It is the responsibility of the Churchwardens and the Area Dean, who are formally the sequestrators of a benefice, to maintain the life, worship and mission of a parish during a vacancy. This responsibility begins from the date of resignation, which is usually the date of induction or licensing in a new parish, or retirement of the incumbent. The Area Dean should be in touch with the outgoing priest and the churchwardens at an early stage to ascertain the needs of the parish during the interregnum.
The sequestrators are the Bishop's officers in the parish during a vacancy.
Where there is a stipendiary assistant in a parish, the Bishop will usually
direct that he or she becomes Minister-in-Charge for the time being. A self-supporting
minister will be expected to help the sequestrators in running the parish and
its services, but only so far as his or her other responsibilities allow. Where
the Bishop appoints a Minister-in-Charge for the duration of the vacancy, that
person takes the chair at PCC meetings. Otherwise, the elected Vice-Chairman
takes the Chair.
