Apriest in charge orpriest-in-charge (previously alsocurate-in-charge) in theChurch of England is apriest in charge of aparish who is not itsincumbent;[1] they will normally work on a short-term contract and have less freedom to act within the parish. Such priests are not legally responsible for thechurches andglebe, but simply hold a licence rather than thefreehold and are not appointed byadvowson.
Under the legislation of the Church of England, the process for a bishop to remove a priest-in-charge is relatively straightforward.[2] As a result, the appointment of priests in charge rather thanincumbents (one who does receive the temporalities of an incumbent) is sometimes done when parish reorganisation is taking place or to give thebishop greater control over the deployment ofclergy.
Legally, priests in charge aretemporary curates, as they have only spiritual responsibilities. Even though they lead the ministry in their parishes, their legal status is little different from assistant curates. However, the termpriest in charge has come to be used because the termcurate often refers to anassistant curate, who is usually a priest recently ordained who is not in charge of a parish — although it is quite possible for a priest previously beneficed to return to a curacy, sometimes as a matter of choice. Thestipend of a priest in charge is often the equivalent to that of an incumbent, and so they are sometimes referred to as havingincumbent status.
Incumbents includevicars andrectors.
In theChurch of Ireland, priests in charge are referred to asbishop's curates.[3]
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