In the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion as well as some Lutheran denominations, a rural dean is a member of clergy who presides over a "rural deanery" (often referred to as a deanery); "ruridecanal" is the corresponding adjective.
The adjective rural is rather metaphoric, standing for relatively a low position, only one rank above the parish. In some Church of England dioceses rural deans have been formally renamed as area deans.