Vicar (Anglicanism) (original) (raw)

Vicar is a title given to certain parish priests in the Church of England and other Anglican churches. It has played a significant role in Anglican church organisation in ways that are different from other Christian denominations. The title is very old and arises from the medieval arrangement where priests were appointed either by a secular lord, by a bishop or by a religious foundation. Historically, but no longer, vicars share a benefice with a rector (often non-resident) to whom the great tithes were paid. Vicar derives from the Latin vicarius meaning a substitute.