Vicegerent is the official administrative deputy of a ruler or

head of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "

he head of state He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...

being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

: ''vice'' (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

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

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

colleges A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary education, tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding academic degree, degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further educatio ...

, a vicegerent is often someone appointed by the

Master Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...

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 (; ), also called the Vicariate of Rome, is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church under the direct jurisdiction of the pope, who is Bishop of Rome and hence the supreme pontiff and head of the worldwide Catholic Church. As ...

, who is granted the personal title of archbishop and serves as the chief assistant to the Cardinal Vicar of Rome.

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 E ...

formally creating the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

, King Henry VIII appointed his chief minister

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

"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 or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

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

Russian Empire

The term "vicegerency" (; ) is sometimes used in English-language historiography for an administrative division in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

in the late 18th century. The administrators were called vicegerents, the equivalent of a

governor-general Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

. The following such divisions were established on the territory of modern

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

between 1780 and 1797: * Kharkiv vicegerency in 1780; * Kyiv vicegerency in 1781; * Novhorod-Siverskyi vicegerency in 1781; * Chernihiv vicegerency in 1781; * Katerynoslav vicegerency in 1783; * Iziaslav (Zaslav) vicegerency in 1793 (renamed Volhynia vicegerency in 1795); * Bratslav vicegerency in 1793; * Podilia vicegerency in 1793; and * Voznesensk vicegerency in 1795. In 1797, the vicegerencies were abolished and replaced by ''guberniyas'', or

governorates A governorate or governate is an administrative division headed by a governor. As English-speaking nations tend to call regions administered by governors either states or provinces, the term ''governorate'' is typically used to calque divisions o ...

Southeast Asia

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

Austronesian Austronesian may refer to: *The Austronesian languages *The historical Austronesian peoples The Austronesian people, sometimes referred to as Austronesian-speaking peoples, are a large group of peoples who have settled in Taiwan, maritime Sout ...

polities of insular

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

, in particular those of

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

and the Malay 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 Banjarmasin is the largest city in South Kalimantan, Indonesia. It was the capital of the province until 15 February 2022. The city is located on a delta island near the junction of the Barito and Martapura rivers. Historically the centre of t ...

in southeastern

Kalimantan Kalimantan (; ) is the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo. It constitutes 73% of the island's area, and consists of the provinces of Central Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, North Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, and West Kalimantan. The non-Ind ...

. 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 is the capital city of the 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 Hamengkubuwono, a monarchy, Yogyakarta is regarded as an importan ...

his name as regent was Danurejo, in

Surakarta Surakarta (Javanese script, Javanese: , Pegon script, Pegon: ), known colloquially as Solo (Javanese script, Javanese: ; ), is a major List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, city in Central Java, Indonesia. The city adjoins Karanganyar Reg ...

(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 known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

, appointed 1535. *The

Byzantine Emperor The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, which Fall of Constantinople, fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised s ...

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

Paradise Lost ''Paradise Lost'' is an Epic poetry, epic poem in blank verse by the English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The poem concerns the Bible, biblical story of the fall of man: the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their ex ...

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