The Chancery Court of York is an

ecclesiastical court An ecclesiastical court, also called court Christian or court spiritual, is any of certain courts having jurisdiction mainly in spiritual or religious matters. In the Middle Ages, these courts had much wider powers in many areas of Europe than be ...

for the

Province of York The Province of York, or less formally the Northern Province, is one of two ecclesiastical provinces making up the Church of England and consists of 12 dioceses which cover the northern third of England and the Isle of Man. York was elevated to ...

of the

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 ...

. It receives appeals from

consistory court A consistory court is a type of ecclesiastical court, especially within the Church of England where they were originally established pursuant to a charter of King William the Conqueror, and still exist today, although since about the middle of the ...

s of dioceses within the province. The presiding officer, the Official Principal and Auditor, has been the same person as the

Dean of the Arches The Dean of the Arches is the judge who presides in the provincial ecclesiastical court of the Archbishop of Canterbury. This court is called the Arches Court of Canterbury. It hears appeals from consistory courts and bishop's disciplinary tribun ...

since the nineteenth century. The court comprises the auditor, two clergy, and two laity, as for the

Court of the Arches The Arches Court, presided over by the Dean of Arches, is an ecclesiastical court of the Church of England covering the Province of Canterbury. Its equivalent in the Province of York is the Chancery Court. It takes its name from the street-leve ...

in the Province of Canterbury. The

registrar A registrar is an official keeper of records made in a register. The term may refer to: Education * Registrar (education), an official in an academic institution who handles student records * Registrar of the University of Oxford, one of the se ...

is distinct, however, and is at present Louise Connacher (since 2020).

Original jurisdiction In common law legal systems original jurisdiction of a court is the power to hear a case for the first time, as opposed to appellate jurisdiction, when a higher court has the power to review a lower court's decision. India In India, the Su ...

was formerly exercised by a separate provincial court, known as the Court of Audience. It was presided over by the auditor. This court was merged in the Chancery Court of York in the eighteenth century. The Provincial Registrar of York is appointed by the archbishop, after consultation with the Standing Committee of the General Synod. There may be a deputy provincial registrar. The provincial registrar acts as legal advisor to the archbishop, registrar of the provincial court, and joint registrar of the

General Synod The General Synod is the title of the governing body of some church organizations. Anglican Communion The General Synod of the Church of England, which was established in 1970 replacing the Church Assembly, is the legislative body of the Church of ...

Auditors

*Morag Ellis, 2020–present *Charles George, 2009–2020 * Sheila Cameron, 2000–2009 *Sir John Owen, 1980–2000 *

Kenneth Elphinstone Kenneth is an English given name and surname. The name is an Anglicised form of two entirely different Gaelic personal names: ''Cainnech'' and '' Cináed''. The modern Gaelic form of ''Cainnech'' is ''Coinneach''; the name was derived from a byn ...

, 1977–1980 *Sir

Harold Kent Sir Harold Simcox Kent (11 November 1903 – 4 December 1998) was a British lawyer. Early life Kent was born on 11 November 1903 in Tianjin, China, where his father, Percy Horace Braund Kent, OBE, MC, was a barrister in the consular court s ...

, 1972–1976 *

Walter Wigglesworth Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...

, 1971–1972 * Sir Henry Willink, 1955–1971 *Sir Philip Wilbraham-Baker, 1934–1955 * Sir Lewis Dibdin, 1903–1934 *Sir Arthur Charles, 1898–1903 *

Lord Penzance James Plaisted Wilde, 1st Baron Penzance, (12 July 1816 – 9 December 1899) was a noted British judge and rose breeder who was also a proponent of the Baconian theory that the works usually attributed to William Shakespeare were in fact writte ...

, 1875–1899 Canon law of the Church of England Ecclesiastical courts {{Anglican-stub