Editing Vicar (section)

==Catholic Church==
The [[Pope]] bears the title [[vicar of Christ]] (Latin: ''Vicarius Christi'').<ref name="Lumen gentium">{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html|title=Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium, 27|work=Site da Santa Sé|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140906031754/https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html|archive-date=September 6, 2014|url-status=dead|access-date=2010-01-27}}</ref>

In [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] [[Canon law (Catholic Church)|canon law]], ''a vicar is the representative of any ecclesiastic'' entity. The [[Roman Empire|Romans]] had used the term to describe officials subordinate to the [[praetorian prefect]]s. In the early Christian churches, [[bishop]]s likewise had their vicars, such as the [[archdeacon]]s and [[archpriest]]s, and also the rural [[priest]], the [[curate]] who had the ''cure'' or ''care'' 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).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15401a.htm|title=''Catholic Encyclopedia'', ''s.v.'' "vicar"|access-date=17 September 2014}}</ref>

Vicars have various titles based on what role they are performing. An [[apostolic vicar]] is a [[bishop]] or priest who heads a [[Mission (Christian)|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 (Catholic Church)|ordinary]] of a diocese during a ''[[sede vacante]]'' period.

Vicars exercise authority as the agents of the bishop of the diocese. Most vicars, however, have [[ordinary (Catholic Church)|ordinary power]], which means that their agency is not by virtue of a delegation but is established by law. [[vicar general|Vicars general]], episcopal vicars, and [[judicial vicar]]s exercise vicarious ordinary power; they each exercise a portion of the power of the diocesan bishop ([[judicial]] for the judicial vicar, [[executive (government)|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 [[parish priest]] or [[rector (ecclesiastical)|rector]]. He exercises his ministry as an agent of the parish's pastor, who is termed ''parochus'' in Latin.
Some [[papal legate]]s are given the title ''Vicar of the Apostolic See''.

A vicar can be the priest of a "[[chapel of ease]]", a building within the parish which is not the 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]]).

In [[Opus Dei]], a regional vicar is a priest designated to fulfil responsibilities for an entire country or region, such as France or the United States.

Within religious communities, the vicar is the secondary superior of the group, subject only to the [[Superior General]], whether of an individual community or monastery, or of a wider jurisdiction, called, e.g., a Vicar Provincial. In these organizations, the office is filled by any member of the community, whether clergy or lay.