Rural Dean

In the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church, a rural dean is a member of clergy who presides over a "rural deanery" (often referred to as a deanery). In some Church of England dioceses rural deans have been formally renamed as area deans.

Origins

The title "dean" (Latin decanus) may derive from the custom of dividing a hundred into ten tithings, not least as rural deaneries originally corresponded with the hundreds or commotes or cantrefi in Wales. Many rural deaneries retain these ancient names.

The first mention of rural deans comes from a law made by Edward the Confessor, which refers to the rural dean being appointed by the bishop “to have the inspection of clergy and people from within the district to which he was incumbent… to which end [he] had power to convene rural chapters.” The first known rural dean is Robert de Eclesfield who was appointed to the position in the diocese of York in 1148.

In medieval times rural deans acted as officers of the diocesan bishop and prepared business for the archdeacons to determine at their visitations. Archdeacons gradually took over most of the duties of rural deans and the office was allowed to become a sinecure by the 16th century.