Clergyman - Definition and Overview

see also Holy Orders

The following terms have traditional meanings for the Anglican Church, and possibly beyond:

• A churchman is in principle a member of a church congregation, in practice someone in holy orders.
• A clergyman can be assumed to be in holy orders. The clergy is a term applied widely across many religions, while clergyman has connotations at least of Protestantism: while a priest might be Catholic, Anglo-Catholic or Orthodox Christian. A minister might belong to any Protestant church (not Catholic).
• A pastor is the senior local minister (or priest), for example in a parish.
• A preacher, from the Anglican point of view, is a colloquialism used for a clergyman rather than a formal title — or it may be someone who preaches.
• A canon is a priest who is specifically attached to a cathedral and has some responsibility its organisation.
• A prebendary is a type of canon.
• A dean is the head canon.
• A prelate has some canonical jurisdiction; in practice this is a close synonym of bishop.
• An archbishop has an archdiocese; in practice metropolitan bishop means much the same.
• A cleric: the same as clergyman, and the same root etymologically speaking, but the very old meaning as clerk might simply be someone literate.
• Vicars, rectors and curates are different types of parish priests.
• A deacon or deaconess is a particular status within those who are ordained.
• An archdeacon has an administrative post at diocese level.
• A chaplain is seconded to some institution, or a family; there is no implication about denomination.
• A divine (noun) meant someone learned in theology, which was traditionally called divinity, really the Latinate equivalent.

Churchwardens, Vergers and sextons are auxiliaries.

Some of these terms are obsolescent. Divine is probably not current, and prelate is now uncommon.