The Church of England. Administrative Structure.
The Church of England consists of two Provinces:
- Canterbury - established by the end of the 6th century by St. Augustine - headed by the Archbishop of Canterbury - the Primate of All England. The Province is divided into 29 dioceses.
- York - headed by the Archbishop of York - the Primate of England. The Province is divided into 14 dioceses.
Each diocese has a cathedral and is headed by a bishop. Each cathedral is taken care of by the dean and the so called chapter consisting of 5 to 6 residential canons. They all live in the cathedral close.
All dioceses are divided into parishes - about 13.000 in the country. Each parish is headed by the parish priest who is helped by curates, rectors, or vicars.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Church of Scotland - The Kirk. Administrative Structure.
There are no bishops in the Church of Scotland. Scotland is divided into 46 regional presbyteries which all consist of about 1500 churches, each under the local control.
Each church has its minister and the elders.
The governing body of the Church of Scotland is the General Assembly elected annually and presided over by the Moderator.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Roman Catholic Church. Administrative Structure.
The Roman Catholic Church in the United Kingdom has 4 archbishops and 14 bishops. The head of the church is the Archbishop of Westminster.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Terminology
|
Anglican |
Catholic |
The Kirk |
Other Nonconformist Churches |
Local unit |
parish |
parish |
congregation |
congregation |
Place of worship |
church |
church |
kirk |
chapel; meeting house (the Quakers) |
Clergy |
vicar/rector/parson; priest; curate (junior member) |
priest |
minister |
minister; pastor |
New member of clergy |
deacon |
novice |
--------------- |
---------------------- |
Residence of clergy |
vicarage; rectory |
manse |
--------------- |
---------------------- |