We still have dukes and lesser peers. A duke, as Trollope knew very well, was special but also in a rural community were marquesses, earls, viscounts and barons. Then there were baronets. Those with commissions as opposed to those with birthrights might cherish their ranks from field-marshal down to private and those with academic credentials might similarly cherish their professorships and doctorates.
But things are not what they were. New areas of expertise, new money, new perks have transformed a society that had recognised boundaries and nomenclature. Nowadays many vicars are doctors and their husbands share their status as used to be the case the other way round. A vicar’s spouse is often regarded as an honorary clergyperson.
But the real change has come with the word ‘professional’. At one level it describes somebody who is good at his job. Then it implies qualifications. The word has a chameleon-like quality, at the entry level more or less equivalent to ‘mercenary’ and at the more advanced level an unequalled skill.
In parish life a church website often lists its team. This is led by a professional – i.e. a paid and qualified, recognised and entitled person. Other similar persons may belong to the team and there will be persons doing defined duties, some paid, some voluntary workers.
This distinctive pattern often works well in a parish. The appointment of a CEO or its equivalent may lead to clashes. The professionalising of existing workers may take time, as is happening with youth workers. We once bowed the knee to a duke. Now, like the rest of us, he has to earn such deference.
BELIEVE ANYTHING
Wellington was once addressed in the street by a stranger who said: ‘Mr Jones, I believe?’ The Duke replied: ‘If you believe that, you will believe anything.’
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