In the broadest sense, a 'vicar' (from the
Latin ''
vicarius'') is anyone acting "in the person of" or for a superior (compare "vicarious"). In this sense, the title is comparable to ''
lieutenant''. Usually the title appears in a number of
Christian ecclesiastical contexts, but in the
Holy Roman Empire a local representative of the
emperor, perhaps an
archduke, might be styled "vicar". "Representative" is the best definition of this word.
Roman Catholic
In
Roman Catholic canon law, ''a vicar is the representative of any ecclesiastic''. The
Romans had used the term to describe officials subordinate to the
praetorian prefects. In the early Christian churches,
bishops likewise had their vicars, such as the
archdeacons and
archpriests, and also the rural
priest, the
curate who had the ''cure'' of all the souls outside the episcopal cities. The position of the Roman Catholic vicar as it evolved is sketched in the ''Catholic Encyclopedia'', 1908
[1]
The
Pope uses the title ''Vicarius Christi'', meaning, the ''vicar of
Jesus Christ''. The papacy first used this title in the
eighth century; earlier they used the title ''vicar of
Saint Peter'' or
vicarius principis apostolorum, the ''vicar of the chief of the
apostles''.
Vicars have various different titles based on what role they are performing. An
apostolic vicar is a
bishop or priest who heads a
missionary particular church that is not yet ready to be a full
diocese - he stands as the local representative of the Pope, in the Pope's role as bishop of all unorganized territories. A
vicar capitular, who exercises authority in the place of the diocesan chapter, is a temporary
ordinary of a diocese during a ''
sede vacante'' period.
Vicars exercise authority as the agents of the bishop of the diocese. Most vicars, however, are
ordinaries, which means that their agency is not by virtue of a delegation but is established by law.
Vicars general, episcopal vicars, and
judicial vicars are examples of vicarious ordinaries; they each exercise a portion of the power of the diocesan bishop (
judicial for the judicial vicar,
executive for the others) by virtue of their office and not by virtue of a mandate.
A
vicar forane, also known as an archpriest or dean, is a priest entrusted by the bishop with a certain degree of leadership in a territorial division of a diocese or a pastoral region known as a vicarate forane or a deanery.
A
parochial vicar is a priest assigned to a
parish in addition to, and in collaboration with, the
pastor of the parish. He exercises his ministry as an agent of the parish's pastor, who is termed ''parochus'' in Latin.
Some
papal legates are honoured by the title ''Vicar of the Apostolic See''.
Eastern Orthodox
In the
Russian Orthodox Church and some other non-Hellenic Eastern Orthodox Churches that historically follow Russian tradition vicar (
Russian: ''vikarij'' / викарий) is a term for what is known as
suffragan bishop in the
Anglican Communion or as
auxiliary bishop in the
Latin Rite of the
Roman Catholic Church. A vicar bishop usually bears in his title the names of both his titular see (usually, a smaller town within the diocese he ministers in) and the see he is subordinate to. For example, Bishop Ignaty Punin, the vicar bishop under the Diocese of
Smolensk, is titled "The Rt. Rev. Ignaty, the bishop of
Vyazma, the vicar of the Diocese of Smolensk," Vyasma being a smaller town inside the territory of the Diocese of Smolensk. Normally, only large dioceses have vicar bishops, sometimes more than one. Usually, Russian Orthodox vicar bishops have no independent jurisdiction (even in their titular towns) and are subordinate to their diocesan bishops; though some of them ''de facto'' may have jurisdiction over some territories, especially when there is a need to avoid an overlapping jurisdiction. In the Russian Orthodox Church, some vicar bishops are styled "
archbishops" or "
metropolitans", but these titles are merely honorary.
In some other Eastern Orthodox Churches the term "
chorbishop" is used instead of "vicar bishop".
Anglican
In the
Church of England, ''vicar'' is the ordinary title given to certain parish
priests. Historically, Anglican parish clergymen were divided into
rectors, vicars, and ''perpetual curates''. These were distinguished according to the way in which they were remunerated. The church was supported by
tithes — taxes (traditionally, as the etymology of ''tithe'' suggests, of ten percent) levied on the agricultural output of the parish. These were divided into ''greater tithes'' levied on wheat, hay and wood, and lesser tithes levied on the remainder. A rector received both greater and lesser tithes, a vicar the lesser tithes only. This was due to the fact that a Monastery was the Rector – and they supplied a Priest to act on their behalf (vicariously – hence ‘vicar’). A perpetual curate received no tithe income and was supported by the
diocese. A perpetual curate was usually in charge of a newly created Parish carved out of a larger Rectoral or Vicarious Parish. In some cases a portion of the tithe income was given to support the Priest. The adjective ''perpetual'' emphasises that such a clergyman enjoyed the same security of tenure as his more affluent peers. As all rectors, vicars and perpetual curates were personal representatives of the authority of the church in their parishes they were generally styled
parsons. However, this title was used most often by perpetual curates more easily to distinguish them from
assistant curates, who were not legally parsons. An Act of Parliament of
1868 permitted perpetual curates to style themselves vicars, and the term ''parson'' rapidly lost popularity. The conjunction of this change with near-contemporaneous church reforms aimed at reducing the disparities of income among clergymen meant that the distinction between the grades of clergymen became progressively less relevant and remarked upon. Popularly, any member of the clergy is often referred to as ''vicar'', even when he or she does not legally hold such a post. In the past, a similar situation led to all clergy being popularly referred to as parsons.
Most parishes in England and Wales retain the historical title for their parish priest — rector or vicar — with vicar being more common in the Urban areas, due to the fact of an expansion of new Parishes being created in the Victorian years, and the Incumbents being styled 'Vicar' after 1868. The distinctions between the titles is now only historical. In the late twentieth century, a
shortage of clergy and the disparity of workload between parish clergy led to the development of a number of new forms of parish ministry. One of these, which has proved relatively effective, is the ''Team'' ministry or
benefice. It might be that a number of parishes join together to form the ''Team'', and each parish retains its legal definition and independence. Rather than having clergy licensed to the individual parishes, a team of clergy are licensed to the entire ''benefice''. Alternatively, a large Parish with daughter Churches in addition to a Parish church, may be created as a Team Ministry.
In these examples, the more senior priest takes the title ''Team Rector'' and serves as parish priest in the main parish, and one or more
stipendiary, experienced priests serve as ''Team Vicars'' (often installed into the other parishes, or Churches). Non-stipendiary clergy and assistant
curates take other titles, often ''Team Curate''.
Team Rectors and Team Vicars are not perpetual Parish Priests, and as such do not possess the 'Freehold' but are licensed for a fixed term, known as 'Leasehold', usually seven years for a Team Rector, and five years for a Team Vicar.
In many other
Anglican provinces, the distinction between a vicar and a rector is different. In the
Church of Ireland and the
Scottish Episcopal Church, most parish priests are
rectors. In the
Episcopal Church in the United States of America, a vicar is a priest in charge of a
mission, that is, a congregation supported by its diocese, as opposed to a self-sustaining parish, which is headed by a rector.
See also
★
How the Church of England is organised
Ulster
In early
17th century Ulster every church had a vicar and a
parson instead of a
co-arb and an
erenagh. The vicar, like the co-arb, was always in orders. He said the mass (‘serveth the cure’) and received a share of the tithes. The parson, like the erenagh, had a major portion of the tithes, maintained the church and provided hospitality. As he was not usually in clerical orders, his responsibilities were mainly temporal. However, there were differences in the divisions of the tithes between various dioceses in Tyrone. In the
Diocese of Clogher, the vicar and the parson shared the tithes equally between them; in the
Diocese of Derry, church income came from both tithes and the rental of church lands (‘temporalities’). The vicar and the parson each received one third of the tithes and paid an annual
tribute to the bishop. In places where there was no parson, the erenagh continued to receive two thirds of the income in kind from the church lands, and delivered the balance, after defraying maintenance, to the Bishop in cash as a yearly rental. In other places, the parson, the vicar and the erenagh shared the costs of church repairs equally between them. In the
Diocese of Armagh the parson received two-thirds of the tithes and the vicar one third. The archbishop and the erenagh impropriated no part thereof, presumably because they received the entire income from the termon lands. The division of responsibilities between vicar and parson seems to derive from a much earlier precedent established in the old Celtic Church of
St Columcille.
Notable vicars
In either tradition, a vicar can be the priest of a "
chapel of ease", a church which is not a parish church. Non-resident canons led also to the institution of ''vicars choral'', each
canon having his own vicar, who sat in his stall in his absence (see
Cathedral).
Oliver Goldsmith's novel ''The Vicar of Wakefield'' (1766) and the Barsetshire novels of
Anthony Trollope, and in France
Honoré de Balzac's ''The Curate of Tours'' (''Le Curé de Tours'') all evoke the impoverished world of the 18th and 19th century vicar, while the satiric ballad "
The Vicar of Bray" reveals the changes of conscience a vicar in Co. Wicklow might be forced through, in order to retain his meagre post, between the 1680s and 1720s. "The Curate of
Ars" (usually in French: ''Le Curé d'Ars'') is a style often used to refer to Saint
Jean Vianney, a French parish priest canonized on account of his piety and simplicity of life.
Many English culture figures started life as the educated but impoverished son of a vicar:
Sir Francis Drake,
Thomas Hobbes,
John Henley,
John Lightfoot,
Samuel Taylor Coleridge,
Adam Sedgwick,
Cecil Rhodes,
Nassau William Senior, or
Charles Kingsley, for some examples drawn from various intellectual fields.
Robert Herrick was himself a vicar.
A popular British television series on
BBC depicts a fictional vicar in
The Vicar of Dibley.
Lutheran usage
In the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America,
The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod and the
Lutheran Church - Canada, a vicar is a candidate for ordained pastoral ministry, serving in a vicariate or internship, usually in the third year of seminary training. Typically at the end of the year of vicarage, the candidate returns to seminary and completes a final year of studies. After being issued a
call or assignment, the candidate is
ordained as a
pastor in the ministry of Word and Sacrament. The role of a vicar in the Lutheran tradition is most comparable to that of a
transitional deacon in the Anglican and Roman churches, except that Lutheran vicars are not ordained.
The title "Vikar," used in the Lutheran churches in Germany, is comparable.
External links
★
''The Catholic Encyclopedia: vicar''
★
''The Vicar of Bray'' e-text
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