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108-465: Each of the provinces (usually corresponding to individual world nations ) of the Anglican Communion has a high degree of independence from the other provinces, and each of them have 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 (often termed

216-519: 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 among 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

324-568: A mitre and cope . When presiding at the Eucharist , most Anglican bishops now wear albs , stoles and chasubles . 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

432-551: A rector or pastor at the parish level) and consensus derived by synodical government. At different levels of the church's structure, laity, clergy (priests/pastors and deacons) and bishops meet together with prayer to deliberate over church governance. These gatherings are variously called conferences, synods , general or church-wide conventions, convocations, councils, chapters and vestries . The effect of Henry VIII 's Act in Restraint of Appeals and first Act of Supremacy

540-574: A black tippet . However, at the Eucharist, the revived pre-Reformation vestments of alb , stole , chasuble and occasionally the amice and maniple , are worn in large sections of the Communion. Even in cases where a priest is not presiding at the Eucharist, he or she may wear a surplice or alb with a stole. After bishops, archdeacons are the most senior clergy in dioceses, except in the Church of England and

648-522: A cathedral or collegiate church are sometimes called minor canons . If their main financial income comes from sources other than their work as ministers, they may be termed Self Supporting Ministers (SSM). Since the English Reformation , deacons have been the lowest order of clergy in the Anglican Communion and the Free Church of England : the minor orders (which only came to be clearly defined at

756-527: A certain degree of self-rule. A bishop of such province is called the metropolitan bishop or metropolitan . The Catholic Church (both Latin and Eastern Catholic), the Orthodox Churches and the Anglican Communion all have provinces. These provinces are led by a metropolitan archbishop . Ecclesiastical provinces first corresponded to the civil provinces of the Roman Empire . From the second half of

864-691: A community with shared beliefs. This is the meaning taken in the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures (the Septuagint ), and later adopted by the Christian community to refer to the assembly of believers. In the history of Western world (sometimes more precisely as Greco-Roman world ) adopted by the Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire , Christian ecclesiastical provinces were named by analogy with

972-454: 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. Retired bishops or bishops who are pursuing ministry outside

1080-454: A former 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 pre-Reformation 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

1188-509: A grouping of dioceses within a member church, commonly known as a metropolitical province, metropolitan province, or internal province. The Church of England is divided into two such provinces: Canterbury and York . The Anglican Church of Australia has five provinces: New South Wales , Queensland , South Australia , Victoria and Western Australia , and an extraprovincial diocese of Tasmania . The Anglican Church of Canada has four: British Columbia and Yukon , Canada , Ontario , and

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1296-418: A list of names of persons to be so licensed. In some dioceses or parishes, lay administration is limited to the chalice , and lay administrators may also be permitted to take the consecrated elements from the church to the sick or shut-in to be administered there. In many parts of the Anglican Communion, day to day parish ministry is carried out by catechists. A catechist in most parts of the Anglican Communion

1404-504: 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 to become bishops but have not yet ordained a woman to the episcopate (see Ordination of women in the Anglican Communion ). Anglican bishops are often identified by the purple clergy shirt and cassock they are entitled to wear. However, bishops are permitted to wear other colours, and

1512-465: A number of orders and congregations . This is true of most, though not all, religious communities founded after the year AD 1000, as well as the Augustinians , who date from earlier. A province of a religious institute is typically headed by a provincial superior . The title differs by each institute's tradition (provincial minister for Franciscans ; provincial prior for Dominicans ; provincial for

1620-641: A province. The following are some examples: Historical development of ecclesiastical provinces in the Eastern Orthodox Church was influenced by strong tendencies of internal administrative centralization. Since the First Ecumenical Council (325), the Archbishop of Alexandria was given supreme jurisdiction over all provinces of Egypt. Similar authority was also granted to Archbishop of Antioch regarding jurisdiction over provinces of Orient. Since

1728-606: A range of shared liturgical and ministerial activities. The Free Church of England was founded principally by Evangelical Low Church clergy and congregations in response to what were perceived as attempts (inspired by the Oxford Movement ) to re-introduce traditional Catholic practices into the Church of England, England's established church . The first congregation was formed by the Reverend James Shore at St John's Church Bridgetown , Totnes, Devon, in 1844. In

1836-586: 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 priest without secure tenure but holding a bishop's licence is termed a priest in charge , temporary curate or bishop's curate . In the rest of the Anglican Communion, most parish priests are called rectors or incumbents. However, in some member churches where mission societies have been instrumental in their continuing development, parish priests are called chaplains . In some provinces, such as

1944-410: A valid sacrament) and the legal authority to perform the sacrament (i.e. a licit sacrament). An extraordinary minister has the spiritual power but may only perform the sacrament in certain special instances under canon law (i.e. emergencies). If a person who is neither an ordinary nor an extraordinary minister attempts to perform a sacrament, no preternatural effect happens (i.e. the putative sacrament

2052-452: A wide range of non-parochial ministry. The responsibilities of deacons involve assisting at worship - particularly setting up the altar for the Eucharist and reading the Gospel . They are also accorded responsibility for pastoral care and community outreach, in keeping with their traditional role of manifesting the church in the world. So-called vocational deacons are individuals ordained with

2160-690: 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, of diocesan rank and below, are styled the Right Reverend ; more senior bishops and archbishops are styled as the Most Reverend . Most bishops oversee a diocese , some are consecrated to assist diocesan bishops in large or busy dioceses, and some are relieved of diocesan responsibilities so they can minister more widely (especially primates who concentrate on leading

2268-426: A year in the diaconate — they are transitional deacons . The term is somewhat misleading since the order is never superseded — all priests are also deacons and occasionally act in this role in worship. Most deacons serve as assistant curates in parish churches , a ministry that usually continues into their ordination to the priesthood. Some deacons serve as minor canons in cathedrals or as assistant chaplains in

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2376-672: Is John Fenwick . Dr Fenwick also acts as Bishop Primus, an office that is elected annually at Convocation. Churches in the Northern Diocese are located in the northern half of England, alongside Wales, Scotland and the Isle of Man, with a majority of these congregations in the Lancashire area. These churches include a congregation which worships in Farsi. The current Bishop of the Southern Diocese

2484-622: Is Paul Hunt. Churches in the Southern Diocese are located in the southern half of England. In January 2013 it was announced that the Church of England had recognised the holy orders of the Free Church of England. This move followed approximately three years of contact between the bishops of the Free Church of England, the Council for Christian Unity and the Faith and Order Commission. The recognition

2592-448: Is a priest who represents a bishop on particular issues or in regions outside of the bishop's country. Historically, parish clergy 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

2700-498: Is a primate without metropolitical authority over the dioceses of the church. The majority of bishops in the Anglican Communion are the spiritual, pastoral, and executive 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 others quite small: the Diocese of Cyprus and

2808-460: Is an independent foundation, but will often choose to group themselves into congregations based on historical connections. Free Church of England The Free Church of England ( FCE ) is an Episcopal Church based in England. The church was founded when a number of congregations separated from the established Church of England in the middle of the 19th century. The doctrinal basis of

2916-508: 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 styled the Reverend , and many male priests are called Father . Some senior priests have other titles. Many member churches ordain women to

3024-736: Is in communion with the Reformed Episcopal Church , which itself is now a subjurisdiction of the Anglican Church in North America . Within the UK the FCE is a member of the Free Churches Group and Churches Together in England . From 1992 to 1997 the FCE was in official dialogue with the Church of England, which the 1998 Lambeth Conference saw as a sign of hope. It is a Designated Church under

3132-517: Is no priest, and throughout the week, the catechist rings the bell that calls people to Morning and Evening Prayer. In most villages, the catechist also works with youth, educates parents and godparents for the Baptism of their children, rehearses those to be confirmed, and many other duties. Some dioceses have training centres for catechists, in some dioceses catechists are trained by priests or by more experienced catechists. Most catechists also assist in

3240-486: Is not merely illicit, but invalid). In the Anglican Communion , the following are ministers of the sacraments ("clergy" refers to either a deacon, priest, or bishop): The churches of the Anglican Communion maintain the historical episcopate , which ordains clergy into the three orders of deacon , priest and bishop . Bishops provide the leadership for the Anglican Communion and the Free Church of England in accordance with episcopal polity . All bishops, constituting

3348-654: Is often one of the metropolitans. 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 in 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

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3456-417: 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 both

3564-402: Is someone who is licensed by the bishop on recommendation of the priest and local church council. A century ago, a catechist was a teacher paid by the Church, today a village catechist is primarily a pastor in the village. In most parts of the Anglican Communion, the priest comes for Holy Communion only when it is possible. The Catechist organises and conducts worship services on Sundays when there

3672-538: Is that the ministry is considered too specialised or otherwise extraordinary to be carried out in the absence of individual evaluation and recommendation. There is variation across jurisdictions, but there are four common areas. 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 First Council of Nicaea , which agreed with this view). Deaconesses disappeared completely from

3780-464: The Reverend . Most archdeacons oversee a part of a diocese called an archdeaconry in conjunction with their parish responsibilities, although some may hold the title in association with specific administrative responsibilities. For example, in certain dioceses, an "executive archdeacon" assists the bishop in certain administrative functions while not holding a parish appointment. Archdeacons are episcopal vicars, which means that they are responsible for

3888-515: The All , respectively. 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

3996-596: 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

4104-487: 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. For many, being an Anglican means being in communion with the Archbishop of Canterbury. 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. As well as being primus inter pares ,

4212-505: The Church in Wales and 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, with the exception of the Church in Wales collegiate church of St Mary's Church, Swansea , which has a bishop's throne. Other member churches of the Anglican Communion have much simpler cathedral arrangements. Most other cathedrals are also parish churches. In

4320-650: The Church of England 's Ecumenical Relations Measure 1988. FCE bishops have attended the enthronements of George Carey , Rowan Williams and Justin Welby as Archbishops of Canterbury . Since 2013, the Free Church of England has been in dialogue with the conservative Old Catholics of the Union of Scranton ; former FCE Deacon Calvin Robinson sought ordination in the Union of Scranton's Nordic Catholic Church while minister-in-charge at

4428-511: The Church of the Province of West Africa , have the word "province" in their names. These member churches are known as "provinces of the Anglican Communion", and are headed by a primate , who is usually also styled archbishop, but may have an alternative title such as primus (for example, the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church ), presiding bishop , or moderator . The word is also used to refer to

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4536-503: 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 the 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 are usually ordained priests after about

4644-488: The Eastern Catholic Churches , the patriarchal or major archiepiscopal Churches may also be divided into ecclesial provinces, each headed by a metropolitan. The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church has several , two of them in the United States and Canada. Some other Eastern Catholic Churches of a lower category and generally less populous, are known as metropolitanates . They are headed by a single metropolitan,

4752-542: The Episcopal Church in 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. After ordination most clergy serve as assistants to parish priests before taking up a lead post in a parish. As they share the cure of souls with the parish priest they are often known as assistant curates , although in many places they are colloquially known simply as "curates" in distinction from

4860-511: The Fourth Ecumenical Council (451), Patriarch of Constantinople was given the right to consecrate metropolitan bishops in all regions that were placed under his supreme jurisdiction. In time, previous administrative autonomy of original ecclesiastical provinces was gradually and systematically reduced in favor of patriarchal centralization. Ancient practice of annual councils of provincial bishops, headed by their local metropolitans,

4968-536: The Latin Church is reserved to the Holy See . There are exceptions to these rules: The authority of a Latin Church metropolitan over the other sees within his province is now very limited. During a vacancy in a suffragan diocese, the metropolitan names a temporary diocesan administrator if the college of Consultors of the diocese fails to elect one within the prescribed period. A metropolitan generally presides at

5076-589: The Northern Lights . The Church of Ireland has two: Armagh and Dublin . The Episcopal Church in the United States of America (ECUSA) numbers, rather than names, its nine provinces . In all cases apart from ECUSA each metropolitan or internal province is headed by a metropolitan bishop with the title archbishop. The Evangelical State Church in Prussia , formed in 1821 (renamed: Evangelical State Church in Prussia's older Provinces in 1875, Evangelical Church of

5184-728: The Puritan ascendency in England briefly introduced a parallel presbyterian polity, Anglicanism worldwide is defined in part by the historic structure, although outside the British Isles it has no supreme governor. According to the Roman Catholic Church the Anglican Church has neither valid priests nor valid bishops as per the papal bull of 1896 (Apostolicae Curae), all Anglican orders are "absolutely null and utterly void". In recent years, due to increasing theological differences within

5292-453: The archdiocese (or archeparchy ), headed by a metropolitan bishop or archbishop who has ecclesiastical jurisdiction over all other bishops of the province. In the Greco-Roman world , ecclesia ( Ancient Greek : ἐκκλησία ; Latin : ecclesia ) was used to refer to a lawful assembly, or a called legislative body . As early as Pythagoras , the word took on the additional meaning of

5400-452: The 2nd century, the bishops of these provinces were accustomed to assemble on important occasions for common counsel in synods . From the end of that century the summons to attend these increasingly important synods was usually issued by the bishop of the capital or metropolis of the province, who also presided over the assembly, especially in the East. Important communications were also forwarded to

5508-466: The Anglican Church of Canada and Southern Africa where the dean of the cathedral church is the senior priest in the diocese. Archdeacons are usually priests, but deacons also occasionally serve as archdeacons (for example, when women have not been allowed to be ordained priests or when a deacon is given administrative responsibility over other deacons). Archdeacons are usually styled the Venerable instead of

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5616-518: 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 but not priests or bishops. Certain laypeople may receive specific commission or authorisation from a bishop (often on recommendation of a parish or its clergy) to perform certain aspects of ministry. The rationale for licensing

5724-450: The Anglican Communion, there have been a number of instances of " valid but irregular " ordinations performed by clergy acting outside the normal authority structures of the church. Under the Overseas and Other Clergy (Ministry and Ordination) Measure 1967 the Church of England "recognizes and accepts" as valid the orders of two churches which, although Anglican in identity, are not members of

5832-519: The Anglican Communion: the Church of England in South Africa and the Free Church of England . In Anglican sacramental theology , certain ministerial functions can only be performed by individuals ordained into one or more of the three holy orders . There are two kinds of ministers in this sense. The ordinary minister of a sacrament has both the spiritual power to perform the sacrament (i.e.

5940-470: 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

6048-790: The Augustinians, simply "provincial" or "provincial father" for the Jesuits and many others, for instance). The borders of a religious institute's provinces are determined independently of any diocesan structure, and so the borders often differ from the 'secular', or diocesan, ecclesiastical provinces. The orders' provinces are usually far larger than a diocese, a secular province, or even a country, though sometimes they are smaller in an institute's heartland . Most monastic orders are not organized by provinces. In general, they organise their administration through autonomous houses, in some cases grouped in larger families. For example, each Benedictine abbey

6156-521: The Christian West as in the East. It was only after the 5th century that such gradually developed, mostly in accordance with the ancient divisions of the Roman Empire. In Italy alone, on account of the central ecclesiastical position of Rome, this development was slower. However, at the end of antiquity the existence of church provinces as the basis of ecclesiastical administration was fairly universal in

6264-401: The Church of England since 2013. The provision of contemporary language liturgies has been approved by Convocation and a process of drafting and authorisation has begun. The church has continued to ordain bishops in the apostolic succession , with Moravian , Church of England and Malabar Independent Syrian Church bishops taking part on occasion. The united Church enjoyed modest growth in

6372-414: The Church of England there are nearly as many Readers as there are ordained clergy. In many Church of England dioceses, Readers are better known as "Licensed Lay Ministers (Readers)" or, more informally, as "Licensed Lay Ministers". Licensed lay administrators may be authorised by a bishop to assist in the distribution of Holy Communion. Normally the parish priest submits to the bishop at regular intervals

6480-403: The Church of England, subject to such procedures and authorisations as may be required. A number have been so authorised while remaining clergy of the FCE in good standing. The measure also permits FCE bishops to ordain and perform other episcopal functions at the request of the bishop of a diocese in the provinces of Canterbury and York, subject to the consent of the relevant archbishop. The FCE

6588-530: The Dioceses in New Zealand. In 2006, Katharine Jefferts Schori was elected Presiding Bishop in the United States of America; she is the first woman to become a primate in the Anglican Communion. 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

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6696-680: The FCE again in April 2023 ), Middlesbrough (which eventually closed in 2021) and Oswaldtwistle . Leigh-on-Sea returned to the FCE in 2023. Two churches in Farnham and Teddington having become independent altogether, the ECFCE currently has four churches in Fleetwood , Leeds , Tuebrook (Liverpool) and Workington . The Church holds a threefold ministry of deacons , presbyters and bishops and only ordains men. Its orders have been recognised as valid by

6804-468: The FCE made contact with the newly organised Reformed Episcopal Church in North America. In 1956, the FCE published a revision of the Book of Common Prayer to form the primary text of the denomination's liturgy. The stated intention of the revision was to remove or explain "particular phrases and expressions" from the Church of England's 1662 edition of the prayer book that "afford at least plausible ground for

6912-684: The FCE's Christ Church, Harlesden. The FCE has been involved in the realignments within the Anglican Communion . In 2009 the church was represented at the launch of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (UK and Ireland), the local expression of the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) movement inaugurated the previous year in Jerusalem . The FCE has been represented at the subsequent GAFCON Conferences – Nairobi (2013), Jerusalem (2018) and Kigali (2023). Its bishops are members of

7020-415: The FCE, together with its Episcopal structures, organisation, worship, ministry and ethos are recognisably Anglican although it is not a member of the Anglican Communion . Its worship style follows that of the Book of Common Prayer or conservative modern-language forms that belong to the Anglican tradition. The Church of England acknowledges the FCE as a church with valid orders and its canons permit

7128-411: The GAFCON GBE Bishops’ Forum and the Bishop Primus is a member of the GAFCON GBE Regional Council. In February 2016, Foley Beach , Archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America , signed an Instrument declaring the Anglican Church in North America to be in full communion with the Free Church of England, and recognising "their congregations, clergy, and sacraments, while pledging to work together for

7236-487: The Gospel." Christopher Hill , Bishop of Guildford and chair of the Church of England's Council for Christian Unity, said: "I hope there will be good relations between us and especially in those places where there is a Free Church of England congregation." Recognition of the orders of the Free Church of England under the Overseas and Other Clergy (Ministry and Ordination) Measure 1967 means that FCE clergy are eligible to be given permission under that measure to officiate in

7344-447: 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 . In larger or more populous dioceses, diocesan bishops may be assisted by one or more junior bishops. Where

7452-399: 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 styled the Very Reverend , while canons and prebendaries (but not minor canons) are styled the Reverend Canon or Prebendary . In many provinces of the Communion,

7560-424: The West. In the Carolingian period they were reorganized, and have retained their place ever since. In the Catholic Church , a province consists of a metropolitan archdiocese and one or more (1-13) suffragan dioceses headed by diocesan bishops or territorial prelatures and missions sui iuris. The archbishop of the metropolitan see is the metropolitan of the province. The delimitation of church provinces in

7668-485: 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

7776-537: The ancient practice by creating internal ecclesiastical provinces on the middle (regional) level of church administration. In the Romanian Orthodox Church there are six regional metropolitanates, headed by local metropolitans who preside over regional synods of local bishops, and have special duties and privileges. For example, the Metropolitan of Oltenia has regional jurisdiction over four local dioceses. On

7884-408: The bishop from among the parish clergy in the deanery to act as a vehicle of communication between the parishes of the deanery and the archdeacons and bishops, and to facilitate collegiality among his or her colleagues through regular meetings (often called the clericus or chapter ). Regional and rural deans have no special title, and generally hold the appointment on a rotating basis. A commissary

7992-423: The bishop of the provincial capital to be brought to the notice of the other bishops. Thus in the East during the 3rd century the bishop of the provincial metropolis came gradually to occupy a certain superior position, and received the name of metropolitan. At the First Council of Nicaea (325) this position of the metropolitan was taken for granted, and was made the basis for conceding to him definite rights over

8100-429: The church have relaxed the official rules about lay ministry. Clergy often see their role as officiant and teach that the congregation are the ministers both in worship and through their daily work. In some churches lay people commonly take on the role of lay-reader as above, and as well perform some of the other functions listed below without necessarily being identified as such by either title or vestments. Assistants to

8208-483: The distribution of Holy Communion when the priest comes to a village for celebration. In some parishes, a catechist also distributes Holy Communion with elements previously consecrated by the priest. Lay people assist in the execution of the liturgy of divine services in numerous ways, as musicians, readers of the lections (not to be confused with "lay readers," above), intercessory leaders, and ushers (often called sidesmen or sidespeople). For many years some parts of

8316-613: The early years, clergy were often provided by the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion which had its origins in the 18th-century Evangelical Revival . By the middle of the 19th century, the Connexion still retained many Anglican features such as the use of the surplice and the Book of Common Prayer . The first Bishop was Benjamin Price , who initially had oversight of all the new congregations. In 1874

8424-567: The first metropolitan appears during the 4th century, the Bishop of Carthage being recognized as primate of the dioceses of Northern Africa; metropolitans of the separate provinces gradually appear, although the boundaries of these provinces did not coincide with the divisions of the empire. A similar development was witnessed in Spain , Gaul , and Italy . The migration of the nations, however, prevented an equally stable formation of ecclesiastical provinces in

8532-530: The first part of the 20th century, having at one point 90 congregations, but after the Second World War , like most other denominations in the UK, suffered a decline in numbers, though there has been a modest increase in the number of congregations in recent years. The UK churches are located across two dioceses, the Northern Diocese and the Southern Diocese . The current Bishop of the Northern Diocese

8640-448: The hierarch of a fixed episcopal see , As head of an autonomous Church, his name is mentioned in the liturgy of that Church immediately after that of the Pope and, in suffragan eparchies, ahead of that of the local hierarch. The borders of provinces have often been inspired, or even determined, by historical or present political borders ; the same is often true of diocesan borders within

8748-403: The incumbent, and their term of appointment as an assistant is known as a curacy. Some assistant clergy 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 often known as associate priests. Junior clergy in

8856-466: The installation and consecration of a new bishop in the province. The tribunal of the metropolitan see generally serves as the first court of appeal regarding canonical matters of provincial diocesan tribunals. The metropolitan's insignia is the pallium. The article in the Catholic Encyclopedia of 1911 on metropolitan shows that the metropolitan then had scarcely any more power than now. In

8964-425: The intent of staying in the order rather than seeking the priesthood. Such deacons often have secular careers. In these cases, the vocational deacon has the same responsibilities as their transitional colleagues but without the element of apprenticeship. Many vocational deacons have careers in the social services, where they can manifest their particular ministry of care and outreach. Since different member churches of

9072-447: 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,

9180-477: The liturgy (the other two being the presider or celebrant — a priest or bishop — and the deacon). He or she is responsible for reading the Epistle (or other non-Gospel New Testament passage, normally the "second reading"), and assisting in specific ways in the setting up of the altar and other aspects of the liturgy. Unlike the other laypeople serving in the chancel , who will usually be attired in an alb or cassock ,

9288-408: 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

9396-426: The old-Prussian Union in 1922), had ecclesiastical provinces (Kirchenprovinzen) as administrative subsections mostly following the boundaries of those political Provinces of Prussia which formed part of the state before 1866, with some border changes after 1920 following WWI territorial cessions. The term province , or occasionally religious province , also refers to a geographical and administrative subdivision in

9504-535: The other bishops and dioceses of the state province. In Eastern canon law since the 4th century (cf. also the Synod of Antioch of 341, can. ix), it was a principle that every civil province was likewise a church province under the supreme direction of the metropolitan, i.e. of the bishop of the provincial capital. This division into ecclesiastical provinces did not develop so early in the Western Empire. In North Africa

9612-517: 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 styled 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 Bangor for example). The primate

9720-421: The other hand, a majority of Eastern Orthodox Churches remain and function as highly centralized church bodies, each of them functioning as a single ecclesiastical province. Member churches of the Anglican Communion are often referred to as provinces . Some provinces are coterminous with the boundaries of political states, some include multiple nations while others include only parts of a nation. Some, such as

9828-455: The pastoral and practical management of the diocese within their archdeaconry or specific area of responsibility. 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 styled the Very Reverend . Each diocese has

9936-404: The priesthood. There is as yet no widely used alternative title to "Father" for female priests, though many utilize “Mother.” Priests traditionally wear a (usually) black cassock or clergy shirt - although many now wear clergy shirts in other colours. In worship, the traditional vesture for Anglican priests is their choir dress of cassock , surplice , academic hood (if one has been awarded) and

10044-418: 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). In recent years,

10152-400: The province they lead (like the Archbishop of Nigeria ). The Scottish Episcopal Church uniquely calls its primate Primus . Other churches have followed the example of the Episcopal Church in 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

10260-524: 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 Toronto has suffragans assisting him by providing certain delegated duties in four different geographical divisions. Sometimes

10368-467: The sacred ministers may form a distinct category of altar servers , often organised into a guild. Their liturgical responsibilities include some or all of the following: A distinct kind of assistant at the altar in services of the Eucharist (although he or she may be coincidentally ordained), especially in Anglo-Catholic worship, is the subdeacon . The subdeacon is one of the three sacred ministers of

10476-431: The secular Roman province as well as certain extraterritorial formations of the western world in early medieval times (see Early Middle Ages ). The administrative seat of each province is an episcopal see . In hierarchical Christian churches that have dioceses, a province is a collection of those dioceses (as a basic unit of administration). Over the years certain provinces adopted the status of metropolis and have

10584-624: The sick. The essential ministry of personal or lifestyle evangelism is a role carried out by many Anglicans among their family, neighbours, friends and associates, demonstrating in practical ways the healing nature of God. Ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian churches , including those of both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity , that have traditional hierarchical structures. An ecclesiastical province consists of several dioceses (or eparchies ), one of them being

10692-505: The sixteenth century as a church of the Reformation , it nonetheless maintained the historic church structure, including the maintenance of the threefold order of the ministry, with bishops, consecrated in apostolic succession , ordaining deacons, and priests. Thus, Anglican ordained ministry resembles that found in churches of the Catholic tradition (see Minister (Catholic Church) ). While

10800-455: The subdeacon wears a tunicle , a vestment distinct to the office, over the alb, sometimes with a maniple . Laypeople perform a variety of ministries outside the context of worship — indeed, it is an article of Anglican belief that the Christian initiatory rite of baptism enables each believer to fulfil ministries specific to their skills and talents. Such ministry may include administration, teaching, finances, hospitality, childcare and visiting

10908-584: The teaching and practice of the Sacerdotal and Romanising Party". In 2003, due to differences in theology and practice, two Bishops and ten congregations split from the main Church and formed the Evangelical Connexion of the Free Church of England. Despite its name, the body is not part of the official denomination. Three of these congregations returned to the FCE – those in Exeter (which subsequently left

11016-451: The title of "canon" is a gift of the bishop, which may be given to senior or distinguished clergy — and in some cases, to laypeople ("lay canons"). Many Anglican dioceses group parishes within an archdeaconry into subdivisions known as deaneries. To distinguish them from the posts of cathedral deans they are often called rural deaneries , regional deaneries , or area deaneries , led by rural, regional, or area deans. These are appointed by

11124-461: The usual episcopal ministry are usually licensed as honorary assistant bishops within a diocese ( Stephen Sykes , the former Bishop of Ely who was Principal of St John's College, Durham , was also an honorary assistant bishop in Durham). The overwhelming majority of ordained ministers in the Anglican Communion and the Free Church of England are priests (also called presbyters ). Priestly ministry

11232-466: Was also abandoned in favor of centralized councils, headed by patriarchs and attended by metropolitan bishops. The creation of new autonomous and autocephalous jurisdictions was also marked by tendencies of internal centralization. The newly created Archbishopric of Ohrid (1018) was structured as a single ecclesiastical province, headed by an archbishop who had jurisdiction over all of his suffragan bishops. In 1219, autocephalous Serbian Orthodox Church

11340-464: Was also organized as one ecclesiastical province, headed by an archbishop with direct jurisdiction over all Serbian bishops. By the end of Middle Ages , each autocephalous and autonomous church in Eastern Orthodoxy was functioning as a single, internally integrated ecclesiastical province, headed by a local patriarch or archbishop. Only in modern times, some Eastern Orthodox Churches have revived

11448-464: Was approved by the Council for Christian Unity and the Faith and Order Advisory Commission, and endorsed by the standing committee of the House of Bishops. John McLean, the then Bishop Primus of the Free Church of England, said: "We are grateful to the archbishops for this recognition of our common episcopal heritage. I pray that it will not be an end in itself, but will lead to new opportunities for proclaiming

11556-447: 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. 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: In

11664-465: Was to establish royal authority in all matters spiritual and temporal, even assigning the power of ecclesiastical visitation over the Church in the English Realm. Queen Elizabeth I , while declining the title of Supreme Head, was declared to be "Supreme Governor of this realm ... as well in all spiritual or ecclesiastical things or causes as temporal". Thus, although the Church of England was regarded in

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