A churchwarden is a

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official in a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

or congregation of the

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is a Christian Full communion, communion consisting of the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, ...

Lutheran Churches Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 15 ...

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, usually working as a part-time volunteer. In the Anglican tradition, holders of these positions are ''ex officio'' members of the parish board, usually called a

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government of a parish in England, Wales and some English colony, English colonies. At their height, the vestries were the only form of local government in many places and spen ...

parochial church council A parochial church council (PCC) is the executive committee of a Church of England parish and consists of clergy and churchwardens of the parish, together with representatives of the laity. It has its origins in the vestry committee, which looke ...

, or in the case of a Cathedral parish the

chapter Chapter or Chapters may refer to: Books * Chapter (books), a main division of a piece of writing or document * Chapter book, a story book intended for intermediate readers, generally age 7–10 * Chapters (bookstore), Canadian big box bookstore ...

. Historically, a churchwarden was responsible for maintaining the

churchwardens' accounts Churchwardens' accounts are a form of record maintained by the churchwardens of a parish church where expenses, activities, and events of the parish are recorded. Churchwardens' accounts are sometimes found in association with the parish register, ...

of the parish's income and expenses.

Responsibilities of office

Churchwardens have a duty to represent the

laity In religious organizations, the laity () — individually a layperson, layman or laywoman — consists of all Church membership, members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-Ordination, ordained members of religious orders, e ...

and co-operate with the

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be ...

(or, in cases of vacancy, the bishop). They are expected to lead the parishioners by setting a good example and encouraging unity and peace. They have a duty to maintain order and peace in the church and churchyard at all times, and especially during services, although this task tends to be devolved to sidesmen.Clements 2018, pp14-16. Churchwardens in many parts of the Anglican Communion are legally responsible for all the property and movable goods belonging to a parish church. If so, they have a duty under ecclesiastical law to keep an up-to-date inventory of the valuables, and if applicable a "terrier of the property" (a listing and/or map of the church's lands, known as

glebe A glebe (, also known as church furlong, rectory manor or parson's close(s)) 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 to the church. ...

, some of which may be let). Whenever churchwardens authorise work on the church building having obtained a faculty or to carry out work recommended in the church's Quinquennial Inspection Report,Clements 2018, pp143-149 they must record this in the Church Logbook; it is inspected with the inventory. The churchwardens must ensure these logs are ready for inspection in case of a visitation and for periodic inspections. Churchwardens were also historically responsible for

, which detailed the expenses and income of parishes. Priests and their equivalent tend to devolve day-to-day maintenance of church buildings and contents to their churchwardens. If an incumbency is vacant, the bishop (or 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 Church, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denomina ...

acting on his behalf) will usually appoint the churchwardens as sequestrators of the parish until the bishop appoints a new incumbent. The sequestrators ensure that a minimum number of church services continue to be held in the parish, and in particular that the

Eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...

continues to be celebrated every Sunday and on every

Principal Feast Principal Feasts are a type of observance in some churches of the Anglican Communion, including the Church of England, the Episcopal Church (United States), and the Anglican Church of Canada. All Principal Feasts are also Principal Holy Days, sha ...

. This duty is usually discharged by organising a regular rota of a few volunteer clergy from amongst either Non-Stipendiary Ministers from within that

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

or in some cases retired clergy living in or near the parish. The bishop will tend to consult the churchwardens before appointing a new priest to take over the parish; in England there is a set process to follow which also involves representatives of the congregation.Clements 2018, pp102-106. Churchwardens' duties may vary with the customs of the parish or congregation, the canons of the

to which the parish belongs, the desires of the priest, and the direction of the parish board or the congregation as a whole. A definition of their duties is that they are "ultimately responsible for almost everything in a church which does not have to be done by a priest. If the churchwarden does not do it himself, then he is responsible for making sure that it is done by someone".Clements 2018, p12.

Powers

In England, churchwardens have specific powers to enable them to keep the peace in churchyards. The following are punishable with a £200 fine: * riotous, violent, or indecent behaviour in any cathedral church, parish or district church or chapel of the Church of England or in any churchyard or burial ground (whether during a service or at any other time) * molesting, disturbing, vexing, or troubling, or by any other unlawful means disquieting or misusing: ** any preacher duly authorised to preach therein, or ** any clergyman in holy orders ministering or celebrating any sacrament, or any divine service, rite, or office, in any cathedral, church, or chapel, or in any churchyard or burial ground. The churchwarden of the parish or place where the offence was committed may apprehend a person committing such an offence, and take them before a

magistrates' court A magistrates' court is a lower court where, in several Jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions, all criminal proceedings start. Also some civil matters may be dealt with here, such as family proceedings. Courts * Magistrates' court (England and Wales) ...

. In practice this means they should be aware of these offences and may be expected to conduct a

citizen's arrest A citizen's arrest is an arrest made by a private citizen – a person who is not acting as a sworn Police officer, law-enforcement official. In common law jurisdictions, the practice dates back to medieval England and the English common law, in wh ...

until police arrive, if appropriate. Until 2003, the offence was punishable by up to two months' imprisonment. However, caution is advised in the use of this power.Clements 2018, pp16-18.

Types of churchwarden

Historically, there are two main types of warden: the people's warden(s) (and assistants, if any) are elected annually by the congregation as a whole (at what is called the Annual Vestry Meeting or "meeting of the parishioners"); the rector's warden(s) (and assistants, if any), are appointed by the incumbent. However, this distinction has been abolished in several areas of the Anglican Communion in favour of both wardens being appointed jointly (notably in England, although the incumbent retains the right in some circumstances to appoint one warden). In some jurisdictions (but not in England) where a parish temporarily has no priest, is not self-supporting, or in which the parish board has been dissolved, wardens are appointed directly by the

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

and are called "bishop's wardens". The only areas in which wardens almost always have no authority, often proscribed by canon, are music and liturgy, which are considered to be under the exclusive authority of the priest or bishop in charge of the parish. Nevertheless, in England churchwardens have authority to officiate at Morning and Evening Prayer if a priest or licensed lay person is unavailable.

Churchwardens by country

Church of England

In the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

, churchwardens are officers of the parish and officers of the

. Each parish elects two churchwardens annually (unless an existing custom in place on 1 January 2002, and which has continued since before 1 January 1925, states otherwise) and they are elected on or before 31 May and are sworn in between being elected and 31 August the same year. Churchwardens are (re-)elected annually at the Meeting of Parishioners and can serve a maximum of six years followed by a two-year break unless the rule is previously suspended by the Meeting of Parishioners. A few Anglican churches, for historical reasons outlined above, have three churchwardens instead of the usual two; two such examples are All Saints, West Ham and St Margaret's, Barking. Historically, there are also a few churches which retain four churchwardens with St. Mary's, Ecclesfield, Sheffield, as an example. Some churches may appoint Assistant Churchwardens to help them. These are distinct from Deputy Churchwardens who have a precise role in certain limited cases. The terms "Honorary Churchwarden" or "Churchwarden Emeritus" are sometimes bestowed on retiring churchwardens; these are purely honorary terms and do not allow such a holder to continue to sit unelected on the PCC.Clements 2018, p29.

Church of Ireland

One Church Warden is appointed by the incumbent, whilst another is elected by the Easter General Vestry. Both serve for one year terms, during which they are ex officio members of the

select vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government of a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies. At their height, the vestries were the only form of local government in many places and spent nearly one-fi ...

. As well as performing some logistical functions normally associated with a sexton or

verger A verger (or virger, so called after the staff of the office, or wandsman in British English though archaic) is a person usually a layperson, who assists in the ordering of religious services, particularly in Anglican churches. Etymology ...

, church wardens have certain constitutional rights and responsibilities: they may convene and chair meetings of the General Vestry or Select Vestry (but only under certain circumstances), and their consent is required for the use of any experimental forms of service and for any visiting ministers who are not in full communion with the Church of Ireland. Church Wardens are also responsible for overseeing the collection during the

Offertory The offertory (from Medieval Latin ''offertorium'' and Late Latin ''offerre'') is the part of a Eucharistic service when the bread and wine for use in the service are ceremonially placed on the altar. A collection of alms (offerings) from the c ...

, for the presentation of the bread and wine to the officiating

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 deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

during

Holy Communion The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an ordinance in others. Christians believe that the rite was instituted by J ...

, and for the safe custody of

church plate Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

Episcopal Church in the USA

The canons of some US

s permit or mandate the election of all wardens, in which case they are usually referred to as the "senior warden" and the "junior warden". Sometimes, however, the senior warden is known as the "rector's warden" and the junior warden, the "people's warden". In some of the latter cases, the rector's warden is chosen by the rector, while the people's warden is elected by the congregation. Wardens serve for a fixed term, normally one to two years, and are usually automatically members of the parish canonical committee, commonly called the "

", and sometimes automatically delegates to the

diocesan synod In the Anglican Communion, the model of government is the 'Bishop in Synod', meaning that a diocese is governed by a bishop acting with the advice and consent of representatives of the clergy and laity of the diocese. In much of the Communion the b ...

, or convention, as well.

Anglican Church of Southern Africa

The duties of churchwardens in the

Anglican Church of Southern Africa The Anglican Church of Southern Africa, known until 2006 as the Church of the Province of Southern Africa, is the province (Anglican), province of the Anglican Communion in the southern part of Africa. The church has twenty-five dioceses, of whi ...

(ACSA) are detailed in Canon 29 of the Canons and Constitution of the ACSA, as follows. Churchwardens are the officers of the Bishop and the principal representatives of the congregations. Together with the Incumbent they constitute the executive of the Parish Council and have special responsibility in the following matters: * to ensure that a register is kept of all parishioners; * to keep an inventory of all goods, ornaments and furniture belonging to the church, to provide for the safety and preservation of the registers and to deliver the same to their successors on ceasing to hold office; * to execute the policy of the Parish Council relating to property and parochial finance; * to be responsible for the preparation of annual estimates of revenue and expenditure and the presentation of accounts to the Vestry; * to see to the seating of the congregation, without respect of persons; * to aid the Incumbent with information and counsel in all matters relating to the Parish, and particularly in cases contemplated in the rubrics before the service of Holy Communion. * to complain to the Bishop or Archdeacon if there should be anything plainly amiss or reprehensible in the life or doctrine of the Incumbent and also if there be anything contrary to order or decorum in the administration of Divine Service. Additional duties and responsibilities may also be specified in the various dioceses of the

Province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Citations

General and cited references

* * * * *

External links

A Guide for Churchwardens

ChurchCare website

Churchwardens Measure 2001

Church of England Guide to the Churchwardens Measure 2001
* {{cite EB1911, wstitle=Churchwarden, volume=6, page=348, short=1 Anglican ecclesiastical offices Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations Local Christian church officials Ecclesiastical titles