"Parish house" redirects here. For the community building associated with a church, sometimes called "parish house" or "parish hall", see Church hall. For other uses, see Parish House.
"Parsonage" redirects here. For an allowance paid to ordained ministers in Canada and the United States, see Clergy housing allowance.
A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage.
A clergy house is typically owned and maintained by a church, as a benefit to its clergy. This practice exists in many denominations because of the tendency of clergy to be transferred from one church to another at relatively frequent intervals. Also, in smaller communities, suitable housing is not as available. In addition, such a residence can be supplied in lieu of salary, which may not be able to be provided (especially at smaller congregations).
Catholic clergy houses in particular may be lived in by several priests from a parish. Clergy houses frequently serve as the administrative office of the local parish, as well as a residence. They are normally located next to, or at least close to, the church their occupant serves.
Partly because of the general conservation of churches, many clergy houses have survived and are of historic interest or importance. In the United Kingdom, the 14th-century Alfriston Clergy House was the first property to be acquired by the National Trust. It was purchased in a state of near ruin in 1896 for £10, the vicarage having moved elsewhere long before.[1]
In some countries where the clergy houses were often rather grand, many of them have now been sold off by the churches and replaced by more modest properties. Numerous clergy houses have been acquired by families for use as private homes. Others have been adapted as offices or used for various civic functions. In many villages in England, the former clergy house is called the "Old Vicarage" or the "Old Rectory". In Scotland, a former clergy house may be known as the "Old Manse".
Nomenclature
There are a number of more specific terms whose use depends on the rank of the occupant, the denomination, and the locality. Above the parish level, a bishop's house was traditionally called a "Bishop's Palace", a dean's residence is known as a deanery, and a canon lives in a canonry or "canon's house". Other clerical titles have different names for their houses.
A parsonage is where the parson of a church resides; a parson is the priest/presbyter of a parish church. A rectory is the residence of an ecclesiastical rector, although the name may also be applied to the home of an academic rector (e.g. a Scottish university rector) or other person with that title. In North American Anglicanism, a far greater proportion of parish clergy were (and still are) titled as rector than in Britain, so the term rectory is more common there.
The names used for homes of ordinary parish clergy vary considerably and include the following:
The Anglican Communion uses the terms vicarage or (more informal and old-fashioned) parsonage, and rectory if appropriate.
Roman Catholics use the terms priory, clergy house, parochial house (mostly in Ireland), chapel house (in Scotland), presbytery, and rectory (especially in Massachusetts) if appropriate. In the Philippines, the term convent is used, a direct calque of the Spanishconvento.
^Walker, Marianna (1 June 2008). "50 National Trust hidden gems". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 2022-01-12. Retrieved 2010-07-07.
^"Manses and Church Houses". Baptist Union of Great Britain. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
^"North Adelaide Baptist Church - Manse". Adelaide City Council. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
Further reading
Alun-Jones, Deborah (2013) The Wry Romance of the Literary Rectory. London: Thames & Hudson ISBN978-0-500-51677-5
External links
Media related to Rectories at Wikimedia Commons
January 24, 2023
clergy, house, parish, house, redirects, here, community, building, associated, with, church, sometimes, called, parish, house, parish, hall, church, hall, other, uses, parish, house, parsonage, redirects, here, allowance, paid, ordained, ministers, canada, un. Parish house redirects here For the community building associated with a church sometimes called parish house or parish hall see Church hall For other uses see Parish House Parsonage redirects here For an allowance paid to ordained ministers in Canada and the United States see Clergy housing allowance This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Clergy house news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2009 Learn how and when to remove this template message A clergy house is the residence or former residence of one or more priests or ministers of religion Residences of this type can have a variety of names such as manse parsonage rectory or vicarage The former parsonage in Haworth England which once served as the Bronte family home and is now the Bronte Parsonage Museum Contents 1 Function 2 Nomenclature 3 Gallery 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External linksFunction EditA clergy house is typically owned and maintained by a church as a benefit to its clergy This practice exists in many denominations because of the tendency of clergy to be transferred from one church to another at relatively frequent intervals Also in smaller communities suitable housing is not as available In addition such a residence can be supplied in lieu of salary which may not be able to be provided especially at smaller congregations Catholic clergy houses in particular may be lived in by several priests from a parish Clergy houses frequently serve as the administrative office of the local parish as well as a residence They are normally located next to or at least close to the church their occupant serves Partly because of the general conservation of churches many clergy houses have survived and are of historic interest or importance In the United Kingdom the 14th century Alfriston Clergy House was the first property to be acquired by the National Trust It was purchased in a state of near ruin in 1896 for 10 the vicarage having moved elsewhere long before 1 In some countries where the clergy houses were often rather grand many of them have now been sold off by the churches and replaced by more modest properties Numerous clergy houses have been acquired by families for use as private homes Others have been adapted as offices or used for various civic functions In many villages in England the former clergy house is called the Old Vicarage or the Old Rectory In Scotland a former clergy house may be known as the Old Manse Nomenclature EditThere are a number of more specific terms whose use depends on the rank of the occupant the denomination and the locality Above the parish level a bishop s house was traditionally called a Bishop s Palace a dean s residence is known as a deanery and a canon lives in a canonry or canon s house Other clerical titles have different names for their houses A parsonage is where the parson of a church resides a parson is the priest presbyter of a parish church A rectory is the residence of an ecclesiastical rector although the name may also be applied to the home of an academic rector e g a Scottish university rector or other person with that title In North American Anglicanism a far greater proportion of parish clergy were and still are titled as rector than in Britain so the term rectory is more common there The names used for homes of ordinary parish clergy vary considerably and include the following The Anglican Communion uses the terms vicarage or more informal and old fashioned parsonage and rectory if appropriate Roman Catholics use the terms priory clergy house parochial house mostly in Ireland chapel house in Scotland presbytery and rectory especially in Massachusetts if appropriate In the Philippines the term convent is used a direct calque of the Spanish convento Manse cognate with mansion is a Scottish term that is used in Scottish Presbyterianism and also in other parts of the British Isles by Non conformist churches such as the Methodists and the United Reformed Church This name is also commonly used by Baptists in the United Kingdom 2 and in some Commonwealth countries 3 Pastorium is the usual term in the Southern United States especially among Baptists citation needed Lutheran churches often use parsonage The name parish house is used by many denominations Gallery Edit A rectory in Ilmenau Germany The rectory in Baczal Dolny Poland 1923 The rectory in Valo Uppland Sweden The rectory in Edsleskog Dalsland Sweden Halton Vicarage England 1739 and still used The old vicarage Morwenstow England The Abbey Sutton Courtenay former rectory of Abingdon Abbey England The West Manse Sanday Scotland formerly the Free Kirk manse Old rectory of Deschambault 1815 1818 Canada Sacred Heart Cathedral Rectory in Davenport Iowa USA An 1887 Catholic rectory in Ohio Ashburton House the parish house of St John s Episcopal Church Lafayette Square Washington D C See also Edit Christianity portalClergy housing allowanceReferences Edit Walker Marianna 1 June 2008 50 National Trust hidden gems The Daily Telegraph London Archived from the original on 2022 01 12 Retrieved 2010 07 07 Manses and Church Houses Baptist Union of Great Britain Retrieved 13 September 2016 North Adelaide Baptist Church Manse Adelaide City Council Retrieved 13 September 2016 Further reading EditAlun Jones Deborah 2013 The Wry Romance of the Literary Rectory London Thames amp Hudson ISBN 978 0 500 51677 5External links Edit Media related to Rectories at Wikimedia Commons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Clergy house amp oldid 1079610066, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
