In English

ecclesiastical law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

, the term incumbent refers to the holder of a

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, ...

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") and some form of assets to generate revenue (the "

temporalities Temporalities or temporal goods are the secular properties and possessions of the church. The term is most often used to describe those properties (a '' Stift'' in German or ''sticht'' in Dutch) that were used to support a bishop or other religious ...

") 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'' () 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 who are as ...

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 p ...

, " curate-in-charge" or " perpetual curate". 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. Modern tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques or via onli ...

or a ''vicar'' who received only the small tithes (see Impropriation). ''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. In the Episcopal Church of the United States, a ''rector'' is usually the incumbent of a self-supporting church, while a ''Vicar'' is the incumbent of a church that requires financial subsidy from the diocese.

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 the cleric 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 or herself has chosen the cleric, this is unnecessary and the legal formalities are different. 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 ...

admits the incumbent to the spiritualities of the benefice by reading a written instrument bearing his or her episcopal seal committing the care or "cure" of souls to the priest who kneels before him or her 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 Church, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denomina ...

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.

Temporalities

Legally, the incumbent is a ''

corporation sole A corporation sole is a legal entity consisting of a single ("sole") incorporated office, occupied by a single ("sole") natural person.

'' 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, 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