ˈvicar ˈgeneral
Also vicar-general.
[vicar 4 c, after med.L. vicarius generalis, F. vicaire général.
The pl. occurs variously as vicars general(s, vicar generals.]
† 1. The title assumed by or bestowed upon the Pope, as head of the Church under Christ. Obs.
| 1390 Gower Conf. I. 253 At Rome..The vicair general of alle Of hem that lieven Cristes feith. 1456 Sir G. Haye Law Arms (S.T.S.) 104 God.., and next him his vicare generale the pape. 1539 Tonstall Serm. Palm Sund. (1823) 46 All power is gyuen to me that Christe had: and I am his vicar general, as Peter was here in erthe ouer all. 1581 Allen Apol. 17 Whither should we rather flee for releefe either of body or soul, then to..the Vicar general of Christ? 1651 Hobbes Leviath. iv. xliv. 335 Consequent to this claim of the Pope to Vicar Generall of Christ in the present Church,..is the Doctrine, that it is necessary for a Christian King, to receive his Crown by a Bishop. |
| transf. c 1386 Chaucer Doctor's T. 20 Lo, I, Nature, Thus can I forme and peynte a creature...For He that is the Former principal, Hath maad me his viker general [etc.]. |
2. R.C. Ch. An ecclesiastical officer, usually a cleric, appointed by a bishop as his representative in matters of jurisdiction or administration.
| c 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 8023 Before his pepill ordande he Þe prior archedekyn forto be, And his generall vicare. 1498 Reg. Privy Seal Scotl. I. 36/1 A presentation..Direct to the vicare general of Sanctandris, the sege thairof vacand. 1509 Plumpton Lett. (1839) 205 Master Plompton,..at his departing out of England, comaunded to me John Carvar, his Vicker generall,..to wryte unto you. a 1578 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 286 Pryor Johnne Hepburne was at that time wicar generall of the bischoperick of Sanctandrois. c 1628 in Foley Rec. Eng. Prov. S.J. I. i. 137 His inferior officers, dispersed throughout all the Countyes of this realme, with titles, powers, and formalities belonging to any Catholique Bishops wheresoever, as Vicaires Generalls. 1672 in Cath. Rec. Soc. Publ. III. 100 M{supr} George Richardson..was ordained in Ireland by ye Ch{supr}{sups} dimissoryes given him by ye Vicar Gen[era]ll. 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), Vice-Dominus Episcopi, the Official, Commissary, or Vicar-general of a Bishop. 1767 Phil. Trans. LVII. 461 The vicar-general of this diocese. 1797 Mrs. Radcliffe Italian xxvi, While Vivaldi spoke the vicar-general listened with attention. 1799 C. Butler Life A. Butler xiii, He was immediately appointed vicar-general to the bishops of Arras, St. Omer's, Ipres, and Boulogne. 1847 S. Austin Ranke's Hist. Ref. III. 81 The bishop..sent some delegates, under his vicar-general Faber. 1885 M. E. Herbert tr. Lagrange's Life Dupanloup I. 358 The Abbé Valgalier,..and the Abbé Desnoyers, were made titular vicar generals. |
b. Similarly in the Church of England;
spec. a permanent lay official serving as a deputy or assistant to a bishop, or to the Archbishop of Canterbury or York, in certain ecclesiastical causes.
| 1536 Act 28 Hen. VIII, c. 10 §4 All and every Archebisshoppes, Bisshippes and Archedeacons,..their Commissaries, Vicars generall, and other their Mynisters..shall make diligente inserch [etc.]. 1588 Marprel. Epist. (Arb.) 3 To the right puisante, and terrible Priests, my cleargie masters of the Confocation-house, whether fickers generall,..or any other of the holy league of subscription. a 1700 Evelyn Diary 31 Aug. 1663, After which the Vicar-general went to the vestry, and brought his Grace into the Chapell [at Lambeth]. 1726 Ayliffe Parergon 161 According to the common way of Speech, a Chancellor is a Vicar General to the Bishop to all Intents and Purposes of Law. 1836 Penny Cycl. VI. 481/2 The Chancellor of a Church or of a Bishop is Vicar-general to the bishop, holds his courts [etc.]. 1854 Hook Church Dict. (ed. 7) 792/1 The Vicar-General, an ecclesiastical officer who assists the bishop in the discharge of his office, as in causes and visitations. 1887 Pall Mall G. 23 June 2/2 The Vicar-General [in the Isle of Man] is a man of many callings, holding, in addition to the Vicar-Generalship, the positions of secretary to the bishop, keeper of the records, coroner, and magistrate. 1907 Who's Who 413 Cripps, C. A... Vicar-General of Canterbury; Chancellor and Vicar-Gen. of York since 1900. |
3. Hist. The title given to Thomas Cromwell in 1535 as representative of the King in ecclesiastical affairs. (
Cf. vicegerent n. 1,
quots. 1536–38.)
| 1679 Burnet Hist. Ref. I. iii. 181 The first act of the Kings Supremacy was, his naming Cromwell Vicar-General, and General Visitor of all the Monasteries and other Priviledged places. 1706 tr. Dupin's Eccl. Hist. 16th C. II. iv. vii. 419 note, The name of Vicar-General, as appointed by the Prince, had been odious ever since Cromwell's management of that office in Henry VIII's time; and was never, for that reason, taken up afterwards. 1714 Jer. Collier Eccl. Hist. Gt. Brit. II. ii. 104/1 It appears that Cromwell by being made Vicar General had an entire Delegation of the King's Supremacy. |
† 4. (See
quot.)
Obs.| 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 235 The King was made Vicare generall, and Lieutenant for the Emperour. |
Hence
vicar-ˈgeneralship, the office of a vicar-general.
| a 1578 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 287 The bischope..be the consall of wyse men gaif to this pryour the wickar generallschip. 1714 Jer. Collier Eccl. Hist. Gt. Brit. II. ii. 104/1 A Mistake in confounding this Vicar Generalship with his following Dignity of Lord Vice gerent in Ecclesiastical Matters. 1850 Gladstone Glean. (1879) V. 193 The Vicar-generalship of Cromwell and..the episcopal Commissions of both these reigns. 1892 Pall Mall G. 4 Feb. 7/1 Twenty-five years of Vicar-Generalship under Manning..ought to weigh in the balance even against aristocratic descent and Court favour. |