Parson
Dictionary of Terms and Phrases Used in American or English Jurisprudence · Benjamin Vaughan Abbott · 1879
Dictionary of Terms and Phrases Used in American or English Jurisprudence
In English ecclesiastical law, the rector of a parochial church. The rector or incumbent of a parochial church, who hath full possession of all the rights thereof. He is called parson, persona, because by his person the church, which is an invisible body, is represented; and he is himself a body corporate, in order to protect and defend the rights of the church, which he personates, by a perpetual succession. (Cowel; 1 Bl. Com. 384; 2 Steph. Com. 677. ) In a larger sense, the word parson includes all clergymen having ecclesiastical preferment.
Tomlins. Parsonage.
A certain portion of lands, tithes, and offerings, established by law, for the maintenance of the minister who hath the cure of souls.
Tomlins.
The word is more generally used for the house set apart for the residence of the minister. Mozley Sj- W.