Rectory
Encyclopedia
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
, most often a Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
cleric, but in some cases an academic rector or other person with that title. Many former rectories may still be referred to locally as a rectory once a church or religious organisation has vacated the property.
Depending on denomination
Christian denomination
A Christian denomination is an identifiable religious body under a common name, structure, and doctrine within Christianity. In the Orthodox tradition, Churches are divided often along ethnic and linguistic lines, into separate churches and traditions. Technically, divisions between one group and...
, local custom, and the status of the minister, the clergy house inhabited (or formerly inhabited) by the leader of a local Christian church
Christian Church
The Christian Church is the assembly or association of followers of Jesus Christ. The Greek term ἐκκλησία that in its appearances in the New Testament is usually translated as "church" basically means "assembly"...
can be referred to by one of several names.
In Catholic churches it is usually called a presbytery, rectory or (in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
) a Parochial House (and in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, a Chapel House) if appropriate. Catholic clergy houses may be lived in by several priests from a parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
, as opposed to other denominations. A rectory also often functions as the administrative office of the local parish.
In churches that are members of the Anglican Communion
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
, the building will most commonly be called a vicar
Vicar
In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
age or rectory, depending on the status of the incumbent. Parsonage is used in English-speaking Lutheran churches.
Methodists might refer to it as a manse
Manse
A manse is a house inhabited by, or formerly inhabited by, a minister, usually used in the context of a Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist or United Church...
, the usual term in Scottish Presbyterianism
Presbyterianism
Presbyterianism refers to a number of Christian churches adhering to the Calvinist theological tradition within Protestantism, which are organized according to a characteristic Presbyterian polity. Presbyterian theology typically emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures,...
, or parson
Parson
In the pre-Reformation church, a parson was the priest of an independent parish church, that is, a parish church not under the control of a larger ecclesiastical or monastic organization...
age, while the latter is quite frequently used in English-speaking Lutheran churches. Manse
Manse
A manse is a house inhabited by, or formerly inhabited by, a minister, usually used in the context of a Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist or United Church...
is the usual name for the house of a Church of Scotland
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
minister.
Pastorium is the usual term in the Southern United States
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
, especially among Baptists.
These homes are normally owned and maintained by the church, as a benefit to their ministers; if a minister makes his own living arrangements his residence is unlikely to be given a special title. The practice continues to this day in many denominations because of the tendency of church officials to be sent from one church to another at relatively frequent intervals. Many buildings described as "vicarage" or "rectory" that are sold by the church retain their former names, often qualified, such as "The Old Rectory", etc.
The Rectory of St. Paul's School, Darjeeling, is one of the oldest buildings in Darjeeling, built during the British India Era in 1813. It was the residence of the owner of the Jalapahar Estate until 1846, when the estate was acquired by Bishop Cotton to establish St. Paul's School. The splendid building was christened the 'Rectory' and is used today as the official residence of the school Rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
(principal) and his family.