Definitions for: Vicar


[n] a Roman Catholic priest who acts for another higher-ranking clergyman
[n] (Church of England) a clergyman appointed to act as priest of a parish
[n] (United States Episcopal Church) a clergyman in charge of a chapel



Webster (1913) Definition: Vic"ar, n. [OE. vicar, viker, vicair, F. vicaire, fr. L.
vicarius. See Vicarious.]
1. One deputed or authorized to perform the functions of
another; a substitute in office; a deputy. [R.]

2. (Eng. Eccl. Law) The incumbent of an appropriated
benefice.

Note: The distinction between a parson [or rector] and vicar
is this: The parson has, for the most part, the whole
right to the ecclesiastical dues in his parish; but a
vicar has generally an appropriator over him, entitled
to the best part of the profits, to whom he is in fact
perpetual curate with a standing salary. --Burrill.

Apostolic vicar, or Vicar apostolic. (R. C. Ch.)
(a) A bishop to whom the Roman pontiff delegates a portion
of his jurisdiction.
(b) Any ecclesiastic acting under a papal brief,
commissioned to exercise episcopal authority.
(c) A titular bishop in a country where there is no
episcopal see, or where the succession has been
interrupted.

Vicar forane. [Cf. LL. foraneus situated outside of the
episcopal city, rural. See Vicar, and Foreign.] (R. C.
Ch.) A dignitary or parish priest appointed by a bishop to
exercise a limited jurisdiction in a particular town or
district of a diocese. --Addis & Arnold.

Vicar-general.
(a) (Ch. of Eng.) The deputy of the Archbishop of
Canterbury or York, in whose court the bishops of the
province are confirmed. --Encyc. Brit.
(b) (R. C. Ch.) An assistant to a bishop in the discharge
of his official functions.

Vicar of Jesus Christ (R. C. Ch.), the pope as representing
Christ on earth.

See Also: clergyman, man of the cloth, priest, reverend

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