Parson

In the pre-Reformation church, a parson is the priest of an independent parish church, that is, a parish church not under the control of a larger ecclesiastical or monastic organization. The term is similar to rector and is in contrast to a vicar, a cleric whose revenue is usually, at least partially, appropriated by a larger organization.

Today the term is normally used for some parish clergy of non-Roman Catholic churches, in particular in the Anglican tradition in which a parson is the incumbent of a parochial benefice: a parish priest or a rector; in this sense a parson can be contrasted with a vicar. The title parson is also applied to clergy from other denominations. A parson is often housed in a church-owned home known as a rectory or parsonage.

Read more about Parson:  Anglicanism, Ireland

Famous quotes containing the word parson:

    ‘Dear Captain Smith,’ the ghost replied, ‘you’ve used me ungenteelly.
    The crowner’s quest goes hard with me because I’ve acted frailly,
    And Parson Biggs won’t bury me, though I am dead Miss Bailey.’
    George Colman (1762–1836)

    The parson was working his Sunday’s text,—
    Had got to fifthly, and stopped perplexed
    At what the—Moses—was coming next.
    Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809–1894)

    I will have no Parsons around me but such as drink deep, ride to Hounds and caress the Wives and Daughters of their Parishioners. A Virtuous Parson does nothing to test or exercise the Faith of his Flock.
    Aldous Huxley (1894–1963)