Protestant Clergyman

philstar

What way are you suppose to address a Protestant Clergyman?

A lot of people nowadays (esp in england) say Father.....but growing up for me it was always .. Dean, Reverend or Vicar?

isn't Father just for Catholic priests?

Jellybaby1

I know several CoI parishes where the Rector is addressed by his/her first name. A couple of clergy I know of when addressed by someone new to the parish as 'Rev. so-and-so', would instantly reply 'Oh please, call me 'John/Tom/Pat/Anne ' etc. I have come to very much dislike using titles for the clergy now, though I know there are some clergy who might prefer it but surely they must be a minority now? I believe in Anglican 'High' Churches the clergyman is still called 'Father'. If you are writing a formal letter then I expect the title should be used.

homer911

Definitely not Father and most usually just call them by their first name. We are brothers and sisters in Christ.

Mrs OBumble

philstar wrote: »

isn't Father just for Catholic priests?

No.

There are a number of Orthodox clergymen for whom it is the correct title. I believe there are also some Anglicans who qualify for it ( I have no idea why - but have met some who say that their name is "Father <<whatever>>".




Personally, I address all of them (Catholic priests included) by their first names unless I've only just met them, or I've totally lost respect for them.

martinedwards

the vast majority are mr/mrs/miss whatever their surname is or just their first name.

VERY occasionally you'll an Anglican who wants to be called Rector, and as far as I'm aware there's only one Vicar in Ireland (Ballywalter).

there is a branch of the Anglican church which is very similar to the Roman Catholic way of doing things (called, not surprisingly, Anglo-Catholic) and their clergy may well be called Father. Because of our history on this Island, the term Anglo-Catholic isn't used much......

LordSutch

martinedwards wrote: »

Because of our history on this Island, the term Anglo-Catholic isn't used much......

Anglo-Catholic !!!

Wow, that's a new term for me, and I don't miss much.
Can anybody elaborate on this rarest of Christian denominations?

Curious.

Jellybaby1

Me too, I don't think I have ever come across the term 'Anglo-Catholic' before. Not that I would be moving in the relevant circles anyway but it's never been used in my presence in my 60-odd years on this planet!

Speedwell

Growing up Presbyterian in the northeastern US, with occasional excursions to Methodist when a PCUSA denomination church wasn't handy, we always referred to our officiants as "Reverend Firstname Lastname" formally, and "Pastor Firstname" informally or to their faces. Less formal churches, especially in the South, referred variously to "Preacher Lastname" or "Brother/Sister Lastname", the second especially for lay officiants like elders and deacons when not actually using "Elder Lastname" or "Deacon Lastname". "Vicar" wasn't used at all. "Dean" would have people looking around for someone named Dean. "Father" was just too Catholic for the churches I belonged to.

I've heard of "Anglo-Catholic" as a term for a tradition within Anglicanism. My father, a Presbyterian elder brought up in the Magyarországi Református Egyház, used to refer simply to "high church", a mostly equivalent term. He normally just went by his first name, which was unusual enough in the US that everyone knew it meant him specifically.

martinedwards

Anglo Catholic?

Yup, also known as high church or Bells and Smells.

Google it, its out there!

Mrs OBumble

LordSutch wrote: »

Anglo-Catholic !!!

Wow, that's a new term for me, and I don't miss much.
Can anybody elaborate on this rarest of Christian denominations?

Curious.

You need to travel more.

They're not that rare. I come from a city on the other side of the world, roughly the size of Cork, and I'm pretty sure it had a couple of Anglo-Catholic parishes, and well as a good few regular Anglican ones too.

Jellybaby1

Having consulted Mr. Google, it seems it is 'Anglicans who emphasise the Catholic heritage within Anglicanism'. So that would be 'High Church' then as I mentioned. The term 'Anglo Catholic' may be 'out there' but not very much 'in here' i.e. not so prevalent here or even noticeable to us 'Low Churchers'.

feargale

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Personally, I address all of them (Catholic priests included) by their first names unless I've only just met them, or I've totally lost respect for them.

Just wondering, what do you call them when you've lost respect for them?

Jellybaby1

Now that's a leading question methinks! Whatever you like, is my answer.

martinedwards

Jellybaby1 wrote: »

The term 'Anglo Catholic' may be 'out there' but not very much 'in here'

this is Ireland remember.

in the North, Prods are (often) against the term Catholic, in the South, and Northern Catholics, pretty much everyone is not terribly fond of being linked with the Anglo side of things........

fryup

how about padre? is that a term exclusive to catholic priests?

Nekarsulm

fryup wrote: »

how about padre? is that a term exclusive to catholic priests?

I thought that was usually a term used for military chaplains ? (of any denomination)

Speedwell

Nekarsulm wrote: »

I thought that was usually a term used for military chaplains ? (of any denomination)

Not necessarily. A famous example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Padre_Pio While he was a military chaplain briefly early in his career, that is not what he is best known for.

Nekarsulm

Fair enough. I must have been watching too many old B&W war movies!

In general, how you address a P. Clergyman or women varies according to your familiarity with the person, as well as being based on your own "veneration" ( not exactly the word I'm looking gor)
So a clergy you never met before might be "Reverend Jackson", becoming "Reverend Mark" as they become more familiar and ending up as "Mark" .
Some older people would never deviate away from "Reverend Jackson."
Pretty much the same as with any other walk of life, really.

Mrs OBumble

feargale wrote: »

Just wondering, what do you call them when you've lost respect for them?

Father <<lastname>>.

Said very formally, holding my nose slightly as if there was a bad smell.

hinault

Chances are you refer to the person in the same way that the person's identity has been made known to you, like in every other walk of life.

feargale

fryup wrote: »

how about padre? is that a term exclusive to catholic priests?

I may be mistaken, but I think that in the British forces for example the term is used informally for a chaplain of any denomination, ditto in the USA.

Padre is father in both Spanish and Italian. I had occasion once to phone a Catholic priest in Brazil. As he was out when I called I had to communicate with two retainers in the house, neither of whom had a word of English. With my half dozen words of Portuguese I succeeded in conveying to them that I wanted to talk to "o pai" Patricio. I could hear loud sniggering before I put down the phone. Afterwards Fr. Pat explained to me that in Brazil "pai" signifies only a father in blood. For the priest they use the Spanish word padre.

LordSutch

philstar wrote: »

What way are you suppose to address a Protestant Clergyman?

A lot of people nowadays (esp in england) say Father.....but growing up for me it was always .. Dean, Reverend or Vicar?

isn't Father just for Catholic priests?

Up until about twenty years ago (C of I) it was always "Good morning Reverend", then first name terms slowly crept in. So nowadays its good morning (insert 1st name), and that's it.

All formalities regarding the Rector's name & title have gone.

Actually, an ex rector of my Church has a long standing nickname, and to this day he is still called by his nickname when he periodically visits his old Church.

gingernut79

Usually reverend first name or canon first name round here if we're feeling formal, otherwise just first name. Never padre, father or similar. Doesn't really work on the female ministers, of which there are many!

Nick Park

A wonderful and godly Church of Ireland Bishop prefers to be addressed as 'Fanta'. Apparently it was a nickname given to him as a young boy because he was overweight and there were road safety cartoons that featured Fanta the Elephant.

Jellybaby1

A clergyman I knew well arrived unexpectedly one day. When I opened the door I said 'its yourself!', and he replied 'yes, last time I looked anyway'. Its a far cry from the clergy we knew when I was a youngster when everyone was on their P's and Q's when there was clergy around.

Speedwell

gingernut79 wrote: »

Usually reverend first name or canon first name round here if we're feeling formal, otherwise just first name. Never padre, father or similar. Doesn't really work on the female ministers, of which there are many!

The minister of my father's church, who officiated at his funeral, was a woman. I addressed her, out of habit, as "Pastor", which seemed to go down well. "Pastrix" is technically correct, but Latin in an American Presbyterian church? Piffle.

homer911

Nick Park wrote: »

A wonderful and godly Church of Ireland Bishop prefers to be addressed as 'Fanta'. Apparently it was a nickname given to him as a young boy because he was overweight and there were road safety cartoons that featured Fanta the Elephant.

I was wondering how he got that nickname!

martinedwards

Fanta would be offended if you called him anything else! He's a real good guy.

Jellybaby1

Ah, just sussed who you mean. I met him once in his pre-Bishop years. Pity the person who introduced him to me hadn't used the nickname. I'd loved to have used it at the time!!

Speedsie

Crockford's directory, while published under the aegis of the Church of England, has the definitive guide to addressing clergy within the Anglican Communion.
https://www.crockford.org.uk/help/how-to-address-the-clergy

A clergyman/woman should be addressed as Mr/Mrs/Miss Smith, or as Reverend John/Jane Smith.

There are a number of married clergy in the CoI, addressing them can be problematic, esp if one is a Dean and the other a Canon or similar such combination of titles!

In practice though, you are normally invited to call them by their Christan name (or nickname)

lazybones32

feargale wrote: »

Just wondering, what do you call them when you've lost respect for them?

There's one Franciscan priest that I don't like and the feeling is mutual (I think). I'd salute him when acknowledging him is inevitable, only because he's a priest, and when he mutters a reply, I'd love to retort with a line from Band of Brothers "I salute the rank, not the man" but that's over-ridden by "whatever you do to these...you do to me".