The roles of incumbent (clergy appointed by the bishop to serve in a parish) and churchwarden in the Anglican church were established centuries ago. Each congregation has one incumbent and two churchwardens ( or warden). One warden is elected by the congregation at its annual “vestry” meeting (or sometimes referred to as the annual general meeting [AGM]) and one is appointed by the incumbent. Together, the incumbent and churchwardens form the group of dedicated people who provide the core leadership for the local “vestry” or congregation. This leadership triumvirate is quite Anglican in its creation—it is a pragmatic form of governance. The churchwardens, by and large, look after the “temporal” affairs of the congregation: money, property and governance. They always act jointly, never one without the other. The bishop has the chief responsibility for oversight of ministry in all parishes in the diocese. The incumbent, as the bishop’s representative in the parish on a day-to-day basis, has primary responsibility for the “spiritual” affairs: liturgy, education and pastoral concerns.
There is one more concept that you need to be aware of ... The Diocese of British Columbia is a legal corporation created under its own Act(s) of the BC Legislature dating from the mid 1800s. This means that the rules we refer to (our Canons or Canon law) are not “private rules” or bylaws of a private corporation; they are provincial statute.
