Parish

the precinct of a parochial church, ~ or a circuit of ground inhabited by people who. belong to one church, and are under the particular charge of its minister. The word comes from the Latin parochia, the Greek wapointes habitation; compound of wagz, near, oxo, house. | Accordingly Du Cange observes, that the name wepoime was anciently given to the whole territory of a bishop, and derives it from neighbourhood; because the primitive christians not daring to a emble openly in cities, were forced, to meet secretly in neighbour-houses, In the ancient church there was one large edifice in each city for the people to meet in 5 and this they called parochia, parish. But the signification of the word was afterwards enlarged, and by a parish was meant a diocese, or the extent of the jurisdiction of a bishop, consisting of several churches; unle we will.suppose, as some do, that those bishops were only pastors of single churches. Du Pin observes, that country parishes had not their origin before the 4th century; but those of cities are more ancient. The city of Alexandria is said to have been the first that was divided into. parishes, It seems pretty clear and-certain, says judge Black stone (Com. vol. i. p. 112), that the. boundaries of parishes were first ascertained by’ those of a manor or manors; because it very sellom happens that a manor extends iself. over more than one parish, though there are often many manors in one parish. The lords, © he adds, as christianity spread, began to build churches upon their own demesnes or wastes, in. order to accommodate their tenants in one or ~ two adjoining lordships; and that they might ~ have divine service regularly performed therein, - obliged all their tenants to appropriate their ~ tithes to the maintenance of the one officiating gninister, instead of leaving them at liberty to distribute them among the clergy of the diocese in general; and this tract of land; the tithes of whioh were so appropriated, formed a distinct parish; and this accounts for the frequent intermixture of parishes one with another. For if a lord had a parce! of land detached from the main of his estate, but not sufficient to form a rish of itself, it was natural for him to endow his newly erected church with the tithes of such lands: Extra parochial wastes and marsh land, when improved and drained, are by 17. Geo. II. cap. 37. to be a e ed to all parochial yates in the parish next adjoining. Camden reckons 9284 parishes in England; and Chamberlayne makes 9913. ‘They are now generally reckoned nearly 11,000. See BENEFICE and NON-RESIDENT. 99