What is Parish?
A '''parish''' is the [[area]] which is served by a [[church]]. This term is used by these churches: [[Church of England]] and the [[Anglican Communion]], [[Roman Catholic]], the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] churches, and some [[Methodist]], and [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterian]] churches. The idea is that the local [[priest]] or [[Clergyman|minister]] is responsible for the '[[soul]]s' in the parish. The term refers to a local church community or territory, including its main church building, and other property. The word 'parish' is also used more generally to refer to the collection of people who attend a particular church. In this usage, a parish minister is one who serves a [[congregation]]. A parish is a subdivision of a [[diocese]] or 'see'. The diocese is headed by a [[Bishop]]. Parishes were responsible under the English [[Poor Law]] for supporting the poor people of their parish. [[Charles Dickens]] described how this worked. The parish would employ a [[beadle]] who would manage the [[workhouse]]. <ref>{{Cite book|title=Sketches by Boz|last=Dickens|first=Charles|publisher=John Macrone|year=1833|location=London}}</ref>This work was later taken over by the [[board of guardians]], who were not part of the church. == Local government == In some countries a [[wikt:civil|civil]] parish is an administrative area of [[local government]]. Usually they started as an church parish of the same name. In the course of time, perhaps with modified boundaries to better suit local government, the parish survives. In the [[United States|American]] [[U.S. state|state]] of [[Louisiana]], a parish is an administration area similar to a [[county]]. ==References== {{reflist}} {{multistub|religion|politics}} [[Category:Parishes| ]]