Avicar general (previously,archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. Asvicar of the (arch)bishop, the vicar general exercises the (arch)bishop'sordinaryexecutive power over the entire diocese and, thus, is the highest official in a diocese or other particular church after the diocesan bishop or his equivalent in canon law.
The title normally occurs only in Western Christian churches, such as theLatin Church of theCatholic Church and theAnglican Communion. Among the Eastern churches, theMar Thoma Syrian Church of Kerala uses this title and remains an exception. The title for the equivalent officer in the Eastern churches issyncellus andprotosyncellus.
The term is used by manyreligious orders of men in a similar manner, designating the authority in the Order after itsSuperior General.
In the Roman Catholic Church, a diocesanbishop orarchbishop must appoint at least one vicar general for hisdiocese orarchdiocese, but may appoint more[1]—(arch)dioceses whose territory is split into different states usually have one each. The vicar general by virtue of office is the (arch)bishop's agent in administration, acting as second-in-command for (arch)diocesan executive matters. (A priest in a separate office, thejudicial vicar, serves a similar role with regard to the exercise of ordinary judicial power of governance in the diocese which is normally exercised in ecclesiastical courts.) Vicars general must bepriests,auxiliary bishops, orcoadjutor bishops[2]—if a coadjutor bishop exists for a diocese, the diocesan bishop or archbishop is to appoint him as a vicar general.[3] Other auxiliary bishops are usually appointed vicars general or at least episcopal vicars.[3] A vicar general is a localordinary and, as such, acquires his powers by virtue of office and not by delegation. He is to possess a doctorate or at least a licentiate incanon law (JCL,JCD) ortheology (STL,STD) or be truly expert in these fields.
The similarly titledepiscopal vicar shares in the (arch)bishop's ordinary executive power like the vicar general, except for the fact that the episcopal vicar's authority normally extends over only a particular geographic section of a/an (arch)diocese or over certain specific matters.[4] These might include issues concerningreligious institutes or the faithful of a different rite. These too must be priests or auxiliary bishops.[2] The equivalent officer in the Eastern Churches is called thesyncellus.
Priests appointed as vicars general or episcopal vicars are freely appointed or removed by the diocesan bishop or archbishop, and are appointed for a fixed duration. They lose their office when the term expires, or when the episcopal seefalls vacant (sede vacante).[5]Auxiliary bishops may also be removed from the office of vicar general, but must at least be appointed episcopal vicar. An auxiliary bishop who is an episcopal vicar, or a coadjutor bishop who is vicar general, may only be removed from office for a grave reason.[6] Likewise, while they lose their vicar general or episcopal vicar office titlesede vacante, they retain the duties and responsibilities of the office—specifically, they can still be exercised while the see is vacant serving as right-hand to the(arch)diocesan orapostolic administrator to establish continuity—until the succeeding (arch)bishop is installed or assumes office on a/an (arch)diocese.[7] A coadjutor bishop has the right of succession, so if the see falls vacant he becomes the diocesan bishop or archbishop immediately. These offices should not be confused with thevicar forane or "dean/archpriest", as suchvicars do not have ordinary executive power.
The appointment of a vicar general is also a useful tool for a diocesan bishop or archbishop who has additional functions attached to his episcopate. The most notable example is in the diocese ofRome. ThePope is 'ex officio' the diocesan bishop of Rome, but spends most of his time governing the Latin Church and the global Catholic Church. His vicar general therefore functions as thede facto bishop of the diocese.[8] TheVicar General of Rome also serves the same role for thesuburbicarian diocese ofOstia, the traditionalsee of theDean of the College of Cardinals, ever since it was merged with the diocese of Rome. The Vicar General of Rome, who is normally acardinal, known as theCardinal Vicar, is one of the few church officials in Rome to remain in officesede vacante.[8] The current Vicar General of Rome is CardinalBaldassare Reina.
A similar example is found in the United States. The archbishop of New York functioned also as ordinary of the military services from World War I until the 1980s: in addition to being responsible for the archdiocese of New York, the same archbishop was also responsible for the Military Ordinariate. This had the status of anapostolic vicariate, and functioned as the equivalent of a diocese defined by quality (that is, all Catholic members of the U.S. military and their dependents) rather than by geography. The archbishop had two separate administrations, therefore, and two sets of vicars general to manage each. This arrangement ended with the establishment of the wholly separateArchdiocese for the Military Services, USA.
Vicars-General retain important administrative and judicial functions in theChurch of England.
Following theAct of Supremacy of 1534,Henry VIII appointedThomas Cromwell as his vicar general, a delegation of the powers with which Henry was invested by the Act as a result of becoming supreme head of the Church of England.[9]
During theCOVID-19 pandemic, the Church of England licensed bishop-designates asepiscopal vicars until they were permitted to hold consecration services. For example,Gavin Collins was licensed as an episcopal vicar in the Diocese of Oxford from his original consecration date (28 January 2021)[10] until his consecration as Bishop of Dorchester (14 April 2021).[11]
