Structure of the Church of England

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 678.

The church is structured as follows (from the lowest level upwards):

· Parish – the most local level, often consisting of one church building and community, although nowadays many parishes are joining forces in a variety of ways for financial reasons. The parish will be looked after by a parish priest who for various historical or legal reasons may also be called vicar, rector or the “incumbent”.

· Deanery, e.g., Lewisham, or Runnymede. This is the area for which a rural dean is responsible. It will consist of a number of parishes in a particular district. The rural dean will usually be the incumbent of one of the constituent parishes.

· Archdeaconry, e.g., Dorking. This is the area under the jurisdiction of an archdeacon. It will consist of a number of deaneries.

· Diocese, e.g., Diocese of Durham, Diocese of Guildford, Diocese of St Albans. This is the area under the jurisdiction of a diocesan bishop, e.g., the Bishops of Durham, Guildford and St Albans, and will have a cathedral. There may also be one or more assisting bishops, usually called suffragan bishops, within the diocese.

· Province, i.e., York or Canterbury (these are the only two in the Church of England). This is the area under the jurisdiction of an archbishop, i.e. the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. A province is subdivided into dioceses.

· Primacy, i.e., Church of England. In addition to his specific authority in his own province, each archbishop is “Primate of All England” (Canterbury) or “Primate of England” (York) and has certain powers that extend over the whole country.

Outside this hierarchy lies the Royal Peculiar,a small number of churches that are more closely associated with the Crown, and a very few with the law. These are outside episcopal jurisdiction. There are also a number of local churches which do not have a parish.