A Canon in a church is an official. They may or may not be a priest. The Chapter of a cathedral is an official group made up of the Dean and Chapter of canons, who meet in a chapterhouse. They run the cathedral, especially the business affairs of the cathedral. They are the body which has legal responsibility for the cathedral, and for electing the (arch)bishop.[1]
Originally, a canon was a cleric who lived in the precinct of the cathedral. The word meant a priest who was under (ruled by) a bishop.
In the Anglican church, some canons are laypersons (not ordained). The title is also given to some senior or retired priests as an honorary title.
References
Wikiwand in your browser!
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
