After a parish priest has announced they are leaving, the Archdeacon will get in touch with the churchwardens to outline the next steps and to provide an initial guidance document. There will generally be a period to say goodbye to the leaving priest and to reflect before considering what is the best next steps for the parish(es) and benefice. This is an opportunity to think about building on and celebrating existing strengths in your ministry as a church, as well as to explore where and how you want to change and grow.
The Archdeacons’ Offices and your Rural/Area Dean will help guide the churchwardens through the first steps and provide advice about the range of tasks which will need to be covered, including:
- Safeguarding provisions
- What steps your PCC need to take to make sure you are ready for any formal processes, e.g. appointment of parish officers
- How to arrange clergy cover for services
- What needs to happen with the parsonage house (this will be lead by the Property Team – see the Important links to pages on Clergy Housing and Letting Your Parsonage House for more information)
- The care of the church and churchyard, including applications for burials and memorials
The Archdeacons will also provide guidance about the practical side of making a new appointment. Legislation and context is often changing, so the process may have changed since your last appointment. It is best to avoid making a start on any of the formal processes, including your Parish Profile, until you have discussed this with the Archdeacon’s Office and received the relevant paperwork from the Pastoral Team.
Formal processes
The Pastoral Team will support you through the important formal administrative processes involved in making an appointment of an Incumbent, whilst the Archdeacon’s Offices will support you through the practical aspects.
In the Church of England, priests are appointed to a benefice. A benefice is a basic unit of ministry and may be a parish or a grouping of parishes.
The priest appointed to serve in a benefice may be either an Incumbent or a Priest in Charge. In practice, both fulfil the same role; see below for more information about the two types of appointments. A Priest in Charge is appointed when the Patron’s right of presentation has been suspended; in other cases, an Incumbent (vicar or rector) is appointed. Click below to explore the differences in the two processes and roles. The Diocesan Mission and Pastoral Executive Committee considers which is the most appropriate type of appointment after recommendation by the Bishop and Archdeacon, and it then makes a recommendation. If suspension of the patron’s right of presentation is recommended, there will be a consultation with the PCC, Patron(s), Area/Rural Dean and Lay Chair.
What is a patron and how are they involved?
The processes involved in appointing parish priests have a long history; in previous centuries, each parish or group of parishes had a Patron who appointed and paid for a priest. These days, Patrons are no longer involved in paying clergy, but they retain the legal right of presenting a priest to the Bishop for appointment with consent from the PCC through its representatives.
Every benefice has a Patron or Patrons. A Patron may be an individual or a body, such as a university college. Patrons own the right to present a priest to a vacant benefice. There are several variations of patronage, including sole patronage (one person or body), joint patronage (where more than one patron owns the right of presentation), patronage by turns and special patronage boards. In practice, all clergy posts are usually filled by advertising, shortlisting, and appointing with the involvement of parish representatives.
Appointment of Incumbents
Incumbents are appointed under the provisions of the Patronage (Benefices) Measure 1986 [unless the patron is the Crown, the Duchy of Lancaster, the Duchy of Cornwall or the Lord Chancellor where slightly different provisions apply].
This process will generally be followed if there is no reason to suspend the patron’s right of presentation (see below) and the appointment will generally be like-for-like. However, it is possible that the terms of the appointment may be a little different, for example, it may be that the new Incumbent is appointed on a part-time basis.
The general process will be:
- Vacancy meeting – an open meeting with the PCC, Deanery representatives, Patron(s), parishioners and community partners (present and aspirational), Archdeacon and/or Suffragan Bishop to discuss the future needs of the parish and to discuss questions about the processes.
- Benefice Profile and appointment of Parish Representatives
- Advertising
- Shortlisting and Interviews
- Institution or Collation
Throughout the process, there are various forms which will be sent to the PCC(s) and Patron(s) which are required under the Patronage (Benefices) Measure 1986 from the Pastoral Team.
For more information, see our guidance on the Filling of Vacant Benefices.
What is suspension?
A recommendation for the Bishop to suspend the patron’s right of presentation to a benefice is likely to emerge when pastoral, missional or financial reasons for pastoral reorganisation are under consideration.
Suspension of the right of presentation provides additional flexibility to look at the arrangements for a benefice by putting the procedure for appointing an Incumbent outlined above on hold. Ministry will instead be provided by a Priest in Charge who may be appointed using a similar process to that used for an Incumbent, or it may be appropriate to use a more flexible process for various reasons. The process will be managed by the Archdeacon’s Office.
The right of presentation to a benefice can be suspended by the Bishop for a period lasting no longer than five years. It is possible to renew the suspension, but again for no longer than five years.
Any proposal for change will always be subject to a separate process of consultation to inform whether a pastoral scheme or order is appropriate.
Appointments of Priests in Charge and Incumbents are both made on Common Tenure so there is very little practical difference between the two types of appointment. Patrons are usually involved in appointing a Priest in Charge.
Appointments of Priests in Charge
If the patron’s right of presentation has been suspended (see above), the appointment process will be very similar to that of an Incumbent.
The Bishop will still ask the benefice to prepare a Benefice Profile and to elect parish representatives – albeit informally – to follow the same process. An informal vacancy meeting will always be held and the patron will still be appointed.
If appropriate and there is no longer a rationale for suspension, then the DMPC Executive Committee may recommend lifting the suspension. In these cases, a shortened procedure will be used to appoint the Priest in Charge as Incumbent. This process works far better when the patron was involved in the original appointment.
Important Contacts
For practical support and queries during the vacancy, please contact the relevant Archdeacon’s PA in the first instance:
For queries about the legal framework and processes of clergy appointments, please contact the Pastoral Team.