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Like most Dioceses, Bradford is divided into Archdeaconries (Bradford has two: the more urban Bradford Archdeaconry and the largely rural Craven Archdeaconry.)
Each Archdeaconry is led by an Archdeacon, who is a senior member of the Diocesan staff and who works closely with the Diocesan Bishop in the leadership of the family of Anglicans in the Diocese.
The bedrock of the Church of England are the Parishes. There are 147 parishes in the Diocese of Bradford though, in common with most other Dioceses, many of these may be grouped or "clustered" with neighbours to create a more viable unit, under the leadership of a team of clergy and laity together.
A Church of England priest may have a variety of title and "job description". Best known are vicar and rector. Historically there was a difference, but nowadays the two titles reflect little but that history. Technically the title means that they have been inducted into the freehold of a parish.
It is increasingly common for a priest to be licensed in a parish as priest in charge. Here the priest will probably hold a license for a set length of time - a sort of "fixed term contract". Whatever the legalities, he or she will probably still be referred to as "vicar"!
All parish priests are, technically curates. They hold the "cure" of souls. The term "curate" is normally used, however, for a priest acting as an assistant in a parish. This may be for a variety of purposes. The curate may be someone newly ordained and still undergoing in-service training. It may be someone coming to the end of their ministry. It may be for a host of other reasons...
The parishes of Bradford Diocese are further grouped together into eight Deaneries. One of the more senior of the priests in each deanery is appointed Rural Dean who is responsible for local oversight of the group of parishes. Bradford has not followed some other Dioceses in renaming this post as "Area Dean", despite the apparent anomaly of using the word "rural" in the middle of an inner city area.
The Bishop of Bradford has oversight of all the parishes of the diocese, and is responsible for mission, pastoral care, and the training and deployment of clergy and lay ministers. Although he operates across the Diocese and visits its parishes regularly, he also has a particular place at the Cathedral in Bradford, which is run by a Chapter headed by the Dean and two Residentiary Canons. The Cathedral is a centre of mission and a resource for the whole Diocese, as well as being the parish church of the centre of Bradford, with a particular civic role in the city.
Bradford is one of the more northerly of the 44 Dioceses in the Church of England. You'll see that Scotland, Wales and Ireland are missing from this map. These are different Provinces in the Anglican Communion.
Click on the map to visit other Dioceses - but do come back!
(The Diocese in Europe is not numbered on the map)
