VICARS
Noun
vicars
plural of vicar
Source: Wiktionary
VICAR
Vic"ar, n. Etym: [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)
Definition: 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. Etym: [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.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition