 In such churches the patron occasionally appointed an officer to administer the temporalities.It is commonly believed that "church fabrics" do not antedate the thirteenth century.In the first ages of the Church the bishop administered church property with the aid of deacons and priests, but during the fourth century there appeared in the Orient and in certain countries of the West bursars ("œconomi") who, subject to the direction of the bishop, managed the temporal affairs of churches; in other countries the bishop continued to administer the church property with the assistance of some trustworthy man of his choice.