pluralism

In the Church of England, the holding of two or more ecclesiastical benefices by the same clergyman, often with permission from the bishop or other authority. Pluralism was widespread in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, particularly among wealthy or influential clergy, and could result in absenteeism when a clergyman appointed curates to perform parish duties. Nineteenth-century ecclesiastical reforms sought to restrict abuses of pluralism and improve the provision of resident clergy.