Churchwardens are chosen or elected at the meeting of the parishioners each April and serve for a term of 1 year. A person who has been chosen or elected as churchwarden is required to make the Declaration of Office before being admitted to the office by either the Archbishop of York or the Archdeacon of the Archdeaconry in which the parish is situate on the Archbishop's behalf. A description of the office and duties is set out in a card which is available at the ceremonies when the churchwardens are admitted to their office by the Archdeacon and is entitled The Office and Duties of a Churchwarden.
Before being chosen or elected a person must have signified his/her consent to serve as churchwarden and must not be disqualified from being chosen for the office of churchwarden. The various disqualifications are set out on the form of nomination.
A meeting of the parishioners is a joint meeting of persons on the church electoral roll of the parish and persons resident in the parish whose names are on the register of local government electors. The Church Representation Rules include extracts from the Churchwardens Measure 2001 on this topic.
The Registrar has prepared Notes of Guidance on a number of topics which are available on application to any member of staff in the Registry on sending an A4 stamped addressed envelope. These are listed in the legal help for clergy section.
The Notes of Guidance entitled Publications on Ecclesiastical Law for Parochial Clergy and Churchwardens lists various publications on ecclesiastical law and related matters which are published for use by parochial clergy and churchwardens. Incumbents and priests-in-charge with responsibility for parishes are encouraged to ensure that they are aware of the publications and have access to them on their bookshelf. Some of the publications will be of help to churchwardens.
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