Chapters, Cathedral, collegiate, etc.

According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics (chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. In the Catholic Church their creation is the purview of the Pope. They can be numbered, in which case they are provided with a fixed prebend, or unnumbered, in which case the bishop indicates the number of canons according to the ability of diocesan revenues to support them. These chapters are made up of canons and other officers, while in the Church of England chapters now include a number of lay appointees. In some Church of England cathedrals there are two such bodies, the lesser and greater chapters, which have different functions. The smaller body usually consists of the residentiary members and is included in the larger one.