A faculty is a legal instrument or warrant in canon law, usually an authorisation to do something.

Catholic Church

In the canon law of the Catholic Church, a faculty is "the authority,

privilege Privilege may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Privilege'' (film), a 1967 film directed by Peter Watkins * ''Privilege'' (Ivor Cutler album), 1983 * ''Privilege'' (Television Personalities album), 1990 * ''Privilege (Abridged)'', an alb ...

, or permission, to perform an act or function. In a broad sense, a faculty is a certain power, whether based on one's own right, or received as a favour from another, of validly or lawfully doing some action".

Church of England

In the Church of England (whose canons have the status of national law) the "faculty jurisdiction" is set out in the Care of Churches and Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction Measure 1991, and the Faculty Jurisdiction Rules 2015. A faculty is the required permission to carry out works on the church and its curtilage; in most cases this is required instead of planning permission, although both are required for major external work. The parish has to prepare a petition for the faculty and the chancellor of the diocese may grant the faculty after due consideration. Where the work is listed on Schedule 1 List A, no faculty is required and where it is on List B the faculty may be granted by the

archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that o ...

rather than the chancellor.

References

Canon law Canon law of the Anglican Communion Canon law of the Catholic Church {{law-term-stub