Praesentibus?

I came across something that puzzled me in a transcript of a baptism
form parish register:

Child's name, father's name, mother's name, PRAESENTIBUS name CLER.
PAROC. ET CONJUGE

I suppose it must mean something like - in the presence of X, the

Eve McLaughlin...

with these person being present (to be pedantic)

parish priest and his wife?

Eve McLaughlin...

Probably the parish clerk, rather than the vicar. It ought to be pre
1733, (though some clergy, perversely, started using Latin after this.)
I would guess that the child is related to the clerk, or the family are
of some significance in the area. Just possibly, the infant is abandoned
and -as the parentage is known- the clerk records it, in their absence
and is prepared to be accountable for doing so if any queries arise.

Simon Pugh...

Thank you Eve, I hadn't realised that clericus parochialis was a junior
position rather than the parish priest. Something like curate means now?

It does sound as though the clerk and his wife had some personal
interest in the child.

Eve McLaughlin...

No. The words look like a literal translation of clerk of the parish,
who was not an ordained minister, but the man who (usually) wrote up the
parish register, though his more important duty would be to lead the
singing of responses. He also made appointments for the vicar, saw the
church was ready for whatever ceremony was booked, and the clergyman was
present and tolerably sober, and generally handled the day to day
running of the church building..

But what is the significance of this, I haven't seen it before and it
was the only occurrence in the transcript?