The Archdeaconry of St Andrews was a sub-division of the diocese of St Andrews, one of two archdeaconries within the diocese. The St Andrews archdeaconry was headed by the Archdeacon of St Andrews, a subordinate of the Bishop of St Andrews. In the medieval period, the Archdeaconry of St Andrews contained five deaneries with a total of 124 parish churches. The deaneries were Mearns (14 churches), Angus (38 churches), Gowrie (20 churches), Fife (28 churches) and Fothriff (24 churches).
An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Syriac Orthodox Church, Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that of most clergy and below a bishop. In the High Middle Ages it was the most senior diocesan position below a bishop in the Catholic Church. An archdeacon is often responsible for administration within an archdeaconry, which is the principal subdivision of the diocese. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church has defined an archdeacon as "A cleric having a defined administrative authority delegated to him by the bishop in the whole or part of the diocese." The office has often been described metaphorically as that of oculus episcopi, the "bishop's eye".
The word diocese is derived from the Greek term dioikesis (διοίκησις) meaning "administration". Today, when used in an ecclesiastical sense, it refers to the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
St Andrews is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, 10 miles (16 km) southeast of Dundee and 30 miles (50 km) northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews has a recorded population of 16,800 in 2011, making it Fife's fourth largest settlement and 45th most populous settlement in Scotland.
The Diocese of Southwark is one of the 42 dioceses of the Church of England, part of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The diocese forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. It was created on 1 May 1905 from part of the ancient Diocese of Rochester that was served by a Suffragan Bishop of Southwark (1891–1905). Before 1877 the area was part of the Diocese of Winchester. The diocese covers Greater London south of the River Thames and east Surrey. Since the creation of the episcopal area scheme in 1991, the diocese is divided into three episcopal areas each of which contains two archdeaconries:
The Diocese of St Albans forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England and is part of the wider Church of England, in turn part of the worldwide Anglican Communion.
The Diocese of Oxford is a Church of England diocese that forms part of the Province of Canterbury. The diocese is led by the Bishop of Oxford, and the bishop's seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. It contains more church buildings than any other diocese and has more paid clergy than any other except London.
The Diocese of Manchester is a Church of England diocese in the Province of York, England. Based in the city of Manchester, the diocese covers much of the county of Greater Manchester and small areas of the counties of Lancashire and Cheshire.
The Diocese of Coventry is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury. It is headed by the Bishop of Coventry, who sits at Coventry Cathedral in Coventry, and is assisted by one suffragan bishop, the Bishop of Warwick. The diocese covers Coventry and Warwickshire.
The Diocese of Chester is a Church of England diocese in the Province of York covering the pre-1974 county of Cheshire and therefore including the Wirral and parts of Stockport, Trafford and Tameside.
The Diocese of Guildford is a Church of England diocese covering nine of the eleven districts in Surrey, much of north-east Hampshire and a parish in Greater London. The cathedral is Guildford Cathedral and the bishop is the Bishop of Guildford. Of the two provinces of the church, it falls within the Province of Canterbury.
In the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church as well as some Lutheran denominations, a rural dean is a member of clergy who presides over a "rural deanery". In some Church of England dioceses rural deans have been formally renamed as area deans.
The Archdeacon of Canterbury is a senior office-holder in the Diocese of Canterbury. Like other archdeacons, he or she is an administrator in the diocese at large and is a Canon Residentiary of the cathedral.
The archdeacon of Gower is the priest in charge of the archdeaconry of Gower, an administrative division of the Church in Wales Diocese of Swansea and Brecon. The archdeaconry comprises the six deaneries of Clyne, Cwmtawe, Gower, Llwchwr, Penderi and Swansea.
The Archdeacon of Salop is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the Church of England Diocese of Lichfield. The incumbent is Paul Thomas.
The Archdeacon of Bodmin is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the Church of England Diocese of Truro. The role was established by Order in Council on 21 May 1878, two years after the diocese itself was created, by splitting the Archdeaconry of Cornwall.
The Archdeacon of Ashford is a senior office-holder in the Diocese of Canterbury. The Archdeacon of Ashford is an Anglican priest oversees the Archdeaconry of Ashford, which is one of three subdivisions of the diocese. The first incumbent was Philip Down, who was collated Archdeacon of Ashford on 13 March 2011 and who retired effective 15 October 2017. The second and current archdeacon is Darren Miller, who was collated on 13 January 2018.
The Archdeacon of Brecon is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the Church in Wales Diocese of Swansea and Brecon. The archdeacon is the senior priest with responsibility over the area of the archdeaconry of Brecon, which comprises the five rural deaneries of Brecon, Builth, Crickhowell, Hay and Maelienydd.
The Archdeacons in the Diocese of Liverpool are senior ecclesiastical officers in the Church of England in a highly irregular area surrounding the city of Liverpool. They are the Archdeacons of Liverpool, of St Helens and Warrington, of Knowsley and Sefton, and of Wigan and West Lancashire; each one has responsibility over a geographical area within the diocese. The Archdeacons are responsible for the disciplinary supervision of the clergy with their archdeaconries.
The Archdeacon of St Davids is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the Church in Wales Diocese of St David's. The archdeacon is the senior priest with responsibility over the area of the archdeaconry of St David's, one of three archdeaconries in the diocese. The Archdeaconry of St David's comprises the four rural deaneries of Daugleddau, Dewisland/Fishguard, Pembroke and Roose.
The Archdeacon of Sheffield and Rotherham is a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Diocese of Sheffield, responsible for the disciplinary supervision of the clergy within the six area deaneries.
The Archdeaconry of Lothian, located in modern-day Scotland, was a sub-division of the diocese of St Andrews, one of two archdeaconries within the diocese and in essence that part of the diocese which lay south of the Forth. The Lothian archdeaconry was headed by the Archdeacon of Lothian, a subordinate of the Bishop of St Andrews.
The Archdeacon of St Andrews was the head of the Archdeaconry of St Andrews, a sub-division of the Diocese of St Andrews, from the twelfth to the seventeenth century. The position was one of the most important positions within the medieval Scottish church; because of his area's large population and high number of parish churches, the Archdeacon of St Andrews may have exercised more power than many Scottish bishops. The following is a list of known archdeacons:
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