Perpetual curate was a term used in the Anglican church to describe a clergyman who had charge of a parish but was not entitled to the full rights and privileges of a rector. Other synonyms for this term include assistant curate, licensed curate, and perpetual assistant. In Scotland, the title of reader was used for a similar position, while in the Catholic Church the position would be called a curate or assistant priest. The term perpetual curate was phased out in the 19th century with the passage of laws granting greater rights to curates, but it remains an interesting piece of church history.