A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

s or

ministers Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of governme ...

of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage.

Function

A clergy house is typically owned and maintained by a church, as a benefit to its

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

. This practice exists in many denominations because of the tendency of clergy to be transferred from one church to another at relatively frequent intervals. Also, in smaller communities, suitable housing is not as available. In addition, such a residence can be supplied in lieu of salary, which may not be able to be provided (especially at smaller congregations). Catholic clergy houses in particular may be lived in by several priests from a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

. Clergy houses frequently serve as the administrative office of the local parish, as well as a residence. They are normally located next to, or at least close to, the church their occupant serves. Partly because of the general conservation of churches, many clergy houses have survived and are of historic interest or importance. In the United Kingdom, the 14th-century

Alfriston Clergy House Alfriston Clergy House in Alfriston, Polegate, East Sussex, England, was the first built property to be acquired by the National Trust. It was purchased in 1896 for £10. The house lies adjacent to the Church of St. Andrew. It is a Grade II* ...

was the first property to be acquired by the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

. It was purchased in a state of near ruin in 1896 for £10, the vicarage having moved elsewhere long before. In some countries where the clergy houses were often rather grand, many of them have now been sold off by the churches and replaced by more modest properties. Numerous clergy houses have been acquired by families for use as private homes. Others have been adapted as offices or used for various civic functions. In many villages in England, the former clergy house is called the "Old Vicarage" or the "Old Rectory". In Scotland, a former clergy house may be known as the "Old Manse".

Nomenclature

There are a number of more specific terms whose use depends on the rank of the occupant, the denomination, and the locality. Above the parish level, a bishop's house was traditionally called a "Bishop's Palace", a

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

's residence is known as a deanery, and a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

lives in a canonry or "canon's house". Other clerical titles have different names for their houses. A parsonage is where the

parson A parson is an ordained Christian person responsible for a small area, typically a parish. The term was formerly often used for some Anglican clergy and, more rarely, for ordained ministers in some other churches. It is no longer a formal term ...

of a church resides; a parson is the priest/presbyter of a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

. A rectory is the residence of an ecclesiastical rector, although the name may also be applied to the home of an academic rector (e.g. a Scottish university rector) or other person with that title. In North American Anglicanism, a far greater proportion of parish clergy were (and still are) titled as rector than in Britain, so the term rectory is more common there. The names used for homes of ordinary parish clergy vary considerably and include the following: * The

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...

uses the terms vicarage or (more informal and old-fashioned) parsonage, and rectory if appropriate. *

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

s use the terms priory, clergy house, parochial house (mostly in Ireland), chapel house (in Scotland), presbytery, and rectory (especially in Massachusetts) if appropriate. In the Philippines, the term convent is used, a direct

calque In linguistics, a calque () or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal word-for-word or root-for-root translation. When used as a verb, "to calque" means to borrow a word or phrase from another language w ...

of the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

''convento''. * Manse (cognate with mansion) is a Scottish term that is used in Scottish

Presbyterianism Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

, and also in other parts of the British Isles by Non-conformist churches such as the Methodists and the

United Reformed Church The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2022 it has approximately 40,000 members in 1,284 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers. Origins and history The United Reformed Church resulte ...

. This name is also commonly used by Baptists in the United Kingdom and in some

Commonwealth countries The Commonwealth of Nations is a voluntary association of 56 sovereign states. Most of them were British colonies or dependencies of those colonies. No one government in the Commonwealth exercises power over the others, as is the case in a p ...

. * Pastorium is the usual term in the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

, especially among Baptists. *

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

churches often use parsonage. * The name "parish house" is used by many denominations.

Gallery

File:Pfarrhaus Ilmenau.JPG, A rectory in Ilmenau, Germany File:Plebania BaczalDolny2013.JPG, The rectory in

Bączal Dolny Bączal Dolny is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Skołyszyn, within Jasło County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland. It lies approximately east of Skołyszyn, west of Jasło, and south-west of the regional ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

(1923) File:Valoprastgard.jpg, The rectory in Valö, Uppland, Sweden File:Edsleskogs prastgard 2007.jpg, The rectory in Edsleskog,

Dalsland Dalsland () is a Swedish traditional province, or ''landskap'', situated in Götaland in southern Sweden. Lying to the west of Lake Vänern, it is bordered by Värmland to the north, Västergötland to the southeast, Bohuslän to the west, and ...

, Sweden File:Halton Vicarage.jpg,

Halton Vicarage Halton Vicarage is in Castle Road, Halton in the town of Runcorn, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. The vicarage was built in 1739 by Sir John Che ...

, England; 1739 and still used File:The Old Vicarage, Morwenstow. - panoramio.jpg, The old vicarage,

Morwenstow Morwenstow ( kw, Logmorwenna) is a civil parish in north Cornwall, UK. The parish abuts the west coast, about six miles (10 km) north of Bude and within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Morwenstow is the most norther ...

, England File:The Abbey Sutton Courtenay.jpg,

The Abbey, Sutton Courtenay The Abbey in Sutton Courtenay is a medieval courtyard house in the English county of Oxfordshire (formerly Berkshire). It is located in the Vale of White Horse near the River Thames, across the road from the twelfth-century Norman Hall and the ...

, former rectory of

Abingdon Abbey Abingdon Abbey ( '' " St Mary's Abbey " '' ) was a Benedictine monastery located in the centre of Abingdon-on-Thames beside the River Thames. The abbey was founded c.675 AD in honour of The Virgin Mary. The Domesday Book of 1086 informs ...

, England File:West Manse Sanday.jpg, The West Manse, Sanday, Scotland (formerly the Free Kirk manse) File:Vieux presbytère de Deschambault 02.jpg, Old rectory of Deschambault (1815–1818), Canada File:Sacred Heart Rectory Davenport IA.jpg, Sacred Heart Cathedral Rectory in Davenport, Iowa, USA File:Immaculate Conception Rectory at Botkins.jpg, An 1887 Catholic rectory in

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

File:Ashburton House.jpg,

Ashburton House Ashburton House, also known as St. John's Church Parish House or the British Legation, is a historic house at 1525 H Street NW, on Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C. Built in 1836, it is notable as the residence of Lord Ashburton in 1842, ...

, the parish house of

St. John's Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square St. John's Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square is an historic Episcopal church located at Sixteenth Street and H Street NW, in Washington, D.C., along Black Lives Matter Plaza. The Greek Revival building, designed by Benjamin Latrobe, i ...

, Washington D.C.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Christian buildings and structures

Function

Nomenclature

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading

External links