich of Finstingen, 1260-1286 A crosier (crozier, pastoral staff) is the stylized staff of office carried by high-ranking Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican and some Lutheran prelates. ... MITRE is a US not-for-profit corporation that manages three federally-funded research and development centers whose main activities are applying computer-based automation to large and complex tasks. ... a priest wearing a cope The cope is a liturgical vestment, which may be of any liturgical colour, and is like a very long mantle or cloak, fastened at the breast by a clasp. ... The Eucharist or Communion or The Lords Supper, is the rite that Christians perform in fulfillment of Jesus instruction, recorded in the New Testament,[1] to do in memory of him what he did at his Last Supper. ... The alb, one of the liturgical vestments of the Roman Catholic, Anglican and many Protestant churches, is an ample garment of white linen coming down to the ankles and usually girded with a cincture. ... The stole (a liturgical vestment of various Christian denominations) is an embroidered band of cloth, formerly usually of silk, about two and one-half to three metres long and seven to ten centimetres wide, whose ends are usually broadened out. ... A fiddleback chasuble from the church of Saint Gertrude in Maarheeze in the Netherlands The chasuble is the outermost liturgical vestment worn by clergy for the celebration of the Eucharist among Western-tradition Christian churches that use full vestments, primarily the Roman Catholic Church and high church congregations in the...

Archbishop of Canterbury

The Most Reverend Rowan Williams, the current Archbishop of Canterbury.

Main article: Archbishop of Canterbury

The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primus inter pares, or first among equals, of the Anglican Communion. Although he has no authority outside of the Church of England, he hosts and chairs the Lambeth Conference and Anglican Communion Primates' Meeting, and is president of the Anglican Communion Office. In this way, the Archbishop of Canterbury can be seen as being at the centre of the network of Anglican ministry. Being an Anglican means being in communion with the Archbishop of Canterbury. This work is copyrighted. ... This work is copyrighted. ... The Most Reverend (Most Rev. ... The Most Reverend and Right Honourable Rowan Douglas Williams, DPhil, DD, FBA, (born 14 June 1950) is the 104th and current Archbishop of Canterbury, metropolitan of the province of Canterbury, Primate of All England and head of the worldwide Anglican Communion. ... Arms of the see of Canterbury The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior clergyman of the established Church of England and symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion. ... Arms of the see of Canterbury The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior clergyman of the established Church of England and symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion. ... First among equals is a phrase which indicates that a person is the most senior of a group of people sharing the same rank or office. ... The Church of England is the officially established Christian church[1] in England, and acts as the mother and senior branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion, as well as a founding member of the Porvoo Communion. ... The Lambeth Conferences was the name given to the periodical assemblies of bishops of the Anglican Communion (Pan-Anglican synods), which since 1867 have met at Lambeth Palace, the London residence of the archbishop of Canterbury. ... The Anglican Communion Primates Meetings are regular meetings of the senior archbishops and bishops of the Anglican Communion. ...

Primates

Main article: Primate (religion)

Each member church of the Anglican Communion is an independent body headed by a primate. A primate is the most senior bishop of a member church and receives the title Most Reverend. As well as being primus inter pares, the Archbishop of Canterbury is Primate of All England, the senior bishop in the Church of England. For historical reasons, the Church of England and the Church of Ireland (which is headed by the Archbishop of Armagh who is the Primate of All Ireland) also call their second most senior bishops primate: the Archbishop of York and the Archbishop of Dublin are the Primate of England and Ireland, without the All, respectively. Catholic Patriarchal (non cardinal) coat of arms Primate (from the Latin Primus, first) is a title or rank bestowed on some bishops in certain Christian churches. ... Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (Irish: Eaglais na hÉireann) is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion, operating seamlessly across the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. ... Primate of All Ireland is the title held by the Archbishop of Armagh. ... Arms of the Archbishop of York The Archbishop of York, Primate of England, is the metropolitan bishop of the Province of York, and is the junior of the two archbishops of the Church of England, after the Archbishop of Canterbury. ... Primate of Ireland is a title possessed by the Roman Catholic and Church of Ireland (Anglican) Archbishops of Dublin. ...

The Most Reverend Andrew Hutchison, Archbishop and Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada.

Although some member churches of the Anglican Communion title their primates as Primate or Primate Bishop, most churches use other titles for their primates. Following the style of the Archbishop of Canterbury, many Anglican primates are styled Archbishop. They are either named after the most important episcopal see in the church (like the Archbishop of Cape Town) or named after the province they lead (like the Archbishop of Nigeria). The Scottish Episcopal Church uniquely calls its primate the Primus. Other churches have followed the example of the Episcopal Church of the United States of America by calling the primate Presiding Bishop or President Bishop. These latter titles emphasize the collegiate nature of episcopate rather than the personal authority of the primate. The primates of the Church of South India, Church of North India, Church of Pakistan and Church of Bangladesh are called Moderators, reflecting their Methodist and Presbyterian heritage. Some primates head a diocese, but some are relieved from diocesan responsibility to concentrate on leading the wider church (the Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada for example). The Most Reverend (Most Rev. ... The Most Reverend Andrew S. Hutchison is the primate of the Anglican Church of Canada. ... The Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada is elected by the bishops, clergy and laity of the Church from among a list of five bishops nominated by the House of Bishops. ... A see (from the Latin word sedem, meaning seat) is the throne (cathedra) of a bishop. ... The neutrality of this article is disputed. ... The Primus, styled The Most Revd the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, is the presiding bishop of the Scottish Episcopal Church. ... The Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in Washington DC is the National Cathedral of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. ... The Presiding Bishop is an ecclesiastical position in some denominations of Christianity. ... The Church of South India is an autonomous Protestant church of South India. ... The Church of North India has united various denominations and missions and orders in India. ... The Church of Pakistan is a protestant united church in Pakistan, which is part of the Anglican Communion. ... The Church of Bangladesh is a protestant church of the Anglican Communion in Bangladesh. ... Moderator, a Latin word for he who moderates, can refer to: Moderator provinciae was the title of certain Roman provincial governors Moderator is a Scots, and Scottish English, gender-neutral word that approximates chairman or convener. ... Methodism or the Methodist movement is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity. ... Presbyterianism is a form of Protestant Christianity, primarily in the Reformed branch of Christendom, as well as a particular form of church government. ... The Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada is elected by the bishops, clergy and laity of the Church from among a list of five bishops nominated by the House of Bishops. ...

In recent years, the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia has moved from the traditional leadership of an Archbishop of New Zealand, to a Presiding Bishop, and now to a triumvirate of Co-Presiding Bishops representing each of the tikanga, or cultural streams, in the church — Māori, European and Polynesian. However, the style of Archbishop is still sometimes used, especially by the Co-Presiding Bishop for the Dioceses in New Zealand. The Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia is a church of the Anglican Communion serving New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, and the Cook Islands. ... The Archbishop of New Zealand is the head of the Anglican church in the Province of New Zealand and has under his direction nine dioceses. ... The term triumvirate is commonly used to describe an alliance between three equally powerful political or military leaders. ... For the Māori language, see Māori language. ... World map showing Europe Political map (neighboring countries in Asia and Africa also shown) Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of the Earth. ... Carving from the ridgepole of a Māori house, ca 1840 Look up Polynesia in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

The 2006 election of Katharine Jefferts Schori to be Presiding Bishop in the United States of America heralds the first woman to become a primate in the Anglican Communion. Rt. ...

Metropolitans

Main article: Metropolitan bishop

All of the member churches of the Anglican Communion comprise one or more ecclesiastical province, a grouping of dioceses for administrative purposes. In some provinces, one of the diocesan bishops has oversight of all of the other bishops of the province, and is known as a metropolitan bishop, or simply a metropolitan. Metropolitans are usually given the title of archbishop and Most Reverend. Some metropolitans have a fixed see (the Archbishop of Sydney is always metropolitan of the Province of New South Wales for example), while others may have any see in province (the current Archbishop of Wales just happens to be also Bishop of Llandaff for example). The primate is often one of the metropolitans. In hierarchical Christian churches, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop (then more precisely called Metropolitan archbishop) of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of an old Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital. ... An ecclesiastical province is a unit of religious government existing in certain Christian churches. ... The Province of Wales in the Anglican Communion was created in 1920, as the Church in Wales, independent from the Church of England (of which the four Welsh dioceses had previously been part). ... The Bishop of Llandaff is the Ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff. ...

In some provinces, all of the diocesan bishops share a collegiate metropolitical authority and there is no single metropolitan bishop. This is the case in all nine of the provinces of the Episcopal Church of the United States, which has no metropolitans, and the single province of the Scottish Episcopal Church. In these churches, the Presiding Bishop or Primus respectively is a primate without metropolitical authority over the dioceses of the church.

Diocesans

The majority of bishops in the Anglican Communion are the spiritual heads of dioceses. A diocesan bishop is the Ordinary of his or her diocese, and has wide-ranging legal and administrative responsibilities. Some dioceses can be very large and other quite small: the Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf covers several countries and the Diocese of Bolivia covers the whole country, while the Diocese of Sodor and Man covers just the Isle of Man. Unless they are metropolitans or primates all diocesans are styled Right Reverend, with the historical exception that the Bishop of Meath and Kildare is styled Most Reverend. Pope Pius XI, depicted in this window at Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace, Honolulu, was ordinary of the universal Roman Catholic Church and local ordinary of Rome. ... For the fictional Island of Sodor, see Sodor (fictional island). ...

Assistant bishops

In larger or more populous dioceses, diocesan bishops may be assisted by one or more junior bishops. Where the role of an assistant bishop is a legal part of the structure of the diocese, he or she is known as a suffragan bishop. Suffragans usually have a title named after a place within the diocese. For example, the Bishop of Jarrow is a suffragan to the Bishop of Durham. Some dioceses divide into episcopal areas, with each assigned to a suffragan area bishop. For example, the Bishop of Reading is suffragan to the Bishop of Oxford and ministers to the part of the Diocese of Oxford in Berkshire. Sometimes a diocese may appoint a bishop as coadjutor bishop, an assistant bishop who will become diocesan bishop on the retirement of the current diocesan. This arrangement allows for greater continuity of episcopal ministry but is not very common in the Anglican Communion. Where a diocesan has not been elected or appointed, a bishop or senior priest may act as vicar general through the vacancy. Currently, the Diocese of Iran is led by a vicar general. Retired bishops or bishops who are pursuing ministry outside the usual episcopal ministry are usually licensed as honorary assistant bishops within a diocese (Stephen Sykes, the former Bishop of Ely who is now Principal of St John's College, Durham, is an Honorary Assistant Bishop in Durham. A bishop is an ordained person who holds a specific position of authority in any of a number of Christian churches. ... Arms of the Bishop of Durham The Bishop of Durham is the officer of the Church of England responsible for the diocese of Durham, one of the oldest in the country. ... The Bishop of Reading is a suffragan bishop in the Church of England, based in Reading, Berkshire. ... The Bishop of Oxford is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury. ... The Diocese of Oxford forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. ... Berkshire (IPA: or  ; sometimes abbreviated to Berks) is a county in England and forms part of the South East England region. ... Archbishop Jerome Hanus of the Archdiocese of Dubuque, Dubuque, Iowa. ... A vicar general is an ecclesiastical office in the Latin rite of the Catholic Church existing in each particular church. ... The Right Reverend Professor Stephen Whitefield Sykes (b. ... Arms of the Bishop of Ely The Bishop of Ely is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Ely in the Province of Canterbury. ... St Johns College is a college of the University of Durham in England. ...

Priests

A priest in traditional Anglican choir dress.

Main article: Priest

The overwhelming majority of ordained ministers in the Anglican Communion are priests, or presbyters. Priestly ministry is derived from that of bishops in that they are licensed to a cure of souls by a diocesan or area bishop. The collegiate nature of the presbyterate is acknowledged every time a new priest is ordained as other priests share with the ordaining bishop in the laying on of hands. All priests are entitled to be called Reverend, but some senior priests have different titles. Most member churches ordain women to the priesthood. The traditional vesture for Anglican priests is their choir dress of cassock (usually but not always black), surplice, academic hood (if one has been awarded) and a black tippet. However, these traditional robes are often replaced by the revived Catholic vestments of alb (or cassock-alb), stole and, often also, chasuble in large sections of the Communion. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (480x640, 80 KB) Summary Picture of Anglican priest in choir habit -- cassock, surplice, academic hood and tippet -- taken by Gareth Hughes on 21 October 2005. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (480x640, 80 KB) Summary Picture of Anglican priest in choir habit -- cassock, surplice, academic hood and tippet -- taken by Gareth Hughes on 21 October 2005. ... Roman Catholic priests in traditional clerical clothing. ... Choir Dress is the term for the clothes worn by Cardinals and Bishops when attending Mass, but not celebrating or concelebrating. ... Roman Catholic priests in traditional clerical clothing. ... Roman Catholic priests in traditional clerical clothing. ... Presbyter in the New Testament refers to a leader in local Christian congregations, a synonym of episkopos, which has come to mean bishop. ... In some denominations of Christianity, the cure of souls (Latin cura animarum) is the exercise by a priest of his or her office. ... The laying on of hands is a religious practice found throughout the world in varying forms. ... Choir Dress is the term for the clothes worn by Cardinals and Bishops when attending Mass, but not celebrating or concelebrating. ... An Anglican priest wearing a single-breasted cassock. ... An Anglican priest wearing a surplice as part of his choir dress. ... Academic dress or academical dress (also known in the United States as academic regalia) is traditional clothing worn specifically in academic settings. ... Meriwether Lewis wearing a tipped presented to him by Sacagaweas brother, Cameahwait. ... The alb, one of the liturgical vestments of the Roman Catholic, Anglican and many Protestant churches, is an ample garment of white linen coming down to the ankles and usually girded with a cincture. ... The cassock alb or cassalb, as its name implies, is a relatively modern garment and is a combination of the traditional cassock and alb. ... The stole (a liturgical vestment of various Christian denominations) is an embroidered band of cloth, formerly usually of silk, about two and one-half to three metres long and seven to ten centimetres wide, whose ends are usually broadened out. ... A fiddleback chasuble from the church of Saint Gertrude in Maarheeze in the Netherlands The chasuble is the outermost liturgical vestment worn by clergy for the celebration of the Eucharist among Western-tradition Christian churches that use full vestments, primarily the Roman Catholic Church and high church congregations in the...

Archdeacons

Main article: Archdeacon

Archdeacons are the senior clergy in dioceses. They are usually priests, but there is no reason why a person in deacon's orders may not serve as archdeacon. This has happened in the past, when women were not allowed to be ordained priests. Archdeacons are titled Venerable instead of Reverend and oversee a part of a diocese called an archdeaconry. Archdeacons are responsible for the pastoral and practical management of the church within their archdeaconry. An archdeacon is a senior position in some Christian churches, above that of most clergy and below a bishop. ...

Not all member churches of the Anglican Communion have archdeacons. The Scottish Episcopal Church has the post of dean which is the most senior priest in each diocese. A Scottish dean's role is similar to that of an archdeacon, but is addressed Very Reverend. In religious terminology, a dean is a title accorded to persons holding cartain positions of authority within a religious heirarchy. ... The Very Reverend is a style given to certain religious figures. ...

Deans, provosts, canons and prebendaries

Each diocese has a cathedral that is the mother church and home to the diocesan bishop's cathedra or throne. Some dioceses have more than one cathedral for historical reasons. As cathedrals are sacramental, liturgical and administrative resource centres for their dioceses, their clergy are usually the most senior in the diocese. Different member churches of the Anglican Communion have different structures of cathedral clergy. The Church of England has perhaps the most complex system. In England, the senior priest of a cathedral is called the dean (until 2000, some used to be known as provosts instead). The dean is assisted by other senior clergy who are called canons or prebendaries. These have different roles within the cathedral community. For example, a Canon Treasurer is responsible for the fabric and finance of the cathedral, a Canon Precentor is responsible for the worship of the cathedral and a Canon Chancellor is responsible for the archives and libraries of the cathedral. Some non-cathedral clergy are awarded the title of Honorary Canon or Prebendary as a particular distinction. Some cathedrals have minor canons who are similar in status to an assistant curate in a parish church. Besides cathedrals, the Church of England (and now also the Anglican Church of Canada) has a number of collegiate churches and royal peculiars that function in a similar fashion, but do not have a bishop's throne. A cathedral is a Christian church building, specifically of a denomination with an episcopal hierarchy, such as the Anglican, Catholic and some Lutheran churches, which serves as the central church of a diocese, and thus as a bishops seat. ... The cathedra of the Pope in the apse of St. ... The Church of England is the officially established Christian church[1] in England, and acts as the mother and senior branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion, as well as a founding member of the Porvoo Communion. ... In religious terminology, a dean is a title accorded to persons holding cartain positions of authority within a religious heirarchy. ... A provost is a senior official in a number of Christian churches. ... A canon (from the Latin canonicus and Greek κανωνικωσ relating to a rule) is a priest who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to a rule (canon). ... A prebendary is a post connected to a cathedral or collegiate church and is a type of canon. ... A Precentor is a person, usually a clergy member, who is in charge of preparing worship services. ... From the Latin curatus (compare Curator), a curate is a person who is invested with the care, or cure (cura), of souls of a parish. ... Anglican Church of Canada The Anglican Church of Canada (the ACC) is the Canadian branch of the Anglican Communion. ... A collegiate church was a church served and administered by a body of canons or prebendaries, similar to a cathedral, although they were not the seat of a bishop. ... A Royal Peculiar is a place of worship that falls directly under the jurisdiction of the British monarch, rather than a diocese. ...

Other member churches of the Anglican Communion have much simpler cathedral arrangements. Most other cathedrals are also parish churches. In the Scottish Episcopal Church, the senior priest of a cathedral is a provost. In the Anglican Church of Canada, a cathedral's senior priest is known as the rector of the cathedral and a dean of the diocese. Deans and provosts are titled Very Reverend, while canons and prebendaries (but not minor canons) are titled Reverend Canon or Prebendary. A provost is a senior official in a number of Christian churches. ... The word rector (ruler, from the Latin regere) has a number of different meanings. ...

Many Anglican dioceses group parishes together into deaneries. To distinguish them from the posts of cathedral deans they are often called rural deaneries, and are led by rural deans. A rural dean is appointed by the bishop from among the parish clergy in the deanery to act as means of communication between the parishes of the deanery and the archdeacons and bishops, but has no special title. In more urban areas, the post is sometimes renamed as area or regional dean and deanery. A parish is a type of administrative subdivision. ...

Parish pastors

Historically, parish pastors have been given the cure of souls of the bishop, and hence are perpetual curates, and the temporal freehold of the parish, and hence are incumbents or parsons. Depending on the tithes they received, they were either rectors (receiving both the greater and lesser tithes), vicars (receiving just the lesser tithes) or perpetual curates (receiving no tithes). In time, the third category was merged in with vicars. Still today, each parish in England and Wales gives to its incumbent the title rector or vicar depending on the historical situation with tithes, but, as all clergy in these churches are paid from central funds, the distinction is meaningless. In some places in England and Wales, team benefices have been established. In them, a team of clergy is licensed to a group of parishes, and the senior priest is known as a team rector and other priests of 'incumbent status' are known as team vicars. A parish pastor without secure tenure but holding a bishop's licence is termed a priest in charge, temporary curate or bishop's curate. A pastor is the head minister or priest of a Christian church. ... In some denominations of Christianity, the cure of souls (Latin cura animarum) is the exercise by a priest of his or her office. ... From the Latin curatus (compare Curator), a curate is a person who is invested with the care, or cure (cura), of souls of a parish. ... Freehold is a term used in real estate or real property law, land held in fee simple, as opposed to leasehold, which is land which is leased. ... A parson is a member of the Protestant clergy. ... A tithe (from Old English teogotha tenth) is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a voluntary contribution or as a tax or levy, usually to support a Jewish or Christian religious organization. ... The word rector (ruler, from the Latin regere) has a number of different meanings. ... In the broadest sense, a vicar (from the Latin vicarius) is anyone acting as a substitute or agent for a superior (compare vicarious). In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant. ... From the Latin curatus (compare Curator), a curate is a person who is invested with the care, or cure (cura), of souls of a parish. ...

In the rest of the Anglican Communion, most parish pastors are called rectors. However, in some member churches where mission societies have been instrumental in their continuing development, parish pastors are called chaplains. In the Episcopal Church of the United States of America, a rector is the head of a self-sustaining parish, while a vicar is the head of a mission sustained from diocesan funds. A chaplain is typically a member of the clergy serving a group of people who are not organized as a mission or church; lay chaplains are also found in some settings such as universities. ... The Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in Washington DC is the National Cathedral of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. ... A Christian mission has been widely defined, since the Lausanne Congress of 1974, as that which is designed to form a viable indigenous church-planting movement. ...

Assistant pastors

After ordination most clergy serve as assistants to parish pastors before taking up a lead post in a parish. As they have cure of souls they are assistant curates. Some assistant pastors are experienced priests and deacons who for various reasons are not incumbents. They may include those who are in full-time secular employment and those who hold administrative posts within the diocese. In some parishes, such senior assistants are known as associate priests or ministers. Junior clergy in a cathedral or collegiate church are called minor canons. Ordination is the process in which clergy become authorized by their religious denomination and/or seminary to perform religious rituals and ceremonies. ... From the Latin curatus (compare Curator), a curate is a person who is invested with the care, or cure (cura), of souls of a parish. ... A canon (from the Latin canonicus and Greek κανωνικωσ relating to a rule) is a priest who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to a rule (canon). ...

Deacons

A deacon vested in an alb with a stole over the left shoulder.

Main article: Deacon

Since the Reformation, deacons have been the lowest order of clergy: the minor orders (which only came to be clearly defined at the Council of Trent) having been removed from the hierarchy. Although deacons are fully members of the clergy (they wear clerical collars and are styled Reverend), they are not permitted to preside at the Eucharist, bless people or absolve sins. As these ministries were, and in many ways still are, essential in the life of the church, deacons usually are ordained priests after about a year in the diaconate — they are transitional deacons. Most deacons serve as assistant curates in parish churches, a ministry that usually continues through into their ordination to the priesthood. Some deacons serve as minor canons in cathedrals or as assistant chaplains in a wide range of non-parochial ministry. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (480x640, 78 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Deacon Stole Alb ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (480x640, 78 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Deacon Stole Alb ... Deacon is a role in the Christian Church which is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. ... The alb, one of the liturgical vestments of the Roman Catholic, Anglican and many Protestant churches, is an ample garment of white linen coming down to the ankles and usually girded with a cincture. ... The stole (a liturgical vestment of various Christian denominations) is an embroidered band of cloth, formerly usually of silk, about two and one-half to three metres long and seven to ten centimetres wide, whose ends are usually broadened out. ... Deacon is a role in the Christian Church which is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. ... The Protestant Reformation was a movement which began in the 16th century as a series of attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church, but ended in division and the establishment of new institutions, most importantly Lutheranism, Reformed churches, and Anabaptists. ... The minor orders were formally a part of the clergy of the Roman Catholic Church. ... The Council of Trent is the Nineteenth Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. ... A Clerical collar is an item of clerical clothing. ... The Eucharist or Communion or The Lords Supper, is the rite that Christians perform in fulfillment of Jesus instruction, recorded in the New Testament,[1] to do in memory of him what he did at his Last Supper. ... Look up blessing in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Absolution in a liturgical church refers to the pronouncement of Gods forgiveness of sins. ... From the Latin curatus (compare Curator), a curate is a person who is invested with the care, or cure (cura), of souls of a parish. ... A parish church is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches. ... A canon (from the Latin canonicus and Greek κανωνικωσ relating to a rule) is a priest who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to a rule (canon). ... A cathedral is a Christian church building, specifically of a denomination with an episcopal hierarchy, such as the Anglican, Catholic and some Lutheran churches, which serves as the central church of a diocese, and thus as a bishops seat. ... A chaplain is typically a member of the clergy serving a group of people who are not organized as a mission or church; lay chaplains are also found in some settings such as universities. ...

As different member churches of the Anglican Communion have different policies on the ordination of women, there are some churches (such as the Anglican Church of the Southern Cone) and some dioceses (such as Sydney) in which women may be ordained deacons, abut not priests or bishops. There are a variety of positions on the ordination of women among different religions, sects and denominations within each religion. ... The Iglesia Anglicana del Cono Sur de las Americas (Spanish for: Anglican Church of the Southern Cone of the Americas) is the ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Communion that covers the countries of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay. ... The Diocese of Sydney in the Anglican Church of Australia is unusual in Western Anglicanism in that the majority of the diocese is Evangelical and low church in nature, and committed to Reformed and Calvinist theology [1]. The Diocese stretches from Lithgow in the west, the Hawkesbury River in the...

Licensed lay ministers

Deaconesses

Main article: Deaconess

Although derived from the same name as deacons, deaconesses have often been considered lay ministers in the church (probably at least from the time of the Council of Nicea, which agreed with this view). Deaconesses disappeared completely from the Western Church by the eleventh century. In 1836, Theodor and Friederike Fliedner founded the first deaconess house in Kaiserswerth on the Rhine. In 1862, the Bishop of London, Archibald Campbell Tait, restored the 'ancient order of deaconesses' with Elizabeth Ferard by the laying on of hands. Women were ordained deaconesses by the Bishop of Alabama (in 1885) and the Bishop of New York (1887), and gradually, more dioceses began to make deaconesses, but there was no clear consensus: some intended that deaconesses be in holy orders, and others did not. In churches that now ordain women, the order of deaconess has largely died out. Deaconess (and also deacon) comes from a Greek word diakonos (διακονος). This Greek word means a servant or helper and occurs frequently in the Christian New Testament of the Bible and is sometimes applied to Christ himself. ... Council of Nicaea can refer to: First Council of Nicaea in AD 325 Second Council of Nicaea in AD 787 This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Kaiserswerth is one of the oldest parts of the City of Düsseldorf, it is in the north of the city, and next to the river Rhine. ... Loreley At 1,320 kilometres (820 miles) and an average discharge of more than 2,000 cubic meters per second, the Rhine (Dutch Rijn, French Rhin, German Rhein, Italian: Reno, Romansch: Rein, ) is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe. ... Arms of the Bishop of London The Bishop of London is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. ... Archibald Campbell Tait (21 December 1811 _ 3 December 1882) was an archbishop of Canterbury. ... The laying on of hands is a religious practice found throughout the world in varying forms. ... The Episcopal Diocese of Alabama is the diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America including most of the State of Alabama with the exception of the extreme southern region, including Mobile, which forms part of the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast. ... The Episcopal Diocese of New York consists of the boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island in New York City, and the counties of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster, and Westchester in the state of New York. ...

Readers

Licensed Lay Readers, whose prominence varies widely among dioceses and national churches, are licensed by their bishop. They are authorised to lead worship services, apart from the celebration of the Eucharist. Their responsibilities and privileges can include: A Lay Reader is a layperson authorized by a bishop of the Anglican or Roman Catholic church to read some parts of a service of worship. ...

• Conducting Mattins, Evensong, and Compline
• Reciting the Litany
• Publishing banns of marriage
• Preaching, teaching, and assisting in pastoral care
• Conducting funerals
• Distributing (but not celebrating) Holy Communion

Morning Prayer, in the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, also known as Mattins or Matins, was, until the last quarter of the 20th century, the main Sunday morning service most Sundays in all but the most high church Anglican parishes, with Holy Communion being the main Sunday morning service once... Evensong is a liturgy from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer used in the evening, especially when the service is rendered chorally. ... Compline or Complin is the final church service (or office) of the day in the Christian tradition of canonical hours. ... The banns of marriage or, simply the banns, (from an Old English word meaning to summon) are the public announcement from the pulpit that a marriage is going to take place in that church between two specified persons at a specified time. ...

Lay chalice bearers

Licensed lay chalice bearers of lay chalicists assist in the distribution of Holy Communion with the permission of the bishop. Normally the parish priest submits to the bishop at regular intervals a list of names of persons to be so licensed.