Church of England
Posted by Laura Wallace on November 15, 1997 at 15:36:37:
In response to Livings, today and yesterday, written by Carl W. Goss on October 14, 1997 at 13:44:31
] I know that the great landowners of Aunt Janes time had
] powers of appointment to church positions; but how are such clerical positions filled today. Anyone know? Who
] exercises the powers of appointment? How are such parish churchmen compensated?
Landowners only had the power to make appointments to livings on their own land. There were other livings which were assigned by the church heirarchy. The church assigned bishoprics, I think with the consent of the House of Lords and/or the monarch (not sure, though).
There was a reform movement within the Church of England in the 1830s which was in response to the rising popularity of "dissenters," mostly Methodists. The conflict between "High Church" and "Low Church" is dealt with in Trollope's Barchester Towers series, particularly The Warden. However, I think the reform which removed the power to make appointments to the livings they owned was not accomplished until the 20th century, and was probably accompanied by a reversion of responsibility for salary and upkeep of the property to the church rather than the landlord (and perhaps even a change in ownership).
In 1919 the Church of England Assembly Powers Act set up three partially and indirectly elected Houses (Bishops, Clergy, Laity) to recommend ecclesiastical measures to parliament. (I flipped through my British Chronology book from 1835-1950 and this was the only slightly relevant item I found.)
You might want to look at the official website: http://www.church-of-england.org/.
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