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Dean

The American Church Dictionary and Cyclopedia

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Dictionaries
American Church Dictionary
• Dean
Charles Buck Dictionary
• Dean
1910 New Catholic Dictionary
• Sacred College, Dean of the
• Rural Dean
• Peculiars, Dean of
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Webster Dictionary
• Dean
Encyclopedias
1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
• Dean
• Forest of Dean
• Richard Deane
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McClintock and Strong's Bible Encyclopedia
• Arches, Dean of
• Dean
• Dean of the Cardinals.
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The Nuttall Encyclopedia
• Dean of Guild
• Dean of St. Patrick's
• Dean, Forest of
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The Catholic Encyclopedia
• Dean
• Ven. William Dean

An Ecclesiastical title; the presiding officer of a Cathedral. The word is derived from the Latin decanus, meaning one presiding over ten. In England the Dean is a Church dignitary and ranks next to the Bishop. The word is used in the American Church, but with a considerable modification of its original meaning. The Cathedral in the American Church not having become fully developed, the duties and rights of the Dean as the presiding officer of the Cathedral have not been fully determined, or at all events not made a reality. So that for the most part the title as used in this country is simply honorary.