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.
&fist;
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.
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