rural dean

In the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion as well as some Lutheran denominations, a rural dean is a member of clergy who presides over a "rural deanery" (often referred to as a deanery); "ruridecanal" is the corresponding adjective. The adjective rural does not mean the role is restricted to the countryside, but distinguishes them from the deans of cathedral chapters, which were historically in cities. In some Church of England dioceses rural deans have been formally renamed as area deans.