Parish and Residentiary Canon Appointments

The Crown and Lord Chancellor's parish patronage extends across all dioceses although the number varies widely from only one each in Chester and Liverpool, to 52 in Lincoln.

The Crown has 10 residentiary canories and 200 parishes, while the Lord Chancellor's ecclesiastical appointments include a further 10 residentiary canonries and 457 parishes.  The Ecclesiastical Secretary represents the Crown and the Lord Chancellor in this patronage. For legal and constitutional reasons the Crown cannot share the exercise of patronage with others but may take turns in presenting an incumbent where parishes have become part of a larger benefice. 

Although vacancies are usually advertised at first, we hold a list of clergy who are looking for a new role and can use this to identify potential candidates for a benefice to consider.  We can also draw on this list if advertising proves unsuccessful. In this situation only one candidate is considered at a time.  If you are interested in joining this list please contact the Ecclesiastical Secretary, Mrs Helen Dimmock, for further information at  helen.dimmock@cabinetoffice.gov.uk or on 020 7276 1675.

We also have a mailing list of current and upcoming vacancies which you can join by contacting us at the same email address. This can be found on our Pathways Community