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Anglican terminology

(Redirected from Divine (noun))

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 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 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 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.

Vergers and sextons are auxiliaries.

Some of these terms are obsolescent; (divine is probably not current).

Last updated: 11-07-2004 09:53:55