Archdeacon of Durham


The Archdeacon of Durham is a senior ecclesiastical officer of the diocese of Durham. They have, within the geographical area of the archdeaconry of Durham, pastoral oversight of clergy and care of church buildings.

History

The first archdeacons in the diocese were appointed after the Norman Conquest – around the same time the post of Archdeacon first appeared elsewhere in England. There is no evidence of more than one archdeacon in the diocese until the mid-12th century, when two lines of office holders start to appear in sources. The titles "Archdeacon of Durham" and "Archdeacon of Northumberland" are not recorded until later in the century, although it is possible to discern which of the two lines became which post.
The archdeaconry has been split twice: once on 23 May 1882, to create the Auckland archdeaconry after the Diocese of Newcastle was created from the diocese's other two archdeaconries and a second time in 1997, to create the Sunderland archdeaconry.

List of archdeacons

High Medieval

Sole archdeacons
Senior archdeacons
Archdeacons of Durham

Late Medieval

Period of dispute:Pope's claimants

Early modern

Late modern