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In the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church, a Rural Dean presides over a Rural Deanery (more commonly simply referred to as a Deanery). See also Anglicanism The Anglican Communion is an international association of national Anglican churches Deanery is an ecclesiastical entity in both the Catholic Church and the Church of England.

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Origins and usage

The term arose from the monastic practice of organizing monks in very large monasteries into groups of ten, headed by a decanus, a senior monk among the ten. The term then came to be used for clerics in various positions of seniority. Rural deans were appointed to oversee sections of a diocese far removed from the bishop, who was located in the large city of the area. Although once universal, the title has been legally altered to Area Dean in certain urban Anglican dioceses where the older version had become an archaic oddity. In the Roman Catholic Church, such clerics are usually just referred to as a dean.

Anglican deans

In the Anglican Church, the rural dean is an officer of the bishop and, together with an elected layperson, chairs the deanery synod. A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight A synod (also known as a council) is a council of a church, usually a Christian church convened to decide an issue of doctrine administration or application In this capacity, the rural dean also participates in decisions affecting a benefice within the deanery. Originally a benefice was a gift of land ( Precaria) for life as a reward for services rendered The Rural Dean's key roles include the care of parishes (within his/her Deanery) which are in interregnum, calling and chairing meetings of the Deanery Chapter (assembly of all licensed priests and deacons within the Deanery), co-chairing meetings of the Deanery Synod (elected representatives of every parish in the Deanery), caring for the clergy of the Deanery, providing a means of communication between the parishes and the Bishop of the Diocese, and carrying out a Visitation of any parish within the Deanery on behalf of the Archdeacon, when commissioned to do so. A priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites in particular rites of sacrifice to and propitiation of a deity or deities Deacon is a role in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind but which varies among theological and denominational traditions A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight In many rites of the Roman Catholic Church and in Anglican churches, a diocese is an administrative territorial unit administered by a Bishop. A position of archdeacon is a senior position in Anglicanism, Syrian Malabar Nasrani, and in some other Christian denominations above that of most As the 'rural' prefix has appeared incongruous in some more urban zones, the term 'Area Dean' has officially replaced 'Rural Dean' in certain Dioceses.

Roman Catholic deans

In the Catholic Church, a dean or rural dean is a priest, usually pastor of a parish within the deanery area. The dean serves as a liaison between the diocesan bishop and the priests and parishes of the deanery, and chairs meetings of the clergy of the deanery. He serves many of the same functions, with somewhat less canonical authority, that an an episcopal vicar does. A vicar general (often abbreviated VG) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority


See also

References

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