Parish

Territorial division in Christian church administration.

parishes

A parish is a territorial division historically used in Christian church administration, particularly within the Catholic Church and Anglican Communion. It typically represents a local community served by a single church or priest.

From Old French 'paroissia' meaning division, from Latin 'parēcia' meaning district.

A parish is like a neighborhood for churches, where people share a local church and sometimes work together on community projects.

The word 'parish' comes from the French word 'paroiss', meaning a district under the care of a priest
Historically, parishes were often responsible for providing poor relief and education
Many English place names end in '-parish' indicating their historical status as a church district

parishioner church district

ecclesiastical division territorial unit

benefice rectory

church graveyard

diocese county

administrative division religious organization