[sydneyanglicans.net] 7 Jul 2008--Google a Sydney Anglican website, look under “staff” and the chances are that you will find a bloke called a “minister”, “senior minister” or “pastor”. Look up the regulations and you will find that clergy are called “priests” or “presbyters” and “deacons”.
The pewsitter finds it interesting that the old titles have mostly vanished from everyday use. This is partly out of discomfort with the title “priest” which sort of implies that Jesus gets sacrificed again and also because the terms sound a bit antiquarian.
But underneath the titles our local clergy use day to day the old ones still exist: priests or presbyters are allowed to be in charge of churches, licensed to baptise and run Holy Communion. Deacons traditionally were priests in waiting, sort of like P-plate clergy.
A radical change in policy has changed those roles here in Sydney. Don’t worry – it is a good change but not as well known among pewsitters as it deserves to be.
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