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Deanery is an ecclesiastical entity in both the Catholic Church and the Church of England
Church of England

The Church of England is the State religion Christianity Ecclesia in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the oldest among the communion's thirty-eight independent national and regional churches....
.

he Catholic Church, canon 374 of the Code of Canon Law grants to bishops
Bishops

Bishops can refer to:*The plural of bishop, a religious official*The plural of bishop , a chess piece*Diocesan College, South Africa*The Bishops, British band...
 the possibility to join together several neighboring parishes into special federations. One possible way to organize these federations is "vicariates forane," or deaneries.

Each deanery is headed by a vicar forane, also called a dean or archpriest, who is—according to the definition provided in canon 553—a priest
Priest

A priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities....
 appointed by the bishop after consultation with the priests exercising ministry in the deanery.






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Deanery is an ecclesiastical entity in both the Catholic Church and the Church of England
Church of England

The Church of England is the State religion Christianity Ecclesia in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the oldest among the communion's thirty-eight independent national and regional churches....
.

Catholic usage

In the Catholic Church, canon 374 of the Code of Canon Law grants to bishops
Bishops

Bishops can refer to:*The plural of bishop, a religious official*The plural of bishop , a chess piece*Diocesan College, South Africa*The Bishops, British band...
 the possibility to join together several neighboring parishes into special federations. One possible way to organize these federations is "vicariates forane," or deaneries.

Each deanery is headed by a vicar forane, also called a dean or archpriest, who is—according to the definition provided in canon 553—a priest
Priest

A priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities....
 appointed by the bishop after consultation with the priests exercising ministry in the deanery. Canon 555 defines the duties of a dean as:
  • promotion and coordination of the common pastoral activity within the deanery;
  • seeing that the clerics of the deanery lead a life in harmony with their state in life and perform their duties with diligence;
  • seeing that religious functions follow Church norms;
  • seeing that the good appearance of churches and sacred furnishings are maintained;
  • seeing that parish books are correctly managed;
  • seeing that the parish rectory
    Rectory

    File:Pfarrhaus Ilmenau.JPGFile:R?ti - Kloster R?ti - Pfarrhaus IMG 1658.JPGDepending on Christian denomination, local custom, and the status of the minister, the building inhabited by the leader of a local Christian church can be referred to by one of several names....
     is well maintained;
  • seeing that clerics, following the norms of the diocese and the norms of canon 272, attend theological lectures, meetings, or conferences;
  • making sure that the priests of the deanery have access to spiritual helps and aid in difficult pastoral circumstances; and
  • making sure that pastors in his deanery are well cared for when they are sick or dying.


Additionally, the dean must follow the particular norms of the diocese
Diocese

In many rites of the Roman Catholic Church and in Anglicanism, a diocese is an administrative territorial unit administered by a bishop. It is also referred to as a bishopric or Episcopal Area or episcopal see, though strictly the term episcopal see refers to the domain of ecclesiastical authority officially held by the bi...
. Canon 555 also particularly mentions that a dean must visit the parishes of the district in accord with the regulations made by the diocesan bishop.

Anglican usage


In the Church of England
Church of England

The Church of England is the State religion Christianity Ecclesia in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the oldest among the communion's thirty-eight independent national and regional churches....
 and many other Anglican Churches a deanery is a group of parish
Parish

A parish is a local church; it is an administrative unit typically found in Roman Catholic, Anglican, United Methodist, and Presbyterianism churches....
es within a smaller region of an archdeaconry. The more formal term, rural deanery, is less often used. A deanery is presided over by the 'Rural Dean
Rural Dean

In the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church, a Rural Dean presides over a Rural Deanery ....
', or 'Area Dean'.

The deanery synod
Synod

A synod is a council of a Ecclesia , usually a Christianity church, convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. An ecumenical council is so named because it is a synod of the whole church ...
 has a membership of all clergy who are licensed to a parish within the deanery, plus elected lay members from every parish.

The term deanery is also used to apply to the ecclesiastical districts of Jersey
Jersey

The Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes the nearly uninhabited islands of the Minquiers, ?cr?hous, the Pierres de Lecq and other rocks and reefs....
 and Guernsey
Guernsey

The Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Isles Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.As well as the island of Guernsey itself, it also includes Alderney, Sark, Herm, Jethou, Brecqhou, Burhou, Lihou and other islets....
, which are Royal Peculiars and whose deans hold a status more equivalent to an Archdeacon
Archdeacon

A position of archdeacon is a senior position in Anglicanism, Syrian Malabar Nasrani, and in some other Christian denominations, above that of most clergy and below a bishop....
 than a rural dean.

The term deanery is also often used to refer to the house, or official residence, of the dean of a cathedral.

See also

  • Deanery of Alresford
    Deanery of Alresford

    The Deanery of Alresford lies within the Diocese of Winchester in England.It includes the ecclesiastical parish of Cliddesden, Dummer, Itchen Abbas, Martyr Worthy, New Alresford and Old Alresford Place....
  • Deanery Gardens
    Deanery Gardens

    The Deanery is a house designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens in Sonning, Berkshire, England, between 1899 and 1901, in the style of the Arts and Crafts movement....
    , Sonning
    Sonning

    Sonning is a village and civil parish in the Wokingham in the England county of Berkshire, a few miles east of Reading, Berkshire. The village is situated on the River Thames and was described by Jerome K....
  • How the Church of England is organised
    Church of England

    The Church of England is the State religion Christianity Ecclesia in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the oldest among the communion's thirty-eight independent national and regional churches....