Clergy (pronounced klur-jee)
The
group or body of ordained persons in a religion, as distinguished from the
laity (the non-ordained); applied especially within Christendom.
1175–1225: From the Middle English clerge & clergie from the Old French clergé (learned men) from the Late Latin clericātus (office of a priest) from clericalis & clēricus (one ordained for religious services), from the Ancient Greek κληρικός (klērikós) (of the clergy). It’s from the Old French clergie (from clerc) in the sense of “learned men, skilled in the arts of erudition, writing and transcription” that the modern English clerk evolved, the meaning "pertaining to clerks and copyists" dating from 1798. Clericalism sacerdotalism (power or influence of the clergy) is from 1849, very much in the spirit of the European revolutions of 1848; clericality (quality of being clerical) is from the 1650s. Clergy, clergyman, clergywoman and (the very modern) clergy person are nouns and the adjectives adjectives clergylike, anticlergy and proclergy (all sometimes hyphenated) were in well-known during the centuries when church and secular forces contested control of British and European; the noun plural is clergies.
The
legal doctrine benefit of clergy was
formalised first in the 1510s and was the exemption of ecclesiastics from
certain criminal processes before secular judges although in England it had
been first recognized in 1274; over time it was gradually restricted being abolished
finally in 1827. Special deals for
English clergy were nothing new. The Rosetta Stone, the granodiorite stele
created in Egypt in 196 BC and re-discovered in 1799 (which became the key to
deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphs) included a degree granting tax-breaks to
clergy, rights which in various jurisdictions persist to this day.
Clergyman
was a familiar term from the thirteenth century but the more rare clergywoman
was unknown until the 1670s and then just as a general descriptor of nuns. It wasn’t until 1871 it could refer to a "woman
pastor, woman of the clerical profession" but in between, it was used
humorously (and disparagingly) about the domineering wife of a clergyman, an
idea Anthony Trollope (1815-1882) used to great comic effect when writing of the bishop’s wife in the Chronicles of Barsetshire (1855-1867). Clergess
(member of a female religious order) was attested from the late fourteenth
century; clergy-feme (clergyman's
wife or woman) was first noted in the 1580s.
Church of England (and worldwide Anglican) clergy
In the Anglican Church, there are in excess of two-dozen titles before one even reaches then levels of the right reverend and very reverend gentlemen but despite the extraordinary proliferation of styles and titles within the Anglican
clergy, under canon law, there are but three types of ordained person: a
bishop, a priest, and a deacon. With
very few exceptions, the people who hold other offices and titles will always
be (1) a bishop, (2) a priest or (3) a deacon, with their other title(s) overlaid atop their primary appointment. There doesn't seem to be any theological justification for all this ecclesiastical bureaucratization but as those who study organizational behavior have often noted, structures once established can quickly become established tradition and assume their own inertia.
Bishop
A
member of the clergy who has been commissioned to oversee the work of a group
of congregations and the priests & Deacons who serve them; that group of
congregations is called a diocese. Only
a bishop may ordain persons to the order of deacon and priest; only a bishop
may also ordain (also called a consecration) another
bishop, but must do so in the company of other bishops and a bishop must have
been previously have been ordained a priest.
In the Church of England, twenty-six bishops (The Lords Spiritual) sit
by historic right in the House of Lords, the UK parliament’s upper house.
Priest
A
member of the clergy who has been commissioned to preside at gatherings around
the Lord’s Table (the Holy Communion) and to extend assurance of God’s
forgiveness to those who truly repent of their sins. A person who is a priest must previously have
been ordained as a deacon, and continues to be a deacon throughout his or her
life as a priest. A few churches now use
presbyter for this order.
Feminist Lindsay Lohan in habit with Smith & Wesson .500 Magnum in Machete (2010), makes a persuasive case for the ordination of women in the Roman Catholic Church. In the Anglican communion, there are now even women bishops although some reactionary dioceses such as Sydney restrict women to the diaconate (ie deacons) where they may assist "real" priests although their exact role can vary between parishes. The Sydney diocese, where there's still a hankering for popery, refuses to ordain women as priests and bishops.
Deacon
A
member of the clergy who has been commissioned to proclaim the Gospel, assist
at the Holy Communion, and to call the church, by word and example, to its
ministry of service and healing.
Archbishop
A
bishop who presides over several dioceses in a large region, a position which
includes some supervisory responsibilities over both dioceses and bishops in
that region. In the Church of England,
the Archbishop of Canterbury is the (nominal and spiritual) head of the
worldwide Anglican Communion.
Archdeacon
A
member of the clergy appointed to assist the bishop in certain administrative
and pastoral duties in a diocese. An archdeacon
may administer a district comprising a group of parishes which is usually known
as an Archdeaconry. Despite the name,
there is now no direct connection with the order of deacon, and an archdeacon
is generally one of the priests of a diocese.
The position and title normally expires upon resignation or retirement,
although certain retired archdeacons in good standing with their bishop often
retain the title.
Aspirant
A
person who has indicated to the bishop that he or she hopes to be ordained and
is in the preliminary interview process.
Once the bishop has formally accepted their candidacy, the person is
called a postulant.
Bishop-elect
A
person chosen to become a bishop, but not yet consecrated; the word elect simply
means chosen. Anglican bishops are
selected by a variety of means: some are elected by the clergy and laity of the
diocese where they will serve, but some are selected by a specially-constituted
committee (often called an Electoral College).
In England, historically, bishops were personal appointments by the monarch;
now the sovereign appoints on the recommendation of the prime minister. This process has not been without the odd hiccup. Once, Lord Salisbury (1903; UK prime minister for thirteen years variously 1885-1902), as was the usual practice, received from the Archbishop of Canterbury the name of the two clergymen he had considered for appointment to a vacant bishopric. Unfortunately, the spellings of the two names were similar and the prime-minister inadvertently sent to the palace the wrong name. After the gentleman was enthroned he was informed of the error and remarked: "Oh, I daresay he will do just as well".
Canon
Canon
is an honorary title conferred upon a member of the clergy (and some lay
persons) for faithful and valuable service to the church. The standard joke in church circles is it's hard to find men of sufficient calibre to fulfil the role and once appointed, they should never be fired.
Chaplain
A
member of the clergy whose employment is not in a parish or congregation, but who
undertakes pastoral care and organizes worship services within a non-religious
organization such as a school, hospital or the military. There are a few special appointments where a chaplain
may be a spiritual advisor and personal assistant to a bishop or a monarch.
Coadjutor
A
bishop who has been appointed to assist a diocesan bishop. Generally, a Coadjutor automatically becomes
Diocesan in his or her own right, upon the retirement or resignation of the
person currently in that office.
Commissary
A
person appointed to exercise the administrative functions of a bishop, when the
actual bishop is away from the diocese or otherwise indisposed. A commissary may not perform any of the
spiritual functions of a bishop, such as ordinations and the appointment is
inherently temporary, the role expiring immediately upon the bishop’s return.
Curate
A
deacon or a priest who functions as an assistant or subordinate to the
Incumbent of a parish. The word curate
refers to the cure or care of souls, and while the word does suggest a primary
and senior responsibility (indeed, in a French-speaking Roman Catholic Church
the senior priest of a parish is called a curé), in the Anglican Church, a
curate is always an assistant.
Dean
The
most common meaning of this word in Anglicanism is “a priest who is the
Incumbent of a cathedral, and the most senior priest of a diocese (under the
bishop)”. This title is not to be
confused with academic deans and there are other Anglican officials with dean
in their titles (such as Regional or District Dean) and their most familiar role
is as the administrative heads of cathedrals.
Diocesan
A
bishop in charge of a Diocese and it’s correct to say either the Diocesan or
the diocesan bishop when referring to this office. The Diocesan may also be referred to as the
Ordinary.
Honorary (somethings)
An
Honorary Assistant or Honorary Curate (and a few other variants) indicates an
ordained person who functions as one of the clergy in a parish, but does so on
a voluntary basis. He or she may have
other employment, or be retired from full-time paid ministry, but will preach,
preside, or do pastoral care in the parish without receiving a living wage for
it. The position is almost always official, formally designated as such by
licence or certificate from the Bishop.
In this, honorary appointments in the church essentially mirror academic
practice.
Father
Father
is not actually a title, simply a form of address, a kind of courtesy title.
Incumbent
A technical
term for a member of the clergy who has primary administrative, pastoral, and
liturgical responsibilities in a parish or congregation. Despite its official nature, this term is
seldom used in conversation, and is often unknown among ordinary church
members, who will usually refer to their Incumbent as the Rector.
Lay Canon
A
non-ordained person who is given the honorary title of Canon, usually as a form
of recognition for their leadership in some aspect of the church’s life.
Metropolitan
An
archbishop who presides over a region of the church which may include several
dioceses, bishops, and even archbishops; second only to a Primate in authority
and responsibility. Some Metropolitans
are also Primates, and are officially described as Primate and Metropolitan.
Ministry Developer
In
congregations and districts where the traditional clergy tasks (preaching,
pastoral care, presiding etc) are divided up and done on a voluntary basis by
different individuals (some ordained, some laity), the team leader is often
given the title Ministry Developer. This
person is most often ordained and seminary trained, but need not be, provided
only that he or she is good at enabling teamwork and communicating a rich sense
of the church’s mission.
Ordinand
A
person in the process of being ordained; preparation having been accomplished,
the title exists only on the day of ordination.
Before, during, and after the liturgy, the brand new deacon or priest is
correctly called an ordinand.
Ordinary
In a
diocese or jurisdiction where there are a number of bishops, one of them always
holds primary authority, and is called the Diocesan or, in some jurisdictions,
the Ordinary (always with an uppercase O).
The etymology of ordinary in this context is murky but may relate to this
person’s responsibility for deciding who gets ordained.
In the
Anglican Church of Canada, a bishop who directs Anglican chaplains in the armed
forces is also called the Bishop Ordinary.
This person is not assigned to any particular diocese and the duties of
a Bishop Ordinary cross many diocesan and even national boundaries.
Parson
This is
now an almost colloquial term applied to a member of the Anglican clergy. Historically, in England it was an official
designation for a salaried priest in charge of a parish. The word derives from the Latin persona from which also is derived the
very generic “person.”
Pastor
Although
not a formal title in the Anglican Communion, some clergy find it acceptable,
because it’s more widely understood than Rector or Incumbent. Pastor means shepherd, and is quite suitable
to use for any priest who has pastoral responsibilities.
Postulant
A
person who has been accepted by the bishop as a candidate for ordination and is
in the process of being trained.
Prebendary
An
honorary canon, a title used almost exclusively in the UK. Historically, in England, a prebendary was a
member of the clerical staff of a cathedral or collegiate church; a paid
position whose income derived from specially allocated rents of land
administered by that church, the properties generating such rents was called a
prebend. Although prebend-based income
is now rare (some claim it’s extinct) the honorary title of prebendary is still
England.
Precentor
A
person, usually a member of the clergy, who is responsible for organizing the
liturgy and music of a large church (such as a great cathedral).
Presbyter
Another
word for priest, both from the Ancient Greek πρεσβυτερος (presbuteros) (church elder). There are dense
theological arguments surrounding these words and while all official Anglican
documents and ordination liturgies use priest, there are some places in the
church which use presbyter to refer to this order, the second of the three
basic Anglican orders.
Priest-in-Charge
A person who has the responsibilities and duties of an
Incumbent, but on a temporary basis, the appointment always at the discretion of the bishop.
Primate
A bishop who presides over the Anglican Church in a large
region, or even in an entire country. There will be many dioceses, bishops, and
occasionally some archbishops under a primate’s supervision. The person who holds a comparable position in Scotland is
called Primus and, in the US, the equivalent position is the Presiding Bishop.
Provost
Provost has many meanings in English, used
also to refer to military police or the
principal of a university college. When
applied to a member of the Anglican clergy, the word refers to a priest who is
the Incumbent of a cathedral church. The
more common word for this position is Dean, but in Scotland, Kenya and some smaller countries, the correct title is Provost.
Rector
A priest who has primary administrative, pastoral, and
liturgical responsibilities in a parish or congregation; similar to and sometimes identical with an
Incumbent. Some heads of academic schools are also called Rector but such
officials need not be ordained, or connected with the church.
Regional bishop
A bishop in a large diocese who is one of several bishops,
each having oversight over a specific geographic area of parishes and clergy
within that diocese. This person may be
a coadjutor or a suffragan, or even the Diocesan. Technically, regional bishops can function
anywhere within the diocese, but they have a closer relationship with and more
detailed knowledge of their particular district.
Regional Dean
A priest who has some pastoral and administrative
oversight of a small group of parishes or congregations. This position has less weight than that of an
archdeacon, so there can be several regional deans in an archdeacon’s area of
responsibility. A regional dean is
generally an Incumbent of one of the parishes in his or her Deanery. The titles Rural Dean and District Dean refer
to exactly the same function and of the three
Rural Dean is probably the oldest but is falling from use as the worldwide trend of urbanisation
continues.
Suffragan
A bishop who has been appointed to assist a diocesan
bishop (the Ordinary). In contrast to the position of Coadjutor, a Suffragan is not
automatically the Diocesan’s successor.
Transitional Diaconate
A category of clergy who are ordained deacon in
preparation for being ordained priest.
Clergy in the transitional diaconate tend to spend up to a year serving
as deacons, after which ordination to the priesthood takes place following
further review and inquiry.
Vicar
This has slightly different meanings in various parts of
the Anglican world. In England, a vicar
is a salaried parish priest whereas in the US, they’re a priest responsible either for a mission or for an
institutional chapel (a mission is a congregation that is either recently
founded, or is not capable of being financially self-sustaining; a chapel is a
place of worship in a hospital, or an airport, or a government building). In many places the word vicar can be used for
a priest who is acting in behalf of a senior official who is not present
(similar to the English word, vicarious).
Vocational Diaconate
A category of clergy ordained as deacons who intend to remain so for the rest of their lives,
without being further ordained to the priesthood. The role exists to provide for those who feel
their vocation to be that of
ministry and service, rather than presiding.
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