ECCLESIASTICAL LAW 



2782 



ECCLESIASTICAL LAW 



consecrated. An archbishop is en- 

 throned, whereas a bishop is in- 

 stalled. A bishop is in legal docu- 

 ments often styled the ordinary, 

 because he is the judge in ecclesias- 

 tical cases, having ordinary juris- 

 diction in his own right, and not by 

 way of delegation or as deputy. In 

 England the bishops of London, 

 Durham, and Winchester have 

 seats in the House of Lords, to- 

 gether with twenty-one other 

 bishops, who are summoned in 

 order of seniority. 



The other orders of the clergy 

 are priests and deacons, who are 

 ordained by a bishop and receive a 

 certificate called letters of orders. 

 Only a priest can have a cure of 

 souls, which is committed to the 

 incumbent of the parish. The ap- 

 pointment of the incumbent, who 

 is called the vicar or rector as the 

 case may be, is by the presentation 

 of the patron of the living ; fol- 

 lowed by institution, by which the 

 bishop entrusts him with the 

 spiritual care of the parish ; and in- 

 duction, which invests him with the 

 emoluments of the benefice. After 

 institution, the incumbent can offi- 

 ciate in any consecrated building in 

 ( the parish, and no other clergyman 

 ! may do so without his consent, ex- 

 cept under certain statutory provi- 

 sions. An incumbent is like a tenant 

 for life in respect of the property 

 belonging to the benefice. 



Bights of Incumbents 

 He may cut timber for repairs, 

 grant leases of, or sell, the glebe 

 under certain conditions. He is 

 liable for dilapidations of the 

 vicarage house and buildings. He 

 has possession and a limited owner- 

 ship of .the church and churchyard, 

 but in many parishes a lay rector 

 has certain proprietary rights in 

 the chancel. He is entitled to the 

 custody of 'the keys of the church, 

 the registers of baptisms, marriages 

 and burials, and has a general con- 

 trol over the organist and choir, the 

 sexton and the bellringers. He ap- 

 points the curate, and by custom 

 chooses one of the churchwardens, 

 the other being elected by the par- 

 ishioners at the Easter vestry. As a 

 rule no one can be ordained priest 

 until he has served as a deacon for 

 the period of a year. The functions 

 of a deacon are, generally speaking, 

 the same as those of a priest, but he 

 cannot have a cure of souls, nor 

 may he consecrate or administer 

 the Holy Communion. He may 

 conduct morning and evening 

 prayer, the services of baptism and 

 of burial, and assist at the service 

 of Holy Communion. He may also 

 preach. And, if required, he may 

 solemnise a marriage, though it is 

 more regular for a priest to do so. 

 No one can be ordained deacon 



under the age of twenty-three, un- 

 less he has special permission from 

 the archbishop of Canterbury. 



The vestry is the council of the 

 parish that deals with ecclesiastical 

 matters. The right to attend and 

 vote at a vestry meeting belongs 

 to every parishioner of either sex 

 whose name is registered in the 

 rate book. The incumbent, or the 

 clergyman acting for the incum- 

 bent, is the chairman of a vestry 

 meeting, and he has a casting vote, 

 if the votes are equal. The church- 

 wardens are appointed annually at 

 a meeting of the vestry, generally 

 in Easter week. 



Duties of Churchwardens 



In an ancient parishj churchwar- 

 dens must be resident in the parish- 

 In the statutory parishes, the 

 churchwardens are required to be 

 "fit and proper persons," and must 

 be members of the Church of Eng- 

 land. The general duties of the 

 churchwardens are the custody and 

 care of the church property in the 

 parish. Collections made in church 

 " for church purposes " are under 

 their control, but the offertories at 

 Holy Communion are to be disposed 

 of "to such pious and charitable 

 uses as the minister and church- 

 wardens shall think fit " ; in case of 

 disagreement, the bishop decides. 

 They must provide the necessaries 

 for divine service, maintain order 

 daring its performance, and see 

 that the church and churchyard 

 are kept in a proper condition. 

 The churchwardens have a right to 

 arrange in what seats the congrega- 

 tion shall sit. They have no right 

 of access to the church, chancel, or 

 belfry without the consent of the 

 incumbent, but if permission is 

 refused on fitting occasions their 

 remedy is by way of application or 

 complaint to the bishop. It is the 

 duty of the churchwardens to use 

 all reasonable means for providing 

 the necessary funds for church 

 expenses with the assistance of 

 the incumbent. After churchwar- 

 dens are appointed at the Easter 

 vestry, they appear at the next 

 visitation of the bishop or arch- 

 deacon and are formally admitted 

 to the office. 



Parish clerks and sextons in an- 

 cient parishes are appointed ac- 

 cording to custom for life, but may 

 be removed from office for serious 

 misconduct. 



In some parishes the parish clerk 

 also performs the duties of sexton, 

 digging the graves and ringing the 

 bell. In statutory parishes, created 

 under the Church Building Acts, the 

 clerk is appointed annually ; but in 

 parishes under the New Parishes 

 Acts he is appointed for an inde- 

 finite period by the incumbent, who 

 can dismiss him, with the consent of 



the bishop, for misconduct. A 

 clergyman may be appointed parish 

 clerk, but he must be licensed by 

 the bishop in the same way as a 

 stipendiary curate, and the licence 

 may be revoked subject to the 

 right of appeal. Parish clerks and 

 sextons are usually paid a small 

 salary, and they are entitled to 

 fees on marriages and burials. 



The endowments for the mainten- 

 ance of the clergy are derived princi- 

 pally from voluntary gifts made for 

 the purpose in ancient as well as in 

 statutory parishes. They consist 

 chiefly of tithes, glebe lands, and 

 funded property. A large portion 

 of these are administered by the 

 Ecclesiastical Commissioners (q.v. ), 

 who pay the income of the clergy 

 out of the funds at their disposal. 

 In many parishes the collections on 

 Easter Day are given to the incum- 

 bent. There are also fees payable 

 to the clergy on marriages and 

 burials. The fees on baptism have 

 been abolished. In every parish a 

 register must be provided in which 

 all baptisms are to be recorded by 

 the incumbent or officiating mini- 

 ster, and a copy of the entries must 

 be sent each year to the registrar of 

 the diocese by the churchwardens. 

 The entry is evidence in law as to 

 the names and condition of the 

 parents, but not as to age. 

 Ecclesiastical Courts 



There are ecclesiastical courts in 

 the various dioceses in England and 

 Wales in which the judge is called 

 the chancellor. These courts have 

 both civil and criminal jurisdiction 

 over ecclesiastical matters within 

 the diocese. In civil sirts petitions 

 are presented for a faculty or licence 

 to make alterations in the church 

 or churchyard, and a citation is 

 posted at the door of the church 

 which gives notice of the pro- 

 posed alterations to the parishioners 

 so that they may have an oppor- 

 tunity of bringing any objection 

 they may have before the court. 

 The criminal jurisdiction is exer- 

 cised when an offence against the 

 ecclesiastical law has been com- 

 mitted. 



Bibliography. Ecclesiastical Law. 

 Richard Burn, 9th ed. R. Philli- 

 more, 1842; The Ecclesiastical Law 

 of the Church of England, R. J. 

 Phillimore, 2nd ed. W. G. F. Philli- 

 more and C. F. Jemmett, 1895; 

 Practical Guide to the Duties of 

 Churchwardens; C. G. Prideaux, 

 16th ed. F. C. Mackarness, 1895; 

 The Book of Church Law, J. H. 

 Blunt, 9th ed. W. G. F. Phillimore 

 and G. Edwardes Jones, 1901 ; The 

 Legal Position of the Clergy, P. V. 

 Smith, 1905 ; Church Law, B. White- 

 head 3rd ed. 1911 ; A Summary of 

 the Law aud Practice in Ecclesias- 

 tical Courts, T. Eustace Smith, 6th 

 ed. 1911. 



