In English

ecclesiastical law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is t ...

, the term incumbent refers to the holder of a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...

parochial charge or

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

. The term "benefice" originally denoted a grant of land for life in return for services. In church law, the duties were spiritual ("

spiritualities Spiritualities is a term, often used in the Middle Ages, that refers to the income sources of a diocese or other ecclesiastical establishment that came from tithes. It also referred to income that came from other religious sources, such as offerings ...

") and some form of assets to generate revenue (the " temporalities") were permanently linked to the duties to ensure the support of the office holder. Historically, once in possession of the benefice, the holder had lifelong tenure unless he failed to provide the required minimum of spiritual services or committed a moral offence. With the passing of the "Pastoral Measure 1968" and subsequent legislation, this no longer applies, and many ancient benefices have been joined into a single new one. At one time, an incumbent might choose to enjoy the income of the benefice and appoint an assistant

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy ...

to discharge all the spiritual duties of the office at a lesser salary. This was a breach of the canons of 1604, but the abuse was only brought under control with the passing in 1838 of the ''Pluralities Act'' (1&2 Victoria, ch. 106), which required residence unless the diocesan bishop granted a licence for non-residence for reasons specified in the same act and provided severe penalties for non-compliance.

Official title

The incumbent's official title might be that of rector,

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

, " curate-in-charge" or "

perpetual curate Perpetual curate was a class of resident parish priest or incumbent curate within the United Church of England and Ireland (name of the combined Anglican churches of England and Ireland from 1800 to 1871). The term is found in common use mainly du ...

". The difference between these titles is now largely historical. Originally, an incumbent was either a ''rector'' who received all the

tithes A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash or cheques or more ...

or a ''vicar'' who received only the small tithes (see

Impropriation Impropriation, a term from English ecclesiastical law, was the destination of the income from tithes of an ecclesiastical benefice to a layman. With the establishment of the parish system in England, it was necessary for the properties to have an ...

). ''Curate-in-charge'' and ''perpetual curate'' were later legal terms to meet the case when new parishes were created or chapels of ease established which were not supported by tithes.

Nomination and admission into office

The future incumbent is either nominated by the ordinary (normally the diocesan bishop) or the patron who owns the

advowson Advowson () or patronage is the right in English law of a patron (avowee) to present to the diocesan bishop (or in some cases the ordinary if not the same person) a nominee for appointment to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice or church living, a ...

. Originally, the parish concerned had no legal voice in the matter, but modern legislation established the need for consultation to take place. The form of admission to office has two parts: the future incumbent is first authorised by the bishop to exercise the spiritual responsibilities (institution or collation - see below), the second puts him in possession of the "temporalities" (induction) which he receives at the hands of the archdeacon or his deputy. The two actions are often combined into one ceremony and the canons require the bishop to use his best endeavour to perform the ceremony in the parish church. However, this is not legally essential.

Collation and institution

The difference between collation and institution resides in the fact that when a patron presents a cleric for institution the bishop may examine him and refuse on good grounds to proceed. A negative decision may be contested in the courts and the Gorham Controversy was a case in point. If the bishop himself has chosen the cleric, this is unnecessary and the legal formalities are different. The

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

admits the incumbent to the spiritualities of the benefice by reading a written instrument bearing his episcopal seal committing the care or "cure" of souls to the priest who kneels before him while this is done and holds the seal.

Induction

The bishop then instructs 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 of mo ...

by Letters Mandatory for Induction to induct the priest into the ''temporalities'' of the benefice. This must be performed in the church and is done by placing the hand of the priest on the key or ring of the door and reciting a formula of words. The priest advertises his or her induction by tolling the church bell. Induction is a vestige of the medieval legal practice of

livery of seisin Livery of seisin () is an archaic legal conveyancing ceremony, formerly practised in feudal England and in other countries following English common law, used to convey holdings in property. The term ''livery'' is closely related to if not synon ...

Temporalities

Legally, the incumbent is a '' corporation sole'' i.e. "a legal entity vested in an individual and his successors by reason of his office" and any particular occupant had the right to receive the income and make use of its assets to support him in his ministry. Traditionally, these were the

, the

glebe Glebe (; also known as church furlong, rectory manor or parson's close(s))McGurk 1970, p. 17 is an area of land within an ecclesiastical parish used to support a parish priest. The land may be owned by the church, or its profits may be reserved ...

, fees, the parsonage house plus the church where his responsibilities were shared with the churchwardens, and if he was a rector, he had to finance the maintenance of the chancel from his own resources. During a vacancy, the temporalities were normally administered by the churchwardens, who could disburse monies to cover the costs of providing spiritual attention and other legally recognized expenses until the new incumbent entered, when they had to pay any balance in hand over to him.

Official title

Nomination and admission into office

Collation and institution

Induction

Temporalities

References

Further reading