Everything about Parson totally explained
In the pre-
Reformation church, a
parson was the priest of an independent
parish church, that is, a parish church not under the control of a larger ecclesiastical or monastic organisation. The term is similar to
rector and is in contrast to a
vicar, a cleric whose revenue is usually, at least partially, appropriated by a larger organisation.
Today the term is normally used for some parish clergy of non-Roman Catholic churches, in particular in the
Anglican tradition in which a parson is the
incumbent of a
parochial benefice: a parish
priest or a
rector; in this sense a parson can be contrasted with a
vicar. The title
parson is also applied to clergy from other
denominations. A parson is often housed in a church-owned home known as a
rectory or parsonage.
Anglicanism
William Blackstone's
Commentaries on the Laws of England says that a
parson is a parish priest with the fullest legal rights to the parish properties:
» A
parson,
persona ecclesiae, is one that has full possession of all the rights of a parochial church. He is called parson,
persona, because by his person the church, which is an invisible body, is represented; and he's in himself a body corporate, in order to protect and defend the rights of the church (which he personates) by a perpetual succession. He is sometimes called the rector, or governor, of the church: but the appellation of parson, (however it may be depreciated by familia, clownish, and indiscriminate use) is the most legal, most beneficial, and most honorable title that a parish priest can enjoy; because such a one, (
Sir Edward Coke observes) and he only, is said
vicem seu personam ecclesiae gerere ("to carry out the business of the church in person")
: — Bl. Comm. I.11.V, p. *372
Legally, parish priests are separately given spiritual and temporal jurisdiction (they are inducted and installed). The spiritual responsibility is termed the
cure of souls, and one holding such a cure is a
curate, which was also given to parish assistants, or assistant curates. The title
parson, however, refers to the temporal jurisdiction over the churches and
glebe. Depending on how the
tithes were apportioned, a parson may be a
rector or a
vicar. A parish priest who received no tithes was legally a
perpetual curate (to distinguish him from assistant curates). However, historically, many perpetual curates, as they were technically parsons (having temporal jurisdiction), preferred to use this latter title. This led to the term
parson having three senses. It could refer to all parish priests (rectors, vicars and perpetual curates) without distinction; it could, through actual use, refer simply to perpetual curates, or it could, through popular use, refer to any member of the clergy, even assistant curates. An Act of Parliament in 1868, changed the way that parochial clergy were paid, and permitted perpetual curates to be called vicars. This led to the rapid abandonment of the title
parson in favour of
vicar, to the extent that now, as previously for parson, the term
vicar is often used for any cleric of the Church of England.
Ireland
In
Ulster, in the early
17th century, every
parish had a
vicar and a parson instead of a
co-arb and an
erenagh. The vicar, like the co-arb, was always in orders. He said the mass (‘serveth the cure’) and received a share of the tithes. The parson, like the erenagh, had a major portion of the tithes, maintained the church and provided hospitality. As he wasn't usually in clerical orders, his responsibilities were mainly temporal.
However, there were differences in the divisions of the tithes between various dioceses in
Tyrone. In the
Diocese of Clogher, the vicar and the parson shared the tithes equally between them; in the
Diocese of Derry, church income came from both tithes and the rental of church lands (‘temporalities’). The vicar and the parson each received one third of the tithes and paid an annual tribute to the bishop. In places where there was no parson, the erenagh continued to receive two thirds of the income in kind from the church lands, and delivered the balance, after defraying maintenance, to the Bishop in cash as a yearly rental. In other places, the parson, the vicar and the erenagh shared the costs of church repairs equally between them. In the
Diocese of Armagh the parson received two-thirds of the tithes and the vicar one third. The archbishop and the erenagh impropriated no part thereof because they received the entire income from the termon lands.
The division of responsibilities between vicar and parson seems to derive from a much earlier precedent established in the old
Celtic Church of St
Columcille.
Culture
The song "Winter Wonderland" mentions they can "build a snowman, and pretend that he's Parson Brown." This is most likely a reference to a clergyman, as they tell him that he can do the job of probably performing a marriage ceremony for them when he's in town.
In Roald Dahl's short-story, "Parson's Pleasure", the main character, Mr. Boggis, is disguised as a parson.
The "Country Parson" is a stereotypical character in English rural life and literature.
In 1963 The New Christy Minstrels released the album Merry Christmas!. On it was the song Parsons Brown (Our Christmas Dinner) which showed the parson in the story to hold much wealth and high regard in their town.Further Information
Get more info on 'Parson'.
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