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