Vicegerent is the official administrative deputy of a ruler or

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

: ''vice'' (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

for "in place of") and ''gerere'' (Latin for "to carry on, conduct"). In

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

colleges A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...

, a vicegerent is often someone appointed by the

Master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

of a college to assume their powers and responsibilities during a period of absence.

Usage

Catholic Church

In the Catholic Church, the Vicegerent is an auxiliary bishop of the

Diocese of Rome The Diocese of Rome ( la, Dioecesis Urbis seu Romana; it, Diocesi di Roma) is the ecclesiastical district under the direct jurisdiction of the Pope, who is Bishop of Rome and hence the supreme pontiff and head of the worldwide Catholic Church. ...

, who is granted the personal title of archbishop and serves as the chief assistant to the

Cardinal Vicar of Rome it, Vicario Generale di Sua Santità , unofficial_names = Cardinal Vicar , insignia = Coat of arms Holy See.svg , insigniasize = 75px , insigniacaption = Coat of arms of the Diocese of Rome , image = AngeloDeDonatis.jpg , incumbent = Angel ...

Church of England

Early in 1535, closely following the passing of Parliament's

Act of Supremacy The Acts of Supremacy are two acts passed by the Parliament of England in the 16th century that established the English monarchs as the head of the Church of England; two similar laws were passed by the Parliament of Ireland establishing the En ...

formally creating the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

, King Henry VIII appointed his chief minister

Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; 1485 – 28 July 1540), briefly Earl of Essex, was an English lawyer and statesman who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false charge ...

"Vice-Gerent in spirituals", effectively acting as the king's deputy in church matters and taking precedence over the two archbishops; this was a necessary step as Cromwell, as an unordained layman, otherwise had no jurisdiction within the Church. The office was not continued after Cromwell's execution in 1540. Cromwell's earlier appointment, that of

Vicar General A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

, had different responsibilities: under this title he directed the royal commissions into monastic affairs.

Southeast Asia

Patih or ''Pepatih'' is a regent title equivalent to vicegerent which was traditionally used among Austronesian polities of insular

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

, in particular those of

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...

and the

Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

world. In the first place it denoted the chief minister of a kingdom or (in the case of Java) a traditional regency. Lesser ministers could also be known by the title. In some cases the headmen of local communities could be termed Patih, for example on 16th-century Java and in

Banjarmasin ) , translit_lang1 = Other , translit_lang1_type1 = Jawi , translit_lang1_info1 = بنجر ماسين , settlement_type = City , motto = ''Kayuh Baimbai'' ( Banjare ...

in southeastern

Kalimantan Kalimantan () is the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo. It constitutes 73% of the island's area. The non-Indonesian parts of Borneo are Brunei and East Malaysia. In Indonesia, "Kalimantan" refers to the whole island of Borneo. In 2019, ...

. In his capacity of chief minister in a realm, the Patih was the right hand and representative of the ruler. The commands of the ruler were transferred to the regional or local chiefs via the Patih. In the Javanese kingdoms the Patih had his own palace, the Pepatihan, and carried a particular name; in

Yogyakarta Yogyakarta (; jv, ꦔꦪꦺꦴꦒꦾꦏꦂꦠ ; pey, Jogjakarta) is the capital city of Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by a monarchy, ...

his name as regent was Danurejo, in

Surakarta Surakarta ( jv, ꦯꦸꦫꦏꦂꦠ), known colloquially as Solo ( jv, ꦱꦭ; ), is a city in Central Java, Indonesia. The 44 km2 (16.2 sq mi) city adjoins Karanganyar Regency and Boyolali Regency to the north, Karanganyar Regency and Sukoh ...

(Solo) it was Joyonegoro.

Notable vicegerents

* King John became vicegerent under the Pope. *

, Vicegerent of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

, appointed 1535. *The

Byzantine Emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...

s held as a title "God's Vicegerent on Earth". *Milton, in his work ''

Paradise Lost ''Paradise Lost'' is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The first version, published in 1667, consists of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse (poetry), verse. A second edition fo ...

'', titles the Son "The Vicegerent", in Book 10.

Usage

Catholic Church

Church of England

Southeast Asia

Notable vicegerents

Notes

Further reading