A minor canon is a member of staff on the establishment of a

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

or a

collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons, a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, headed by a dignitary bearing ...

. In at least one foundation the post may be known as "priest-vicar". Minor canons are

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 ...

and take part in the daily services but are not part of the formal

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 ...

. They are sometimes, but not exclusively, more junior clergy, often chosen for their singing ability, who have already served a

curacy 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 ass ...

, normally in a church."ABCD: a basic church dictionary" p52 Meakin, T: Norwich, Canterbury Press, 2001

References

Christian priests Christian religious occupations Christian terminology Ecclesiastical titles Anglican ecclesiastical offices Catholic priesthood Catholic ecclesiastical titles {{Christian-university-stub