Commissary
1. In the Church of England, an officer who fills the bishop's place in exercising ecclesiastical jurisdiction, in places so far distant from the chief city that the chancellor cannot call the people to the bishop's principal consistory court without great trouble to them. — Eden, Churchman's Dictionary, s.v.
2. In the Church of Rome, archbishops, bishops, or other dignitaries are deputed as Papal Commissaries for the exercise of functions properly belonging to the pope; and in the same manner bishops may depute episcopal commissaries. If they are deputed for one particular act they are temporary commissaries (commissarii temporarii). If several individuals are conjointly deputed for such a function they are called a commissions. If persons are clothed by the pope, or by a bishop, with power to exercise regularly functions belonging to them, they are called perpetual commissaries (commissarii perpetui). See Wetzer und Welte, Kirchen-Lex. 2:714.
The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature was edited by John McClintock and James Strong. It contains nearly 50,000 articles pertaining to Biblical and other religious literature, people, creeds, etc. It is a fantastic research tool for broad Christian study.
John McClintock was born October 27, 1814 in Philadelphia to Irish immigrants, John and Martha McClintock. He began as a clerk in his father's store, and then became a bookkeeper in the Methodist Book Concern in New York. Here he converted to Methodism and considered joining the ministry. McClintock entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1832 and graduated with high honors three years later. Subsequently, he was awarded a doctorate of divinity degree from the same institution in 1848.WikipediaRead More