Vicar capitular
Encyclopedia
A diocesan administrator is a provisional ordinary
of a Roman Catholic particular church
. The college of consultors elects an administrator within eight days after the see
is known to be vacant
. The college must elect as administrator a priest
or bishop
at least 35 years old. If the college of consultors fails to elect a priest of the required minimum age within the time allotted, the choice of diocesan administrator passes to the metropolitan archbishop or, if the metropolitan see is vacant, to the senior by appointment of the suffragan bishop
s of the ecclesiastical province.
If a diocese has a coadjutor bishop
, the coadjutor succeeds immediately to the episcopal see upon the previous bishop's death or resignation, and there is no vacancy of the see. The see also does not become vacant if the Pope appoints an apostolic administrator
.
Before the election of the diocesan administrator of a vacant see, the governance of the see is entrusted, with the powers of a vicar general
, to the auxiliary bishop
, if there is one, or to the senior among them, if there are several, otherwise to the college of consultors as a whole. The diocesan administrator has greater powers, essentially those of a bishop except for matters excepted by the nature of the matter or expressly by law. Canon law subjects his activity to various legal restrictions and to special supervision by the college of consultors (as for example canons 272 and 485). The diocesan administrator remains in charge until a new bishop takes possession of the see or until he presents his resignation to the college of consultors.
An episcopal conference
can transfer the functions of the consultors to the cathedral chapter
. In those countries in which the episcopal conference has transferred the functions, the cathedral chapter, and not the consultors, elect the diocesan administrator. Capitular election was the default rule before the adoption of the 1983 Code of Canon Law
; this old default rule is reflected in the term for the equivalent of a diocesan administrator in the 1917 code: vicar capitular
.
in 11th and 12th the cathedral chapter
s used to elect the Catholic bishops in the Holy Roman Empire
. Prince-bishoprics were elective monarchies of imperial immediacy within the Empire, with the monarch being the respective bishop usually elected by the chapter and confirmed by the Holy See, or exceptionally only appointed by the Holy See. Papally confirmed bishops were then invested by the emperor with the princely regalia
, thus the title prince-bishop. However, sometimes the respective incumbent of the see never gained a papal confirmation, but was still invested the princely power. Also the opposite occurred with a papally confirmed bishop, never invested as prince.
Candidates elected, who lacked canon-law
prerequisites and/or papal confirmation, would officially only hold the title diocesean administrator (but nevertheless colloquially be referred to as prince-bishop). This was the case with Catholic candidates, who were elected for an episcopal see
with its revenues as a mere appanage
and with all Protestant candidates, who all lacked either the necessary vocational training or the papal confirmation.
With many capitulars converting to Lutheranism
or Calvinism
during the Reformation
, the majorities in many chapters consisted of Protestant capitulars. So they then also elected Protestants as bishops, whom usually were denied papal confirmation. However, in the early years of Reformation, with the schism
not yet fully implemented, it was not always obvious, who tended to Protestantism, so that some candidates only turned out to be Protestants after they had been papally confirmed as bishop and imperially invested as prince. Later, when Protestants were usually denied papal confirmation, the emperors nevertheless invested the unconfirmed candidates as princes - by a so-called liege indult - due to political coalitions and conflicts within the empire, in order to gain candidates as imperial partisans.
Many Protestant candidates, elected by the capitulars, neither achieved papal confirmation nor a liege indult, but nevertheless, as a matter of fact held de facto princely power. This was because the emperor would have to use force to bar the candidates from ruling, with the emperors lacking the respective power or pursuing other goals. A similar situation was in a number of imperially immediate abbeys with their prince-abbots and princess-abbesses.
As administrators the incumbents of the sees had comparable power like any other monarch of an imperially immediate territory within the Empire, just being elected instead of having succeeded by way of inheritance. However, one common restriction was that administered prince-bishoprics were denied to emit their deputees to the diets of the Empire
or of the imperial circle
s . This restriction was abandoned by the Peace of Westphalia
in 1648, when the emperor accepted Protestant administrators as fully empowered rulers. However, the Peace also secularised many of the prior Protestant prince-bishoprics and transformed them into hereditary monarchies. Prince-bishoprics, which were ruled by Protestants, were the following:
Ordinary
In those hierarchically organised churches of Western Christianity which have an ecclesiastical law system, an ordinary is an officer of the church who by reason of office has ordinary power to execute the church's laws...
of a Roman Catholic particular church
Particular Church
In Catholic canon law, a Particular Church is an ecclesial community headed by a bishop or someone recognised as the equivalent of a bishop.There are two kinds of particular Churches:# Local particular Churches ...
. The college of consultors elects an administrator within eight days after the see
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
is known to be vacant
Sede vacante
Sede vacante is an expression, used in the Canon Law of the Catholic Church, that refers to the vacancy of the episcopal see of a particular church...
. The college must elect as administrator a priest
Priesthood (Catholic Church)
The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
or bishop
Bishop (Catholic Church)
In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....
at least 35 years old. If the college of consultors fails to elect a priest of the required minimum age within the time allotted, the choice of diocesan administrator passes to the metropolitan archbishop or, if the metropolitan see is vacant, to the senior by appointment of the suffragan bishop
Suffragan bishop
A suffragan bishop is a bishop subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop. He or she may be assigned to an area which does not have a cathedral of its own.-Anglican Communion:...
s of the ecclesiastical province.
If a diocese has a coadjutor bishop
Coadjutor bishop
A coadjutor bishop is a bishop in the Roman Catholic or Anglican churches who is designated to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese, almost as co-bishop of the diocese...
, the coadjutor succeeds immediately to the episcopal see upon the previous bishop's death or resignation, and there is no vacancy of the see. The see also does not become vacant if the Pope appoints an apostolic administrator
Apostolic Administrator
An apostolic administrator in the Roman Catholic Church is a prelate appointed by the Pope to serve as the ordinary for an apostolic administration...
.
Before the election of the diocesan administrator of a vacant see, the governance of the see is entrusted, with the powers of a vicar general
Vicar general
A vicar general is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ordinary executive power over the entire diocese and, thus, is the highest official in a diocese or other particular...
, to the auxiliary bishop
Auxiliary bishop
An auxiliary bishop, in the Roman Catholic Church, is an additional bishop assigned to a diocese because the diocesan bishop is unable to perform his functions, the diocese is so extensive that it requires more than one bishop to administer, or the diocese is attached to a royal or imperial office...
, if there is one, or to the senior among them, if there are several, otherwise to the college of consultors as a whole. The diocesan administrator has greater powers, essentially those of a bishop except for matters excepted by the nature of the matter or expressly by law. Canon law subjects his activity to various legal restrictions and to special supervision by the college of consultors (as for example canons 272 and 485). The diocesan administrator remains in charge until a new bishop takes possession of the see or until he presents his resignation to the college of consultors.
An episcopal conference
Episcopal Conference
In the Roman Catholic Church, an Episcopal Conference, Conference of Bishops, or National Conference of Bishops is an official assembly of all the bishops of a given territory...
can transfer the functions of the consultors to the cathedral chapter
Cathedral chapter
In accordance with canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese in his stead. These councils are made up of canons and dignitaries; in the Roman Catholic church their...
. In those countries in which the episcopal conference has transferred the functions, the cathedral chapter, and not the consultors, elect the diocesan administrator. Capitular election was the default rule before the adoption of the 1983 Code of Canon Law
1983 Code of Canon Law
The 1983 Code of Canon Law is the codification of canonical legislation for the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church...
; this old default rule is reflected in the term for the equivalent of a diocesan administrator in the 1917 code: vicar capitular
Vicar capitular
A diocesan administrator is a provisional ordinary of a Roman Catholic particular church. The college of consultors elects an administrator within eight days after the see is known to be vacant. The college must elect as administrator a priest or bishop at least 35 years old...
.
Administrators of prince-bishoprics
Since the Investiture ControversyInvestiture Controversy
The Investiture Controversy or Investiture Contest was the most significant conflict between Church and state in medieval Europe. In the 11th and 12th centuries, a series of Popes challenged the authority of European monarchies over control of appointments, or investitures, of church officials such...
in 11th and 12th the cathedral chapter
Cathedral chapter
In accordance with canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese in his stead. These councils are made up of canons and dignitaries; in the Roman Catholic church their...
s used to elect the Catholic bishops in the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
. Prince-bishoprics were elective monarchies of imperial immediacy within the Empire, with the monarch being the respective bishop usually elected by the chapter and confirmed by the Holy See, or exceptionally only appointed by the Holy See. Papally confirmed bishops were then invested by the emperor with the princely regalia
Regalia
Regalia is Latin plurale tantum for the privileges and the insignia characteristic of a Sovereign.The word stems from the Latin substantivation of the adjective regalis, 'regal', itself from Rex, 'king'...
, thus the title prince-bishop. However, sometimes the respective incumbent of the see never gained a papal confirmation, but was still invested the princely power. Also the opposite occurred with a papally confirmed bishop, never invested as prince.
Candidates elected, who lacked canon-law
Canon law
Canon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...
prerequisites and/or papal confirmation, would officially only hold the title diocesean administrator (but nevertheless colloquially be referred to as prince-bishop). This was the case with Catholic candidates, who were elected for an episcopal see
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
with its revenues as a mere appanage
Appanage
An apanage or appanage or is the grant of an estate, titles, offices, or other things of value to the younger male children of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture...
and with all Protestant candidates, who all lacked either the necessary vocational training or the papal confirmation.
With many capitulars converting to Lutheranism
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
or Calvinism
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
during the Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
, the majorities in many chapters consisted of Protestant capitulars. So they then also elected Protestants as bishops, whom usually were denied papal confirmation. However, in the early years of Reformation, with the schism
Schism (religion)
A schism , from Greek σχίσμα, skhísma , is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization or movement religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a break of communion between two sections of Christianity that were previously a single body, or to a division within...
not yet fully implemented, it was not always obvious, who tended to Protestantism, so that some candidates only turned out to be Protestants after they had been papally confirmed as bishop and imperially invested as prince. Later, when Protestants were usually denied papal confirmation, the emperors nevertheless invested the unconfirmed candidates as princes - by a so-called liege indult - due to political coalitions and conflicts within the empire, in order to gain candidates as imperial partisans.
Many Protestant candidates, elected by the capitulars, neither achieved papal confirmation nor a liege indult, but nevertheless, as a matter of fact held de facto princely power. This was because the emperor would have to use force to bar the candidates from ruling, with the emperors lacking the respective power or pursuing other goals. A similar situation was in a number of imperially immediate abbeys with their prince-abbots and princess-abbesses.
As administrators the incumbents of the sees had comparable power like any other monarch of an imperially immediate territory within the Empire, just being elected instead of having succeeded by way of inheritance. However, one common restriction was that administered prince-bishoprics were denied to emit their deputees to the diets of the Empire
Reichstag (Holy Roman Empire)
The Imperial Diet was the Diet, or general assembly, of the Imperial Estates of the Holy Roman Empire.During the period of the Empire, which lasted formally until 1806, the Diet was not a parliament in today's sense; instead, it was an assembly of the various estates of the realm...
or of the imperial circle
Imperial Circle
An Imperial Circle comprised a regional grouping of territories of the Holy Roman Empire, primarily for the purpose of organizing a common defensive structure and of collecting the imperial taxes, but also as a means of organization within the Imperial Diet and the Imperial Chamber Court.Each...
s . This restriction was abandoned by the Peace of Westphalia
Peace of Westphalia
The Peace of Westphalia was a series of peace treaties signed between May and October of 1648 in Osnabrück and Münster. These treaties ended the Thirty Years' War in the Holy Roman Empire, and the Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Dutch Republic, with Spain formally recognizing the...
in 1648, when the emperor accepted Protestant administrators as fully empowered rulers. However, the Peace also secularised many of the prior Protestant prince-bishoprics and transformed them into hereditary monarchies. Prince-bishoprics, which were ruled by Protestants, were the following:
- Prince-Bishopric of Brandenburg, Lutheran bishops and administrators since 1539, secularised and merged into the Electorate of Brandenburg in 1571.
- Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen, Lutheran administrators since 1567, secularised as hereditary Duchy of Bremen in 1648
- Prince-Bishopric of Cammin, Lutheran bishops and administrators since 1544, secularised and merged into the Duchy of PomeraniaDuchy of PomeraniaThe Duchy of Pomerania was a duchy in Pomerania on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, ruled by dukes of the House of Pomerania ....
in 1650 - Prince-Bishopric of Halberstadt, Lutheran administrators 1566-1628, after the rule of the last, however, Catholic administrator, secularised as Principality of HalberstadtPrincipality of HalberstadtThe Principality of Halberstadt was a state of the Holy Roman Empire ruled by Brandenburg-Prussia. It replaced the Bishopric of Halberstadt after its secularization in 1648. Its capital was Halberstadt. In 1807, the principality was made a state or regional capital of the Kingdom of Westphalia...
in 1648 - Prince-Bishopric of HavelbergBishopric of HavelbergThe Bishopric of Havelberg was a Roman Catholic diocese founded by King Otto I, King of the Germans, in 946. The diocese was suffragan to the Archbishopric of Magdeburg. Its most famous bishop was Anselm of Havelberg. Its seat was in Havelberg in the Northern March and it roughly covered the...
, Lutheran bishops and administrators since 1558, secularised and merged into the Electorate of Brandenburg in 1598. - Prince-Bishopric of LebusBishopric of LebusThe Bishopric of Lebus was a Roman Catholic diocese and later an ecclesiastical territory of the Holy Roman Empire. It existed from 1125 until 1598...
, Lutheran bishop and administrators since 1555, secularised and merged into the Electorate of Brandenburg in 1598. - Prince-Bishopric of Lübeck, Lutheran bishops and administrators in 1535 and from 1555 on, secularised as Principality of Lübeck in 1803
- Prince-Archbishopric of MagdeburgArchbishopric of MagdeburgThe Archbishopric of Magdeburg was a Roman Catholic archdiocese and Prince-Bishopric of the Holy Roman Empire centered on the city of Magdeburg on the Elbe River....
, Lutheran administrators between 1566 and 1631 and again since 1638, secularised as hereditary Duchy of MagdeburgDuchy of MagdeburgThe Duchy of Magdeburg was a province of Brandenburg-Prussia from 1680 to 1701 and a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1701 to 1807. It replaced the Archbishopric of Magdeburg after its secularization by Brandenburg. The duchy's capitals were Magdeburg and Halle, while Burg was another...
in 1680 - Prince-Bishopric of MerseburgBishopric of MerseburgThe Bishopric of Merseburg was a episcopal see on the eastern border of the mediæval Duchy of Saxony with its centre in Merseburg, where Merseburg Cathedral was constructed...
, Lutheran administrators since 1544, secularised and merged into the Electorate of SaxonyElectorate of SaxonyThe Electorate of Saxony , sometimes referred to as Upper Saxony, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire. It was established when Emperor Charles IV raised the Ascanian duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg to the status of an Electorate by the Golden Bull of 1356...
in 1565 - Prince-Bishopric of Minden, Lutheran administrators between 1554 and 1631, after the rule of the last, however, Catholic prince-bishop, secularised as Principality of Minden in 1648
- Prince-Bishopric of Naumburg, Lutheran bishop and administrators between 1542 and 1547 and from 1562 on, secularised and merged into the Electorate of SaxonyElectorate of SaxonyThe Electorate of Saxony , sometimes referred to as Upper Saxony, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire. It was established when Emperor Charles IV raised the Ascanian duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg to the status of an Electorate by the Golden Bull of 1356...
in 1615 - Prince-Bishopric of OsnabrückPrince-Bishopric of OsnabrückThe Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück was a prince-bishopric centred on the Roman Catholic Diocese of Osnabrück. The diocese was erected in 772 and is the oldest see founded by Charlemagne, in order to Christianize the conquered stem-duchy of Saxony....
, Lutheran bishops and administrators between 1574 and 1623, and Lutheran administrators and Catholic bishops in alternate succession since 1634, secularised and merged into the Electorate of Brunswick and Lunenburg in 1803 - Prince-Bishopric of Ratzeburg, Lutheran administrators since 1554, secularised as the Principality of Ratzeburg in 1648
- Prince-Bishopric of Schwerin, Lutheran administrators since 1533, secularised as the Principality of Schwerin in 1648
- Prince-Bishopric of Verden, Lutheran bishop and administrators between 1574 and 1630, and, after the rule of the last, however, Catholic prince-bishop, from 1631 on, secularised as Principality of Verden in 1648