The clergy of the Church of England consists of three orders-deacons, priests (presbyters), and bishops. The canonical age is respect- ively twenty-three, twenty-four, and thirty. The duties of the deacon are to render assistance to the priest in the service of the sanctuary and in pastoral work. He may preach, read the prayers and Scripture lessons, assist in the distribution of the elements at communion, and administer baptism. The priest serves at the altar and consecrates the elements in the Eucharist. At his ordination the bishop pronounces upon him the words "Receive the Holy Ghost for the Office and Work of a Priest in the Church of God," etc., this being interpreted either as a petition for the anointing of the Holy Spirit or as marking the transmission of a heavenly grace through the bishop. The bishop has the exclusive right of ordination, confirmation, and the consecration of churches. Bishops are appointed by the crown. A conga dYlire is sent to the chapter when a bishopric is vacant, but it is a mere formality, as the name of the new appointee is sent with it. In the case of bishoprics recently established, as Manchester, St. Albans, Liverpool, Truro, Newcastle, and Southwell, they are conferred directly by letters patent from the crown. Deans have charge of cathedral churches and are assisted by canons, the number of which may not exceed six for any cathedral. The archdeacon assists the bishop in his official duties as superintendent of the diocese. He holds synods, delivers charges, and visits parishes. He is sometimes aided by rural deans. Both these classes are members of Convocation by virtue of their office. No bishop is allowed to transgress the limits of his diocese in the performance of episcopal functions unless requested so to do. The bishops frequently associate with themselves auffragan bishops.
England is divided into the two archbishoprics|
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Durham, Winchester, etc. In connection with the Church of England and Wales there are also twenty-one suflragan bishops and two assistant bishops. The Irish Church, disestablished in 1869, has two archbishops and eleven bishops, and the Scotch Episcopal Church has seven bishops. The first colonial see was that of Nova Scotia, which was created in 1787. There are thirty-two deans presiding over as many cathedrals, but the deans of Westminster and Windsor are independent of episcopal control, and are subject directly to the crown. There are ninety-three archdeacons and 810 rural deans. The clergy of the Church in priest's orders in England and Wales are called " rector," " vicar," "` curate," etc., and at the census of 1901 numbered 25,235. The benefices, or livings, number nearly 14,080. Their patronage is divided between the crown (1,1501ivinga), the bishops (1,853), the universities (770), private patrons (6,200) etc. (see England And Wales.) The consent of the bishop of the diocese is necessary to the induction of an incumbent; and, in the event of a disagreement between patron and bishop, the case is decided by the Court of Arches. The people have no voice in the choice of their rector, but the rector, once inducted, has absolute control of his church, so that not even the bishop may enter it without his consent. Many of the parishes have endowments in lands; others are supported, in whole or in part, from public funds, such as Queen Anne's Bounty. The system of patronage has led to abuses, some of which still remain. On the other hand, the plurality system, by which a clergyman might hold any number of livings at the same time, and which was so much abused in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, has been rectified by parliamentary legislation. Under the present law no one can hold two cathedral positions at the same time. The holder of a cathedral position may hold only one pariah besides. A clergyman may have two parishes; but if the one numbers three thousand, the other may not include mole than five hundred. The evils of non-residence have likewise been restrained by law. The yearly income of the Church of England from voluntary contributions amounts to something more than £8,000,000 and the income from ancient endowments to £5,500,000. Of this income the archbishop of Canterbury receives £15,000, and the archbishop of York £10,000; the bishop of London £10,000, and the bishop of Durham £8,000. The see with the smallest income is that of the bishop of Sodor and Man, which amounts to £2,000. Deans on the average receive £1 000; and the clergy from £150 upward. A fund managed by the "Ecclesiastical Commission," and supplied by the revenues of suppressed canonriea, sinecures, and the surplus revenues of bishoprics over and above the episcopal salary, is used for the augmentation of bishoprics, the increase of the smaller salaries, the endowment of new churches, etc.
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