churchwarden

American  

[church-wawr-dn] / ˈtʃɜrtʃˌwɔr dn /

noun

1. Anglican Church. a lay officer who looks after the secular affairs of the church, and who, in England, is the legal representative of the parish.

2. Episcopal Church. a lay church officer who, with other members of the vestry, is in charge of the temporal management of the parish.

3. a long-stemmed clay pipe for smoking.

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churchwarden British  

/ ˌtʃɜːtʃˈwɔːdən /

noun

1. Church of England Episcopal Church one of two assistants of a parish priest who administer the secular affairs of the church

2. a long-stemmed tobacco pipe made of clay

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Etymology

Origin of churchwarden

1400–50; late Middle English chirche wardeyn

Example Sentences

"Some of the old guard were worried about theft, but we were determined to be open and available to the whole community," says churchwarden Robert Allen.

From BBC

Here is a Sunday school superintendent, churchwarden and self-appointed president of a piety league, who religiously highlights the faults in others while constantly trying to pursue his own advancement through “good deeds”.

From The Guardian

But, says Robert Hardman in the Daily Mail, the "farewell joke had not even been scripted by one of Ronnie Corbett's comedy pals. It had been the idea of the churchwardens."

From BBC

Holy Trinity churchwarden and local historian Andrew Westwood-Bate said they expected to "discover some bones while digging but this was completely unexpected".

From BBC

In fact, getting in as a "stranger" was at the sufferance of both the clergyman and the churchwardens.

From The Guardian