St Margarete Parish Church, Berndorf, Lower Austria, surrounded by school buildings and the priests' house

A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization. It often covered the same geographic area as the manor, under the lay jurisdiction of the Lord of the Manor, which generally shared the same name and from the creation of which the parish may have derived its existence.

By extension the term parish refers not only to the territorial unit but to the people of its community or congregation as well as to church property within it. In England this church property was technically in the ownership of the parish priest, vested in him on his institution to that parish.

Etymology and use[link]

From the Greek paroikia, the dwellingplace of the priest, eighth Archbishop of Canterbury Theodore of Tarsus (c.602–690) applied to the Anglo-Saxon township unit, where it existed, the ecclesiastical term parish.

First attested in English late 13th century, the word parish comes from the Old French paroisse, in turn from Latin: paroecia,^[1] which is the latinisation of the Ancient Greek: παροικία} paroikia, "sojourning in a foreign land",^[2] itself from πάροικος (paroikos), "dwelling beside, stranger, sojourner",^[3] which is a compound of παρά (para), " beside, by, near"^[4] + (oikos), "house".^[5]

Being an ancient concept the term "parish" is used by all the long established Christian denominations: Roman Catholic, Anglican Communion, the Eastern Orthodox Church, Lutheran churches, and some Methodist, and Presbyterian churches.

Church territorial structure[link]

• A chapelry is a subdivision of a parish to cope with difficult access
• A parish is a subdivision of a diocese or see. The diocese is headed by a bishop
• An archdeaconry is another subdivision of a diocese, it is a group of parishes
• A diocese is a subdivision of a province. The province is led by a metropolitan bishop
• A province may cover all or part of a country or a group of countries and be presided over by an archbishop who is Primate

Roman Catholic Church[link]

The parish church of St Michael the Archangel, Mapello, Bergamo, Italy

In the Roman Catholic Church, each parish has at least one parish priest, who has responsibility and canonical authority over the parish (the Latin for this post is parochus).

A parish priest may have one or more fellow priests assisting him. In Catholic usage this priest is technically a "parochial vicar", but is commonly called an "associate pastor" or "assistant pastor" (or just "associate" or "assistant"), a curate, or vicar - common as they are, these terms are inaccurate and many dioceses have recently begun using the canonical term "parochial vicar" even in general parish communications (bulletins and the like).

Each diocese (administrative region) is divided into parishes, each with their own central church called the parish church, where religious services take place. Some larger parishes or parishes that have been combined under one pastor may have two or more such churches, or the parish may be responsible for chapels (sometimes called "chapels of ease") located at some distance from the parish church for the convenience of distant parishioners.

In the Catholic Church there also exists a special type of ecclesiastical parish called a national parish, which is not territorial in nature. These are usually created to serve the needs of all of the members of a particular language group, particularly of an immigrant community, in a large area: its members are not defined by their precise location, but by their country of origin or native language.

Other variations are also possible. In some Catholic jurisdictions created for the armed forces, for instance, the entire diocese or archdiocese is treated as a single parish: all of the Catholics in the military of the United States and all of their Catholic dependents, for instance, form the Archdiocese of the Military Services, USA, a diocese defined not by territory but by another quality (in this case, relationship to the military) - this archdiocese has its own archbishop, and all records and other matters are handled in a central office rather than by individual priests assigned to military post chapels or chaplains of units in the field.

See also:Team of priests in solidum

Church of England[link]

Macclesfield Parish Church, England

The Church of England at its heart views the local parish church as the basic unit. The parish system survived the Reformation and the Church's secession from Rome largely untouched, so it shares its roots with the Roman Catholic system described above. One parish may have been situated in different counties or hundreds and in many cases parishes contained in addition to its principal district several outlying portions, usually described as 'detached', intermixed with the lands in other parishes. Church of England parishes are currently each within one of 40 dioceses divided between the provinces of Canterbury, 28 and York, 12.

Each parish should have its own parish priest (who might be termed its vicar or its rector), perhaps supported by one or more curates or deacons - although as a result of ecclesiastical pluralism some parish priests might have held more than one parish living, placing a curate in charge of those where they did not reside. Now, however, it is common for a number of neighbouring parishes to be placed in the charge of a single vicar who takes services at them in rotation, with additional services being provided by lay readers or other non-ordained members of the congregation.

In England Civil parishes and their governing parish councils evolved in the 19th century as ecclesiastical parishes began to be relieved of what became considered to be civil responsibilities. Their separate boundaries began to vary. The word "parish" acquired a secular usage. Since 1895, a parish council elected by the general public or a (civil) parish meeting administers a civil parish and is the level of local government below a district council.

The traditional structure of the Church of England with the parish as the basic unit has been exported to other countries and churches within the Anglican Communion but is not necessarily administered in the same way.

Church of Scotland[link]

In the Church of Scotland, the parish is basic level of church administration. The spiritual oversight of each parish church is responsibility of the congregation's Kirk Session. Patronage was regulated this way in 1712 (Patronage Act) and abolished in 1874, ministers must be elected by members of the congregation. Many parish churches are now "linked" with neighbouring parish churches (served by a single minister.) With the abolition of parishes as a unit of civil government in Scotland, parishes now have a purely ecclesiastical significance in Scotland (and the boundaries may be adjusted by the local Presbytery).

Methodist Church[link]

Although they are more often called simply congregations and have no geographic boundaries, in the United States some United Methodist Church congregations are called parishes. The United Methodist Bishop of the Episcopal Area appoints a pastor to each congregation. The same is true in the African Methodist Episcopal Church and the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church.

In New Zealand, a local grouping of Methodist churches that share one or more ministers (which in the United Kingdom would be called a circuit) is referred to as a parish.

ISKCON[link]

The parallel to the parish system in the International Society of Krishna Consciousness is the division of zonal areas by the Governing Body Commission.

See also[link]

• Parish church
• Parish registers, Birth certificate, Marriage certificate, Death certificate
• Parish pump
• Freguesia

References[link]

Notes

Bibliography

External links[link]

• In praise of ... civil parishes Editorial in The Guardian, 2011-05-16.

Robert Parish

No. 00
Center
Personal information
Born	(1953-08-30) August 30, 1953 (age 58) Shreveport, Louisiana
Nationality	American
Listed height	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight	230 lb (104 kg)
Career information
College	Centenary (1972-1976)
NBA Draft	1976 / Round: 1 / Pick: 8th overall
Selected by the Golden State Warriors
Pro career	1976–1997
Career history
1976–1980	Golden State Warriors
1980–1994	Boston Celtics
1994–1996	Charlotte Hornets
1996–1997	Chicago Bulls
Career highlights and awards
4× NBA Champion (1981, 1984, 1986, 1997) 9× NBA All-Star (1981–1987, 1990–1991) All-NBA Second Team (1982) All-NBA Third Team (1989) NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team #00 Retired by the Boston Celtics
Career statistics
Points	23,334
Rebounds	14,715
Blocks	2,361
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Basketball Hall of Fame as player
Medals Competitor for  United States Men's basketball Pan American Games Gold 1975 Mexico City Team competition

Robert Lee Parish (born August 30, 1953) is a retired American basketball center. He was known for his strong defense and jump shooting, and was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003. In 1996, Parish was also named as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. His nickname was The Chief, after the fictitious Chief Bromden, a silent, giant Native American character in the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. According to Parish, former Celtics forward Cedric Maxwell gave him this nickname because of his stoic nature.

College career[link]

Although Parish had a successful college career at Centenary College of Louisiana from 1972–1976, he received virtually no notice because of one of the most severe penalties ever levied by the National Collegiate Athletic Association.^[1]

In 1965, the NCAA adopted the so-called "1.6 rule" to determine academic eligibility of incoming freshmen.^[2][3] Under its provisions, freshmen would academically qualify if their high school grades and standardized test scores predicted a minimum college grade point average of 1.6 on a 4-point scale.^[2]

Parish took a standardized test that did not fit the NCAA's formula; Centenary converted his score to an equivalent that would fit the formula, which it had done for 12 other athletes in the previous two years. This was a violation of NCAA regulations; however, the NCAA had not paid any attention to the school's actions before Parish's recruitment. Shortly before Parish was to enroll, the NCAA notified Centenary that he and four other basketball players whose test scores had been converted were ineligible to play there, but said that the school would not be subject to penalty if it rescinded the five scholarships. Centenary argued that the rule did not say that the school could not convert the scores of Parish and the other players, while the NCAA argued that Centenary could not use the test taken by Parish and the other players to establish eligibility. When Centenary refused to pull the scholarships, the NCAA issued one of the most draconian sanctions in its history. The school's basketball program was put on probation for 6 years, during which time it was not only barred from postseason play, but its results and statistics were excluded from weekly statistics and its existence was not acknowledged in the NCAA's annual press guides.^[1]

Literally within days of its decision, the NCAA repealed the 1.6 rule—but refused to make the five players eligible. A few months later, all five, including Parish, sued the NCAA for their eligibility at Centenary, but lost.^[1] The decision made Parish a sort of "invisible man" who racked up huge statistical totals in virtual obscurity. In his four years at Centenary, the Gents went 87-21 and spent 14 weeks in the AP Top 20 poll,^[4] mostly during his senior season in 1975-76.^[5] He averaged 21.6 points and 16.9 rebounds per game during his Centenary career.^[5] However, although the school recognizes his records, the NCAA to this day does not include Parish in its record books. For example, the NCAA's official Division I basketball records book includes a list of all players since the 1972-73 season (Parish's freshman year) to have averaged 15 rebounds during a season. To this day, Parish does not appear on this list, even though he averaged at least that many rebounds in each of his four seasons,^[6] and his career rebounding average is higher than that of any player on the NCAA's official list of post-1972 career rebounding leaders.^[7] The only mention of Parish's time at Centenary in the official NCAA record books is that of the Gents' appearances in the AP Poll from the 1973-74 through 1975-76 seasons.^[8]

While the Gents were on probation, another Louisiana school, the University of Southwestern Louisiana, was given the so-called "death penalty" by the NCAA in 1973 for falsifying transcripts; the Ragin' Cajuns basketball team was forbidden from playing during the 1973-74 and 1974-75 seasons.

Between his junior and senior years, he played for the US national team at the 1975 Pan American Games. His difficulties with the NCAA indirectly led to his not being recommended for a spot on the team. Centenary paid his way to Salt Lake City to try out; he made the team, was unanimously elected captain, and led the team to a gold medal.^[1]

Throughout his time at Centenary, Parish chose not to escape anonymity by either jumping to the National Basketball Association or American Basketball Association (the latter of which existed until the ABA-NBA merger in 1976), or by transferring to another college, even though the professional ranks offered him potential riches and a transfer would have given him eligibility and far more publicity. At the time, professional scouts did not question his physical skills, but were divided as to whether his decision to stay at Centenary was a show of loyalty or evidence of poor decision-making.^[1] One NBA scout said during Parish's senior season, "The jury is still out as to whether Parish can win games for a pro team. He can definitely play in the pros and he's going to get a lot of money, but that doesn't mean he's going to be another Abdul-Jabbar (whom he ended up passing in games played in his next-to-last season)."^[9] For his part, Parish would say during the same season, "I didn't transfer because Centenary did nothing wrong. And I have no regrets. None."^[9]

NBA career[link]

After college, Parish was drafted in the first round of the 1976 NBA Draft by the Golden State Warriors. He had also been drafted by the Utah Stars in the 1973 ABA Special Circumstances draft and by the Spurs in the 1975 ABA Draft. Parish signed with the Warriors. The Warriors were NBA Champions in 1975 (two seasons prior to Parish's rookie season). However, when Parish joined the Warriors, their decline had begun, and they missed the playoffs completely from 1978 to 1980.

Robert Parish during his tenure with the Celtics

Heading into the 1980 NBA Draft, the Boston Celtics (who already had small forward Larry Bird ready to start his second NBA season) held the number one overall pick. In a pre-draft trade, Celtics President Red Auerbach dealt the top pick and an additional first-round pick to the Warriors for Parish and the Warriors' first-round pick, the third overall. With that pick, the Celtics chose Kevin McHale. The Warriors then selected Joe Barry Carroll with the first pick, whose career eventually was shortened by injuries.

The Celtics now had an imposing frontcourt consisting of Bird, Parish, Cedric Maxwell, and McHale. Parish compared his transition from Golden State to Boston in a televised quote where he jokingly said it was like going from an outhouse to a penthouse. Playing 14 years with the Celtics from 1980 to 1994, Parish won three NBA titles (1981, 1984 and 1986) teaming with Bird and power forward McHale. Parish, Bird and McHale came to be known as "The Big Three". All three were named by the NBA to the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team and are regarded as one of the greatest frontcourts in NBA history.

He played two more seasons with the Charlotte Hornets and then played his final season with the Chicago Bulls in 1996-97, which led to his fourth NBA title. At 43, he was the third-oldest player to ever play an NBA game (behind Nat Hickey of the Providence Steamrollers,^[10] and Kevin Willis of the Dallas Mavericks) and as of 2011, his 1,611 games played over 21 seasons are unmatched.

Legacy[link]

He was known as a versatile center, using his 7' size and speed to contain opposing players, launch precise shots from outside the paint, and finish fast breaks - the latter uncanny for a man of his stature. Fellow Hall of Famer and teammate from 1985-87 Bill Walton once called Parish the "greatest shooting big man of all time", perhaps because of Parish's field goal and free throw shooting ability, an unusual talent among most centers. His trademark was his high release jump shot, which traversed a very high arc before falling.

In honor of his achievements, the Celtics retired Parish's famous #00 jersey number in 1998 at halftime of a Celtics-Pacers game; this allowed Larry Bird, then head coach of the Pacers, to participate in the ceremony. He was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003. In 1996, Parish, along with teammates Larry Bird and Kevin McHale, was selected as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History.

Today, he remains active as the Celtics' team consultant and mentor for current Celtics big men.

In 1995, Parish's former wife, Nancy Saad, alleged that he psychologically and physically abused her throughout their 10-year relationship, including pushing her "down a flight of stairs" when she was eight months pregnant.^[11] Parish denied the allegations,^[12] and no charges were ever filed.^[13]

NBA statistics[link]

Regular season[link]

Playoffs[link]

Career highs[link]

Top shot-blocking efforts[link]

Regular season[link]

Playoffs[link]

See also[link]

• List of National Basketball Association players with 1000 games played
• List of National Basketball Association career scoring leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career rebounding leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career blocks leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career turnovers leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career playoff scoring leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career playoff rebounding leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career playoff blocks leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career playoff turnovers leaders
• List of National Basketball Association players with most rebounds in a game
• List of National Basketball Association players with most blocks in a game

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• Robert Parish selected season stats and career highs
• Robert Parish NBA Legends Bio
• Robert Paris NBA biography (archived from 1997)
• Robert Parish historical page at NBA.com
• Robert Parish at Basketball-Reference.com
• Robert Parish at DatabaseBasketball.com
• Robert Parish at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
• Where Are They Now?: Robert Parish @ NBA.com