chopchurch means an exchanger of benefices; one of a class of secular priests who trafficked in ecclesiastical benefices. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 88 out of 100.
Why “chopchurch” is a great word
CHOPCHURCH — [Noun] A secular priest who illicitly exchanged or trafficked in ecclesiastical benefices. From the verb chop (in the obsolete sense 'to barter or exchange') + church, thus literally 'one who barters churches'. Unlike a simoniac, who buys or sells sacred offices, or a pluralist, who may legally hold multiple benefices, the chopchurch specialized in the cynical trade of spiritual livings. It is the murmured negotiation in a tavern over a parish's income, the greased parchment changing hands in a dim cloister, and the spectral shepherd who treats his flock as chattel—a quiet, bureaucratic corruption that made a marketplace of the sanctuary.
Etymology
From chop + church. See chop (“to barter”).
noun
- An exchanger of benefices; one of a class of secular priests who trafficked in ecclesiastical benefices.