Glossary
The glossary below has been reproduced with kind permission from the Årchbishops' Council, produced originally as a guide for the Pastoral Measure.
Index
The numbers next to each glossary term indicate the section and sub-section numbers under which you will find the definition listed below.
Archdeacon 3 (g)
Archidiaconal Pastoral Committee 5 (l)
Area Dean 3 (c)
Assistant Bishop 3 (i)
Assistant Curate 2 (f)
Benefice 5 (b)
Bishop 3 (i)
Bishop’s Council 5 (o)
Bishop’s Staff 5 (m)
Canon 3 (d) & (f)
Chaplain 3 (e)
Clergy Chapter 5 (h)
Church Army workers 2 (n)
Church Commissioners 5 (q) & 6 (a)
Church Schools 6 (i) & (n)
Church Sharing 6 (g)
Churches no longer used for public worship 6 (h)
Churchwardens 1 (a)
Cluster 5 (e)
Collation 2 (a)
Consecration 6 (n)
Conventional District 5 (c)
Covenants 5 (d)
Curate 2 (e)
Deacon 3 (a)
Dean 3 (h)
Deanery 5 (j)
Deanery Lay Chairman 4 (f)
Deanery Pastoral Committee 5 (k)
Deanery Synod 5 (j)
Declaring a Church Redundant 6 (h)
Dedication 6 (n)
Designated Officer 4 (a)
Diocesan Secretary 4 (b)
Diocesan Synod 5 (n)
Diocesan Pastoral Committee 5 (p)
Electoral Roll Member 1 (b)
Extra Parochial land 5 (a)
Faculty jurisdiction 6 (n)
“Flying Bishop” 6 (j)
Freehold 2 (e)
Group Ministry 5 (f)
Honorary Canons 3 (d)
House for Duty 2 (k)
Incumbent 2 (e)
Induction 2 (e)
Installation 2 (e) & (g)
Institution 2 (b)
Interregnum 6 (a)
Lay Staff 2 (m)
Lay Stipendiary posts 2 (n)
Licensing 2 (g)
Lifting Suspension 6 (c)
Living 6 (d)
Local Ecumenical Partnerships 5 (d) & 6 (g)
Minister in charge 2 (h)
New Parish 6 (n)
Non-Stipendiary Minister (NSM) 2 (j)
Ordained Local Ministers (OLM) 2 (l)
Parish 5 (a)
Parishioner 1 (a)
Parochial Church Council 5 (i)
PCC Secretary 4 (d)
Parson 2 (e)
Parsonage House 6 (a)
Pastoral Reorganisation 6 (a)
Pastoral Scheme 6 (a)
Pastoral Steering Group 5 (m)
Patrons 4 (e)
“Pewmember” 1 (d)
Plurality 6 (f)
Priest 3 (b)
Priest in charge 2 (g)
Provincial Episcopal Visitor 6 (j)
Reader 2 (i)
Rector 2 (b)
Redundant Churches 6 (h)
Registrar 4 (c)
Renewing the Suspension 6 (b)
Residential Canons 3 (f)
Resolutions A, B & C 6 (j)
Rural Dean 3 (c)
Section 11 Meeting 6 (j)
Section 12 Meeting 6 (k)
Share 6 (b)
Standing Committee – Diocesan 5 (o)
Suffragan Bishop 3 (i)
Suspension of Rights of Presentation 6 (b)
Team Ministry 5 (g)
Team Rector 2 (c)
Team Vicar 2 (d)
Union of Benefices 6 (e)
Usual Sunday / Weekly Attendance 1 (c)
Vacancy 6 (a)
Vicar 2 (a)
The Terms
1. The People
(a) Parishioner – under English law every adult resident within a parish has the legal right to be baptized, married and buried from their parish church; they also have a legal right to have a church building within which to worship, and to have an episcopally ordained priest, living in a designated house, upon whom they can call for spiritual care. Whether or not they attend that church, they are also entitled at the Annual Meeting of Parishioners (formerly “Vestry Meeting”) to be able to elect two Churchwardens each year to care for the church and parish.
(b) Electoral Roll Member – Parishioners may only vote at the annual meeting of Parishioners; those whose names are also entered on the Church Electoral Roll may also vote at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting in order to elect members to the Parochial Church Council and Deanery Synod. Electoral Roll Members can be residents of other parishes, so long as they have joined in worship in the church for at least six months; any person duly qualified can be on several Electoral Rolls at the same time. Ordained clergy are not permitted to have their names entered on the Electoral Roll, even when they have retired.
(c) Usual Sunday / Weekly Attendance – Each church keeps a record of attendance at all its services in the service register. By taking the average figure for the “normal” services throughout the year or just through a single month it is possible to gain a picture of usual attendance; in the past this has simply focussed on Sunday worship but, increasingly, figures are being used for average weekly attendance. (These figures should also differentiate between adults and those below the age of 16.)
(d) “Pewmember / Pewperson” - Because the proportion of a population in a rural parish who have their names entered on the Electoral Roll is much higher than in an urban parish (even though they may scarcely ever attend), and because many people attend urban parishes without entering their names on the Electoral Roll, it is difficult to compare parish workloads by simply using these figures. For many years, accordingly we have used a formula to produce a “Pewmember” figure: by combining Electoral Roll membership with Usual Sunday Attendance (one third ER + two thirds USA ), the resulting figure is able to acknowledge the strengths of both Rural and Urban parishes.
2. Parish Clergy and Ministers
(a) Vicar – usually a priest appointed to care for a parish of which the Diocesan Bishop is Patron; he or she will be Collated to a parish.
(b) Rector – usually a priest appointed to care for a parish where the Patron is not the Diocesan Bishop; he or she will be Instituted to a parish..
(c) Team Rector – a priest appointed on Licence to take charge of a Team Parish and to care for the Team Vicars.
(d) Team Vicar – a priest appointed on Licence to work within a Team Parish under the immediate direction of the Team Rector.
(e) Incumbent – legally this is the person given the “cure of souls” by the Bishop (i.e. the Vicar or Rector) usually with the “Freehold”. [In law these clergy may also be termed the Curate or Parson.] Incumbents are Inducted into their new parishes and Installed in the parish church by the Archdeacon.
(f) Assistant Curate – this is usually a priest in the first four years of his or her ministry (though legally it can apply to any priest licensed to assist a Parish Priest).
(g) Priest in Charge – legally this is the title of a parish priest in a parish where the living has been suspended. He or she will be licensed to a parish by the Bishop and installed by the Archdeacon (but not inducted).
(h) Minister in charge – this is the title often given to experienced clergy licensed to assist in a large parish with two or more churches.
(i) Reader (formerly “Lay Reader”) – a member of the laity trained and licensed to assist in leading the worship of a parish; legally it is now possible to have a Reader in Charge of a particular parish, subject to the directions of the diocesan bishop.
(j) Non-Stipendiary Ministers (NSMs) – Ordained clergy who live in their own houses and are licensed to assist in parish ministry (sometimes known as “Self Supporting Ministers” or “Ministers in Secular Employment”). It is now possible for an NSM in Charge to take responsibility for a particular parish.
(k) House for Duty Priests (HfD s) – Clergy who are licensed to a parish without pay, other than being permitted to live in the parsonage house free of charge. [In some cases it is more convenient for all concerned for the priest to live in his or her own house and receive a housing allowance.]
(l) Ordained Local Ministers (OLMs) – Clergy whose ordination licence restricts their ministry to a particular parish or area of responsibility. This only occurs in a limited number of dioceses (not Winchester ).
(m) Lay Staff – Increasingly parishes are appointing lay outreach workers (Youth / Mission / Family / Student workers) usually with the permission of the PCC.
(n) Church Army workers / Lay Stipendiary posts – Church Army officers are members of the laity trained for specific mission areas and licensed by the diocesan Bishop. In addition in Winchester diocese, we are exploring the appointment of other members of the laity with specific skills paid and housed in the same way as stipendiary clergy.
3. Clergy Titles (and forms of address)
(a) Deacon (Reverend) – Usually a minister in their first year in orders (though some choose to work as “Perpetual Deacons”). Deacons are not licensed to Preside at Holy Communion or give the blessing.
(b) Priest (Reverend) – The basis of our parochial staffing; currently there only just over 9,000 stipendiary priests available for work in the parishes of England .
(c) Rural / Area Dean (Reverend) – A parish priest chosen from within the deanery to liaise between the Bishop’s Staff and the parochial clergy and to advise on clergy allocation / pastoral reorganisation.
(d) Honorary Canon (Canon) – an honorific title given to clergy by the bishop (and the Dean and Chapter of the Cathedral) as a mark of their expertise and experience.
(e) Chaplain (Reverend) – usually a priest with responsibility for the care of the staff and clients of a particular organisation or occupation.
(f) Residential Canon (Canon) – a member of the clergy serving a Cathedral (part of the “Dean and Chapter”)
(g) Archdeacon (the Venerable) – a member of the Bishop’s Staff with primary responsibility for caring for the tools of pastoral ministry – buildings, finance, committees, legalities. Some archdeacons are responsible for clergy appointments and Ministerial Review; some have additional parochial or cathedral responsibilities. The group of deaneries under his or her care is known as “the Archdeaconry” and is a legally defined area.
(h) Dean (the Very Reverend) – a member of the Bishop’s Staff who cares (with the members of the Chapter) for the ministry of the Cathedral. In the diocese of Winchester we also have the two Channel Island Deans who combine the traditional roles of Dean and Archdeacon with some Episcopal responsibilities.
(i) Bishop (the Right Reverend) – the diocesan Bishop is ultimately responsible for all ministry within the diocese; he licenses all clergy and most of the pastoral schemes to do with the organisation of ministry (though some need to be dealt with by the Church Commissioners). Suffragan Bishops work with their diocesan bishop at his direction. Area Bishops work with a degree of independence in a part of a diocese defined by a legal scheme without necessarily needing to refer to the diocesan. Assistant Bishops tend to be around the age of retirement, but who wish to offer ministry to a diocese as needed.
4. Lay Titles (and forms of address)
(a) Designated Officer (the Revd Simon Baker) – The named member of Diocesan Staff who is responsible for ensuring any Pastoral Process is completed correctly.
(b) Diocesan Secretary (Mr Andrew Howard) – The person responsible for co-ordinating the administration of all diocesan committees and officers.
(c) Diocesan Registrar (Mr Peter White) – The Diocesan legal adviser.
(d) PCC Secretary – The person to whom all legal documentation relating to Pastoral Reorganisation within a parish must be sent; they are responsible for communicating the contents to the Parochial Church Council and congregation, the Wardens and Parish Priest without delay.
(e) Patron – This may be a named individual, an organisation (e.g. Winchester College ), or an office holder (e.g. the Vicar of Christchurch Priory, the Bishop of Winchester) who has the legal right to present candidates to the parish for interviewing and, subsequently, presenting the successful candidate to become the Parish Priest. In any Pastoral Reorganisation, the patron’s rights cannot be removed or altered without consent; however, they can be suspended for specified reasons until a decision has been reached on that matter.
(f) Deanery Lay Chairman – An individual elected by the House of Laity at the beginning of each triennium of the Deanery Synod to share in the ministry of the Rural/Area Dean and to advise the Bishop and Archdeacon on matters of pastoral concern.
5. Relevant Organisations and Bodies
(a) Parish – The main building block for the pastoral care of the people of this country. Boundaries for each parish are defined on a map retained by the Church Commissioners, and can only be changed following consultation with all concerned and the publication of a Pastoral Scheme. Unusually the diocese of Winchester has a high proportion of “Extra-Parochial Areas” (mainly the New Forest ), where residents have the legal right of using any parish church in a parish contiguous with that extra-parochial area.]
(b) Benefice (Living) – A benefice is a freehold office occupied by an incumbent as a “corporation sole”; in other words, the rights, responsibilities and emoluments belong exclusively to the parish priest until he resigns (or dies in office). The benefice may be comprised of more than one parish.
(c) Conventional District – an area within a benefice (or benefices) set aside by the Pastoral Committee with a view ultimately to forming a new parish; legally it remains within its existing benefice and the parish priest may request that the boundaries be altered, or that the scheme be withdrawn.
(d) Local Ecumenical Partnership (LEP) – An agreement between two or more Christian denominations to work together in forwarding the mission of the area. Any Covenant between such churches needs to be approved by the Diocesan Pastoral Committee.
(e) Cluster – An unofficial grouping of parishes and benefices for the mutual support of the clergy and people.
(f) Group – A legally constituted group of benefices where each parish retains its parish priest and PCC, but where each priest is licensed to work in the other benefices within the group. Each priest must agree to work with the policies of the parish where they are ministering; some Groups Schemes include the establishment of a “Group Council” and each Group should delegate one of its priests as chairman, usually for a period of three years. It is relatively easy to add or remove benefices from a Group.
(g) Team – A legally constituted benefice usually consisting of several churches with at least two stipendiary clergy (though ideally more), one of whom is Team Rector and the remainder are Team Vicars. A Team must have a Team Council and all clergy must agree to apply Team policy across the whole benefice. The addition or removal of churches from a Team needs to go through a Pastoral Scheme with the Church Commissioners and is subject to consultation with the congregations and parishioners. It is possible for a Team to be added to a Group.
(h) Clergy Chapter – A regular meeting of the Clergy of a Deanery summoned by the Rural / Area Dean for mutual support and advice (from the days when monks used to meet together and would hear read a chapter from the Rule of St Benedict). Some Chapters invite Readers to join them, together with retired clergy. The Chapter has very little executive authority.
(i) Parochial Church Council (PCC) – Members are elected annually (though often on a three year rolling process) by the Electoral Roll membership in order to assist in the mission of the parish. In addition the PCC will have ex officio members (Licensed Clergy, Readers, General and Deanery Synod members) and co-opted members: all are full members and are entitled to vote on all issues (including Pastoral Schemes. Every PCC must meet at least four times a year. Through the PCC Secretary they have the right to be consulted / notified of all Pastoral Schemes affecting their parish.
(j) Deanery Synod – A meeting of representatives and clergy from every parish in the Deanery to decide matters of common interest. Deanery Synod members form the electoral college for Diocesan and General Synod.
(k) Deanery Pastoral Committee – every Deanery Synod shall have a Standing Committee in order to carry forward the work of the Deanery between meetings; for some deaneries this also plays the role of Deanery Pastoral Committee. In Winchester diocese it is assumed that a Deanery Pastoral Committee has been established whose purpose is to explore with constituent parishes their future ministerial needs and to bring forward medium term plans (ten years or so) as to the allocation of clergy given the number available.
(l) Area Pastoral Committee – An archidiaconal meeting of Rural/Area Deans, Lay Chairmen, the Suffragan Bishop, Archdeacon and the Director of Ministry and Pastoral Planning that meets four times a year to discuss the needs of all parishes within the archdeaconry and indicate to the Bishop probable courses of action should the living fall vacant. The Area Pastoral Committee also advises the Diocesan Pastoral Committee.
(m) Pastoral Steering Group – A meeting four times a year of the Bishop’s Staff with the Director of Ministry and Pastoral Planning. As this includes the Channel Island Deans (where the Pastoral Measure does not apply), this is the body where it is possible to explore the allocation of stipendiary clergy across the deaneries.
(n) Diocesan Synod – The meeting of bishops, clergy and laity that sets overall Diocesan Policy. Clergy and laity are elected every three years and members of various diocesan committees are elected from its number. The Diocesan Synod may indicate to the Diocesan Pastoral Committee matters of policy to which it should have regard.
(o) Diocesan Standing Committee / Bishop’s Council – The executive committee of the diocese, meeting every two months to carry forward the work of the Diocesan Synod and to advise the Bishop.
(p) Diocesan Pastoral Committee (DPC) – This committee is formed from members elected by the Diocesan Synod, the Suffragan Bishops and Archdeacons, and the Director of Ministry and Pastoral Planning and meets three times a year. Subject to the Pastoral Measure 1983, it recommends to the Diocesan Bishop arrangements for providing ministry within the parishes, remuneration and housing, and takes account of the specific traditions, needs and characteristics of each parish. The DPC puts forward Pastoral Schemes to the Bishop or Church Commissioners following advice from the Area Pastoral Committees; representations about such schemes may be received from each parish concerned, either in writing or by a delegation of clergy and wardens.
(q) Church Commissioners of England – Established in 1947 to deal with the Church of England’s endowments, glebe, parsonage houses, and pastoral reorganisation.
6. Activities associated with Pastoral Reorganisation
(a) Pastoral Reorganisation / Pastoral Scheme – Unless the Incumbent consents, the Bishop only has authority to make changes to a parish’s boundaries, parsonage house and ministerial provision during a Vacancy (formerly “Interregnum”). The Diocesan Pastoral Committee draws up a Pastoral Scheme detailing the proposed changes (which may range from a simple change of a benefice name, to the establishment of several new benefices). When a new benefice is being formed the scheme must specify the geographical area covered (with detailed maps), the patronage, the Parsonage House and the name of the first incumbent. Consultation for such schemes must involve all parishioners, patrons, local authorities, deaneries, archdeacon, bishop and the Church Commissioners themselves.
(b) Suspension of Presentation – A notice issued by the Bishop once a vacancy has occurred in a parish, giving reasons for the suspension and an indication of the subjects where changes may be considered (e.g. boundaries, parsonage house, patronage, clergy allocation). An additional element can now be the viability of a particular parish as demonstrated by their ability or willingness to pay Share. A time limit has to be specified for the suspension which can be no longer than five years, after which the Bishop must consult again before renewing the suspension.
(c) Lifting of Suspension – Once the questions raised under the letter of suspension have been dealt with (possibly with a decision to take no further action), then a notice is published to all concerned lifting the suspension. Legally the parish can then begin the process for filling the vacancy though, if a priest in charge has already been in post, it is generally the case that he or she will be offered the role as incumbent.
(d) Filling the living – The whole process with the PCC, Archdeacon and Suffragan Bishop, of drawing up a Parish and Person Profile, interviewing, checking the candidates with the Criminal Records Bureau (for the protection of children and vulnerable adults), and providing them with legal documents authorising them to serve in that benefice.
(e) Union of Benefices – Linking two or more benefices so that they become a single benefice.
(f) Pluralities – linking two or more benefices under a single priest, but retaining their separate legal identities.
(g) Church Sharing Scheme – If two or more denominations wish to worship together this is usually covered under a Local Ecumenical Project or Local Covenant. If they simply want to make use of the same building for economic and practical reasons, with different services for each denomination, then this is covered by the Sharing of Church Buildings Act 1969. This gives rights of ownership both of the building and its contents especially if, in the future, the denominations may decide to terminate the agreement.
(h) Closing a church for public worship (formerly “Declaring Redundant”) – a dedicated or consecrated church cannot be closed without a scheme specifying its future use and the future provision for the care of parishioners. If there is no provision for transferring ownership, then the Diocesan Board of Finance becomes responsible for maintaining the building, this being paid for out of Share.
(i) Section 11 Meeting – As part of the process for appointing a new Parish Priest, under Section 11 of the Pastoral Measure, the PCC must draw up and agree a Parish and Person Profile, appoint up to two representatives from each parish to interview potential candidates, decide whether to ask the Patron to advertise the post competitively or offer candidates sequentially, and vote on Women’s Priestly Ministry. Where there is a Church School in a parish, we also request the PCC to have an independent representative from each school who will help with drawing up the Profile.
(j) Resolutions A, B & C – Under the Priests (Ordination of Women) Measure 1993, PCCs may vote not to permit a woman to preside at Holy Communion or pronounces the Absolution in the church(es) of their parish (Resolution A), or not to permit a woman to serve as incumbent or priest-in-charge (Resolution B). Resolution C enables a parish to be served by a Provincial Episcopal Visitor (“Flying Bishop”). Resolutions must be renewed every five years and at the time of a vacancy. Obviously the Pastoral Committees need to take account of these resolutions when linking parishes under new Pastoral Schemes.
(k) Section 12 Meeting – Under Section 12 of the Pastoral Measure parishes may request a meeting with the Bishop or his representative in order to discuss the future appointment. In reality, in Winchester Diocese, this meeting takes place before the Section 11 Meeting in an informal discussion with the suffragan bishop – the “Pre-Section 11 Meeting”.
(l) Institution, Collation, Licensing – the form of service used to inaugurate priests as, respectively, Rector, Vicar or Priest-in-Charge.
(m) Induction, Installation – the Induction is the part of the service where incumbents are given responsibility for the parish church by the Archdeacon (this can only take place in one of the parish churches in a benefice – not a daughter church); the Installation applies also to Priests-in-charge and occurs when the Archdeacon literally places the priest in their designated stall.
(n) New Parish – It should be noted that Pastoral Reorganisation is not simply a matter of amalgamating parishes and reducing clergy cover: from time to time we also create new parishes. In such cases a pastoral scheme is required. Frequently today the new church building may be part of a Church School, in which case it would simply be Dedicated; if the building is Consecrated (i.e. set aside exclusively for religious use) then it will become subject to Faculty Jurisdiction and could only be closed in the future following a further Pastoral Scheme.