Benefice (Noun)
Meaning
An endowed church office giving income to its holder.
Classification
Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession.
Examples
- The archbishop appointed the priest to a lucrative benefice that allowed him to support himself comfortably while serving the congregation.
- A major landowner bestowed a large benefice upon the newly consecrated church, guaranteeing a substantial annual stipend to the cleric who occupied it.
- Through an 18th-century grant from the Earl, a rectory on the coast possessed an attached benefice known for generous fishing and woodland income that effectively removed local money scarcity among churches that could collect its rich tithes.
- An exceptionally endowed living constituted in 1765 comprised upwards of one particularly large benefice, thus inviting competition among low-income ordinands desperate for additional permanent financial incentives.
- Upon presentation, George inherited from Francis the advantageous benefice once conferred by a wise charitable benefactor on his parish, thereby affording George additional social standing.