In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons, a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, headed by a dignitary bearing a title which may vary, such as dean or provost. In its governance and religious observance a collegiate church is similar in some respects to a cathedral, although a collegiate church is not the seat of a bishop and has no diocesan responsibilities. Collegiate churches have often been supported by endowments, including lands, or by tithe income from appropriated benefices. The church building commonly provides both distinct spaces for congregational worship and for the choir offices of the canons.
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