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A (, , ) is a population entity or
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 ...
found in the autonomous communities of Galicia and
Asturias Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...
in northwestern Spain. They are entities with a territorial scope lower than
municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...
and have their own legal personality. They usually, but not always, coincide with the ecclesiastic divisions, as they originated on par with them. In Galicia there are 3,771 ''parroquias'', each comprising between three and fifteen or more villages. They developed over time as de facto entities up until the
Galician Statute of Autonomy of 1981 The Statute of Autonomy of Galicia of 1981 () is the current basic institutional norm of Galicia. The Galician Government, Parliament and High Court of Galicia are regulated by it. Genesis of the 1981 Statute The Statute passed in 1981 has i ...
recognized them as territorial entities below the ''concello'' (
municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...
). In Asturias there are 857 ''parroquias'' integrating the 78 ''concejos'' or ''conceyos'' (municipalities) in the region. Parroquias have their roots in the entry of the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
during the Roman and late Roman empire, similar to British parishes. From the late Roman empire on, a dispersed network of parishes and private churches emerged. Those founded the base of a religious and social interaction network, with a clear administrative role over a territorial area too, that consolidated during the 10th to 13th centuries. Since then, and in particular from 15th century on, the concept formed a very settled part of the popular consciousness and culture of Asturias and Galicia. Spanish reforms from the 18th century on tried to reduced their number, but unsuccessfully due to the deep roots they have in these territories. The creation of Spanish
municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...
that started in 1835 eliminated their function. With the entrance of democracy and creation of the
autonomous communities The autonomous communities () are the first-level administrative divisions of Spain, created in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonomy to the nationalities and regions that make up Spa ...
in the 1980s, Asturian and Galician parishes were recognized legally as administrative divisions.


Law


Asturian parishes

"Rural parishes" are the territorial entities that compose Asturian municipalities. They have their own legal status, being this smaller and different from the municipality they belong to. Within each parish the different neighbourhoods are distinguished. Article 6.2 of the Statute of Autonomy of Asturias recognizes its juridical personality defining this traditional entity as a "traditional form of coexistence and settlement of the Asturian population". Asturian Government passed Law 11/1986 to develop the competencies, organic rules and resources, among other aspects, of rural parishes. Among the assigned competencies, rural parishes have the capacity to organize their community, manage and administrate their goods, in addition to all those competences that are delegated by the Asturian Government. Parishes have and president and a "xunta" (elected board members). The president fulfils similar functions as a mayor within the parish, and "xunta" is alike a municipal plenary session. Xuntas are composed by more than two and lower than one third the council's elected members. Presidents are elected directly and given a mandate of four years.


Galician parishes

Galician parishes are an administrative division recognized as a collective entity of population lower than municipalities, or "concellos". Statute of Autonomy of Galicia of 1981 defines them as a traditional territorial entity proper of this region, with a particular coexistence and settlement history. It states they have their own legal personality and gives Galician Government the power to organize and legally regulate them. Law 5/1997 advanced in its regulation stating they are in fact autonomous local entities that have the capacity to manage their own goods.


See also

*
Freguesia (), usually translated as "parish" or "civil parish", is the third-level administrative subdivision of Portugal, as defined by the 1976 Constitution. It is also the designation for local government jurisdictions in the former Portuguese over ...
* Parroquia *
Civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...


References

{{Spanish terms for country subdivisions Subdivisions of Spain Politics of Asturias Politics of Galicia (Spain) Fifth-level administrative divisions by country