called rural dean) who was also one of the parochial clergy. His role was to visit each of his churches annually to inspect the internal and external fabric of the building and the propriety of its cleric. In the Aberdeen diocese, there were five deaneries—Aberdeen, Boyne, Buchan, Garioch and Mar. Parish churches The expression parochia changed over time from its original meaning in the 12th century of being the territory over which a bishop had authority to its later definition of being a locality that was subject to the ecclesiastic charge of a baptismal church. This shift was complete by the 13th century when parochia and parochia ecclesia became entirely associated with the parish church. The development of the parochial system in Scotland has been attributed to the reforming zeal of King David I and his introduction of Anglo-Norman lords yet it is also true that the process had begun under David's predecessors and the native Scottish aristocracy. Some parochial-type entities that had formed before David's reign remained unaltered under David's reshaping of the ecclesiastical landscape. Importantly, David played a significant role in institutionalising the sustainability of the parish unit. The canonical statutes specified the conditions for parish churches. A church built from new had to be made of stone, glazed and erected and funded by the parishioners while the chancel's construction had to be at the rector's expense. The church had to be consecrated although it appears that this was frequently overlooked. Again, at his own expense, the rector had to equip the church with furniture, a silver chalice, necessary books, altar coverings and candles. Failure to supply these items resulted in the benefices being suspended until compliance. These objects were now the property of the church and had to be left in good condition for the succeeding clergy. Parish churches were a fundamental resource for large ecclesial establishments such as abbeys and cathedrals. This was achieved by the appropriation of the revenues of the churches to the detriment of the resident rectors, also called parsons. The negative impact of these appropriations led to the parsonage largely being confined to the few independent parishes. The bishop always had to sanction appropriations within his diocese and the recipient of the appropriated parish assumed the obligations and revenues of the parsonage. To ensure that the needs of the parishioners were properly met, the beneficiary needed to establish a vicarage perpetual. This