Diocesan Registrars

The Diocesan Registry looks after most legal matters for the Dioceses of Salisbury and Winchester, their Bishops, clergy and other constituent parts and members. The day-to-day services of the office include the processing of Faculty applications, maintaining many records for the Dioceses, regulating ordinations and appointments of clergy, legal aspects of marriage, consecration of land and buildings, and advice on the representation of lay people and local clergy in church government.

Other work includes the issuing of Common Licences for marriages, where calling banns cannot be used, and the preparation of the legal documents needed for ordinations and appointments of clergy in parish and Diocesan posts. As the title suggests, the Registry also keeps many of the legal records of the Dioceses, including a part of the deeds of churches and other church property.

The specialist knowledge of the staff at the Registry is available to anyone with a proper interest in church matters, and it is not often available elsewhere since few lawyers have any knowledge of church law (this does not extend to genealogical matters or burial records, however, since the records in these fields are not part of the Registry records or expertise).  The Registrar is also, therefore, often consulted by people and parishes from other dioceses in matter where the local registrar is not permitted to act, such as disputed applications for faculties or where clergy are subject to discipline processes.

If you have questions about the work of the Registry or need to contact one of the staff there, please use the direct contact telephone number which is (01722) 432390

If you have more specific questions about the services the Registry offers in either diocese, details are on the respective Diocesan Websites:

For the Diocese of Salisbury  www.salisbury.anglican.org

For the Diocese of Winchester  www.winchester.anglican.org