advowson n : the right in English law of presenting a nominee to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice

For the process for appointing a parish priest in the Church of England, see Parish.

Advowson is the right in English law of presenting a nominee to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice. In effect this means the right to nominate a person to hold a church office in a parish.

Advowsons were one of the earliest incorporeal hereditaments. As such, courts will still occasionally look to the common law on the transfer of advowsons for guidance on the transfer of modern incorporeal hereditaments, such as farming allotments. See First Victoria Nat'l Bank v. United States, 620 F.2d 1096 (5th Cir., 1980).http://bulk.resource.org/courts.gov/c/F2/620/620.F2d.1096.78-1596.html