Vicar is the title given to certain parish
priests in the
Church of England. 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 situation where priests were appointed either by a secular lord, by a bishop or by a religious foundation. Wherever there is a vicar he shares the
benefice with a rector (usually non-resident) to whom the great tithes were paid.
Vicar derives from the Latin "vicarius" meaning a substitute.