A sexton is an officer of a
church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* Chri ...
, congregation, or
synagogue
A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of wor ...
charged with the maintenance of its buildings and/or the surrounding
graveyard. In smaller places of worship, this office is often combined with that of
verger. In larger buildings, such as
cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...
s, a team of sextons may be employed.
Historically in North America and the United Kingdom the "sexton" was sometimes a minor municipal official responsible for overseeing the town graveyard. In the United Kingdom the position still exists today, related to management of the community's graveyard, and the sexton is usually employed by the town/parish or community council.
Origin of the name
The words "sexton" and "
sacristan
A sacristan is an officer charged with care of the sacristy, the church, and their contents.
In ancient times, many duties of the sacrist were performed by the doorkeepers ( ostiarii), and later by the treasurers and mansionarii. The Decreta ...
" both derive from the
Medieval Latin
Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. In this region it served as the primary written language, though local languages were also written to varying degrees. Latin functioned ...
word ''sacristanus'' meaning "custodian of sacred objects". "Sexton" represents the popular development of the word via the
Old French
Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intel ...
"Segrestein".
Duties
Among the traditional duties of the sexton in small parishes was the digging of graves—the
gravedigger
A gravedigger is a cemetery worker who is responsible for digging a grave prior to a funeral service.
Description
If the grave is in a cemetery on the property of a church or other religious organization (part of, or called, a churchyard), g ...
in ''
Hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
'' refers to himself as sexton, for example. In modern times, grave digging and maintenance of the cemetery is usually done by an outside contractor. The general duties of a modern sexton may include:
* Operation and maintenance of mechanical systems, such as: refrigerators, boilers,
HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) units, hot water systems, kitchen equipment,
electrical system
Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...
, and
piping systems (i.e., gas, water,
fire protection
Fire protection is the study and practice of mitigating the unwanted effects of potentially destructive fires. It involves the study of the behaviour, compartmentalisation, suppression and investigation of fire and its related emergencies, as we ...
, and
sewer systems).
* Liaison with any routine contract maintenance and supply companies (regarding: large maintenance projects, fire protection equipment, pest control, kitchen and worship materials, etc.)
* Ordering and receiving supplies and equipment.
* Stocking supplies (paper towels, toilet paper, soap, etc.)
* Tasks involving security (locking doors, operating security system, etc.), and safety (
emergency light/
exit sign testing, first aid kit maintenance, etc.).
* Logistics for regular services and events on church calendar (chairs and tables, decorating, lighting, acoustics, audio and video, etc.).
* Emergency response during bad weather.
* Small building repairs (painting, drywall/plaster work, replacing ceiling tiles, etc.).
* Maintaining the grounds (grass mowing, hedge/shrub trimming and tree pruning, weed control, watering plants, snow removal, fall clean up, and other
landscaping
Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land, including the following:
# Living elements, such as flora or fauna; or what is commonly called gardening, the art and craft of growing plants with a goal ...
work).
* Regular cleaning (vacuuming, dusting, sweeping, mopping, etc.)
* Other maintenance tasks not handled by a contract service or church volunteers, such as: the replacement of light bulbs, returning premises to a neat and orderly state following services and events, disposal of trash (rubbish), running any local errands or trips that are needed by the church, and other miscellaneous tasks.
* Following building code.
* Report to supervisors (about tasks completion, mishaps, etc.).
In many UK churches nowadays, where neither a sexton nor a
verger is employed, these duties are likely to fall to the
churchwardens.
See also
*
Gabbai
References
{{reflist, 30em
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations
Local Christian church officials
Ecclesiastical titles