Organization of the Church
Church of England
Our parish church of St. Martins is a small unit of a whole host of worshipping
Christians known collectively as the Church of England. The Church
of England is led by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Archbishop of
York.
Diocese
In this country the Church of England is split up into approximately
47 smaller groupings known as Diocese, each being presided over by a Bishop,
in our case the Bishop of Manchester. Because of their size, in
some of the larger Diocese, the Bishop is assisted by Suffragan (or assistant
) Bishops and in Manchester we have three suffragan Bishops, Bolton, Hulme
and Middleton (who is our suffragan Bishop).
Arch deaconry
In the Diocese of Manchester there are approximately 310 parishes which
are grouped, usually on a geographical basis, into smaller units known
as Arch deaconries led by an Archdeacon. In Manchester there are
approximately 6 Deaneries ( we are part of the Deanery of Heywood and
Middleton). Which brings us back to the parish of St. Martin's.
Our parish of St. Martin's consists of a single church with a full-time
Vicar and an assistant Curate, looking after our spiritual guidance and
development. Not all churches have a full-time Vicar, often several
churches can be grouped together to form a parish, with either a single
Vicar or a team of Vicars responsible for spiritual leadership.
Parish Church Council
Click here for PCC members
Our church is managed by a Parochial Church Council, consisting of approximately
20 members who are regular worshippers and are elected by the congregation
on an annual basis. All the day to day matters concerned with the
smooth running of the church (finance, fabric and organization) are the
sole responsibility of the Council
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