Vicar

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Vicar \Vic"ar\ (v[i^]k"[~e]r), 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.]
        [1913 Webster]
  


     2. (Eng. Eccl. Law) The incumbent of an appropriated
        benefice.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     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.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     {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.
        [1913 Webster]
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  vicar
       n 1: a Roman Catholic priest who acts for another higher-ranking
            clergyman
       2: (Episcopal Church) a clergyman in charge of a chapel
       3: (Church of England) a clergyman appointed to act as priest
          of a parish

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  112 Moby Thesaurus words for "vicar":
     Grand Penitentiary, Holy Father, abuna, advocate, agent, alter ego,
     alternate, alternative, amicus curiae, analogy, antipope,
     archbishop, archdeacon, archpriest, attorney, backup, backup man,
     bishop, bishop coadjutor, canon, cardinal, cardinal bishop,
     cardinal deacon, cardinal priest, champion, change, changeling,
     chaplain, coadjutor, comparison, copy, counterfeit, curate, dean,
     deputy, diocesan, double, dummy, ecclesiarch, equal, equivalent,
     ersatz, exarch, exchange, executive officer, exponent, fake,
     figurehead, fill-in, ghost, ghostwriter, hierarch, high priest,
     imitation, lieutenant, locum, locum tenens, makeshift, metaphor,
     metonymy, metropolitan, next best thing, papa, paranymph,
     patriarch, penitentiary, personnel, phony, pinch hitter, pleader,
     pontiff, pope, prebendary, prelate, primate, procurator, proxy,
     rector, relief, replacement, representative, reserves, ringer,
     rural dean, second in command, second string, secondary, sign,
     spares, stand-in, sub, subdean, substituent, substitute,
     substitution, succedaneum, suffragan, superseder, supplanter,
     surrogate, symbol, synecdoche, third string, token, understudy,
     utility man, utility player, vicar general, vice, vice-president,
     vice-regent, vicegerent