Chaplain
Charles Buck Theological Dictionary [1]
A person who performs divine service in a chapel, or is retained in the service of some family to perform divine service. As to the origin of chaplains, some say the shrines of relics were anciently covered with a kind of tent, cape, or capella, 1:e. little cape; and that hence the priests who had the care of them were called chaplains. In time, these relics were reposited in a little church, either contiguous to a larger, or separate from it; and the name capella, which was given to the cover, was also given to the place where it was lodged; and hence the priest who superintended it came to be called capellanus, or chaplain. According to a statute of Henry Viii. the persons vested with a power of retaining chaplains, together with the number each is allowed to qualify, are as follow: an archbishop eight; a duke or bishop six; marquis or earl five; viscount four; baron, knight of the garter, or lord chancellor, three: a duchess, marchioness, countess, baroness, the treasurer or comptroller of the king's house, clerk of the closet, the king's secretary, dean of the chapel, almoner, and master of the rolls, each of them two; chief justice of the king's bench, and ward of the cinque ports, each one. All these chaplains may purchase a license or dispensation, and take two benefices, with cure of souls.
A chaplain must be retained by letters testimonial under hand and seal, for it is not sufficient that he serve as chaplain in the family. In England there are forty-eight chaplains to the king, who wait four each month, preach in the chapel, read the service to the family, and to the king in his private oratory, and say grace in the absence of the clerk of the closet. While in waiting, they have a table and attendance, but no salary. In Scotland, the king has six chaplains with a salary of 50l. each; three of them having in addition the deanery of the chapel royal divided between them, making up above 100l. to each. Their only duty at present is to say prayers at the election of peers for Scotland to sit in parliament.
Webster's Dictionary [2]
(1): (n.) A clergyman who is officially attached to the army or navy, to some public institution, or to a family or court, for the purpose of performing divine service.
(2): (n.) Any person (clergyman or layman) chosen to conduct religious exercises for a society, etc.; as, a chaplain of a Masonic or a temperance lodge.
(3): (n.) An ecclesiastic who has a chapel, or who performs religious service in a chapel.
Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature [3]
(capellanus), a person who performs divine service in a capella (chapel). The position of the chapllin was contingent upon the nature of the capella, which either denotes a church without parochial rights, an oratory, a sanctuary, or even a part (altar, etc.) of a particular church. (See Chapel). Thus the chaplain was sometimes the assistant of a parish priest; sometimes even exempted from episcopal jurisdiction. The "royal or palace chaplains" (capellani regii or palatini) usually received large privileges from the popes. At the head of the army chaplains (capellani militum) was a chaplain general (Capellanus major regius), to whom usually extraordinary faculties were transferred. There I were also special chaplains in the castles of noblemen and in the houses of wealthy citizens. The chaplains of the bishops usually served as their secretaries. The chaplains attached to the papal court were divided into three classes: titular chaplains (capellani honorarii), chaplains assisting at the pontifical ceremonies (ceremoniarii), and chaplains employed as private secretaries of the pope (capellani secreti). Chaplains were also commonly appointed for the religious services in monasteries, hospitals, and other ecclesiastical institutions; but the most common employment of chaplains in the Church of Rome soon became, and still is, service at non-parochial churches and sanctuaries, or as assistants of the parish priests at large churches requiring the services of more than one clergyman.
In many of the Protestant churches the name chaplain was for a long time retained for the assistant clergymen at large churches, but this use has gradually disappeared, and is now only to be found in a few places, especially in Hungary. It is used in modern I times as the title of court preachers, of preachers appointed for the chapels of ambassadors or for private chapels, and more commonly for clergymen appointed exclusively to minister in the army or navy (army and navy chaplains). "In England there are 48 chaplains to the king, who wait four each month, preach in the chapel, read the service to the family, and to the king in his private oratory, and say grace in the absence of the clerk of the closet. While in waiting they have a table and attendance, but no salary. In Scotland the king has six chaplains, with a salary of 50 each; three of them haying, in addition, the deanery of the chapel royal divided between them, making up above 100 to each. Their only duty at present is to say prayers at the election of peers for Scotland to sit in Parliament." In England, "when the system of army chaplains was remodeled in 1796, a chaplain-general was appointed: his office was abolished by the Duke of Wellington soon after the termination of the great war, but revived by Mr. Sidney Herbert in 1846. The chaplain- general, who receives 1000 per annum, has duties partaking somewhat of those of an archdeacon. He assists the War Office in selecting chaplains, and in regulating the religious matters of the army. His office forms one of the 17 departments under the new organization of the War Office. There are about 80 chaplains on the staff, besides assistant clergymen and chapel clerks. The commissioned chaplains receive from 16s. to 23s. per day, and there are always some on half pay, while the assistant clergymen receive from 200 to 400 a year. The whole expenditure for commissioned chaplains, assistant clergymen, chapelclerks, and church and chapel books, figures in the Army Estimates for 1860-61 at about 45,000. In the navy every ship in commission, down to and including fifth-rates, has a chaplain. The Navy Estimates (1860-61) provide for 99 commissioned chaplains, at stipends varying from 160 to 255 per annum; 9 others in district guard- ships, at average stipends of about 175; and 66 on half-pay, at 5s. to 10s. per day. The chaplains perform divine service at stated times on shipboard, visit the sick sailors, and assist in maintaining moral discipline among the crew."
In the United States the national government has not only army and navy chaplains, but also chaplains for both houses, Senate and Representatives. Many of the state Legislatures have chaplains also.
