VICAR. - Title of an official of the Roman Empire. Initially an extraordinary representative of the praefectus praetorio, under Diocletian he assumed the character of an autonomous organ.

He is placed at the head of the great circumscriptions (dioceses) which, twelve at first and then fifteen in number, group the provinces together, and whose union gives rise to the four prefectures into which — from the time of Constantine onward — the entire Empire was divided.

Appointed directly by the emperor, the v., although hierarchically inferior to the praefectus praetorio, not only has his own administrative and jurisdictional power, but constitutes an organ of control over the activity of the praefectus himself. He is also responsible for the supervision of the governors of the provinces that make up his diocese, and he can impose fines on them. The v. is entitled to the honorary appellation of spectabilis.

Bibliography2 works

BIBL.: Th. Mommsen, Die Diohletianische Reichspräfectur, in Ges. Schrift., VI, Berlin 1910, p. 284 ff.; P. de Francisco, Storia del diritto romano, III, 1. Milan 1936, p. 128 ff.

Rodolfo Danieli

@incollection{ec12_vicarius, author = {Danieli, Rodolfo}, title = {Vicarius}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {XII}, pages = {1368}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1954}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/vicarius} }

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