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A commissary is a government official charged with oversight or an ecclesiastical official who exercises in special circumstances the jurisdiction of a bishop. [1]
In many countries, the term is used as an administrative or police title. It often corresponds to the command of a police station, which is then known as a "commissariat". In some armed forces, commissaries are officials charged with overseeing the purchase and delivery of supplies, and they have powers of administrative and financial oversight. Then, the "commissariat" is the organization associated with the corps of commissaries. By extension, the term "commissary" came to be used for the building where supplies were disbursed.
In some countries, both roles are used; for example, France uses "police commissaries" (commissaires de police) in the French National Police and "armed forces commissaries" (commissaires des armées) in the French armed forces.
The equivalent terms are commissaire in French, commissario in Italian, Kommissar in Standard German, Kommissär in Swiss German and Luxembourgish, comisario in Spanish, commissaris in Dutch and Flemish, komisario in Finnish, komisarz in Polish and comissário in Portuguese. In many instances these words may also be the equivalent to commissioner, depending on the context.
The word is recorded in English since 1362, for "one to whom special duty is entrusted by a higher power". This Anglo-French word derives from Medieval Latin commissarius, from Latin commissus (pp. of committere) "entrusted".
Governmental or administrative structures (or bodies) headed by a commissary (or composed of several commissaries) are often referred to as commissary governments or commissary administrations. Such terms were often used during the colonial era, and it was also used to designate various provisional governments of administrations. Executive or administrative body composed of several commissaries is often called Council of Commissaries or Board of Commissaries. Deputy of a commissary is styled as vice-commissary or sub-commissary.
In the Soviet Union, commissaries' powers of oversight were used for political purposes. These commissaries are often known as commissars in English.
A Spanish police Commissary is considered to be equal in rank to a commandant in the Spanish army.
In the French National Police, a commissaire is assigned to a commune with a population of more than 30,000. Larger communes have more than one. Paris has well over one hundred commissaires. All commissaires are graduates and can fulfill both administrative and investigative roles.
In the Romanian Police, similarly to the French National Police, the rank of comisar is equivalent to the British police rank of superintendent (see also Romanian police ranks ).
With the establishment of an English standing army following the Restoration of the Monarchy a Commissary General of Musters was appointed on 20 December 1660. This officer, with the assistance of four deputies, was responsible for mustering troops by regiment and checking their names against the muster roll. These musters took place six or seven times per year (and monthly from 1687). At a muster the total number of officers and men was checked against the roll, each soldier's arms and accoutrements were inspected and each officer's rank (and record of leave) was checked against their level of pay. Only after the Commissary General had certified the muster roll would the Paymaster General of the forces issue pay to the regiment. In 1798 the commanding officer of each regiment, together with its regimental Paymaster, took over responsibility for the musters and the Deputy Commissaries were dismissed. The Commissary General continued to oversee a central office of musters until 1817 when the post was abolished and its duties transferred to the Secretary at War. [2]
The appointment of a Commissary General of Provisions was first made by James II in 1685 to provide for his troops encamped on Hounslow Heath. As a permanent post the appointment had lapsed by 1694, but a century later it was revived for senior officer of the Commissariat (a department of HM Treasury responsible for the procurement and issue of various stores and victuals to the army and the provision of transport). The Commissariat officers were uniformed civilians, appointed by the Treasury but issued with letters of commission by the War Office; [2] they were given rank as follows:
The department was overseen by a Commissary-in-Chief from 1809 to 1816, and by a Commissary General in Chief from 1858 to 1869.
Between 1793 and 1859 Assistant Commissary, Commissary and (from 1810) Chief Commissary were (civilian) ranks in the Field Train Department of the Board of Ordnance (the field force element of the Ordnance storekeeping system). [3]
After 1869 Commissary and associated titles were used as junior officer ranks by the Control Department (military successor to both the Commissariat and the Ordnance Field Train). A split in 1875 created the Commissariat and Transport Department and the Ordnance Store Department, which used (respectively) Commissary-General and Commissary-General of Ordnance for their senior officers (along with other Commissary ranks down the chain of command). After 1880 officers of the new Army Service Corps were given full military rank, but the Army Ordnance Department retained Commissary of Ordnance (and Deputy and Assistant Commissary of Ordnance) as its junior officer ranks throughout the First World War. [4]
The Canons of the Church of England, referring to the metropolitical jurisdiction of archbishops and to the ordinary jurisdiction of diocesan bishops, states that: "Such jurisdiction is exercised by the (arch)bishop himself, or by a Vicar-General, official, or other commissary to whom authority in that behalf shall have been formally committed by the (arch)bishop concerned.". [5]
In previous centuries Bishops sometimes appointed representatives, called commissaries, to perform functions in distant portions of their dioceses. In 1684 Henry Compton, the Bishop of London, resolved to use the commissary system to provide leadership for churches in the American colonies. [6] (James Blair was an early such commissary). Commissaries were appointed to some, but not all, of the thirteen colonies into the second half of the eighteenth century. Later, commissaries were sometimes appointed for other parts of the British Empire.
In 2011 the Archbishop of Canterbury appointed commissaries to conduct a visitation upon the Diocese of Chichester with regard to safeguarding failures in the diocese over many years. According to their interim report: "Our appointment by the Archbishop of Canterbury - the first such appointment of Commissaries for over 100 years - is evidence of the deep concern held in the Church of England for this diocese and its failure properly to protect children in its care". [7]
In current practice in the Church of England, the relevant archbishop appoints an episcopal commissary during a diocesan vacancy in see; that bishop (usually the senior suffragan in the diocese) is commonly called Acting Bishop of the diocese (e.g. Acting Bishop of Birmingham). [8]
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. Constable is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other people may be granted powers of a constable without holding this title.
The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia after the war's outbreak. The Continental Army was created to coordinate military efforts of the colonies in the war against the British, who sought to maintain control over the American colonies. General George Washington was appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental Army and maintained this position throughout the war.
Chancellor is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the cancelli of a basilica, which separated the judge and counsel from the audience. A chancellor's office is called a chancellery or chancery. The word is now used in the titles of many various officers in various settings. Nowadays the term is most often used to describe:
An ecclesiastical court, also called court Christian or court spiritual, is any of certain non-adversarial courts conducted by church-approved officials having jurisdiction mainly in spiritual or religious matters. Historically, they interpret or apply canon law, a basis of which was the Corpus Juris Civilis of Justinian, which is also considered the source of the civil law legal tradition.
Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated offices, such as in military rank and civilian law enforcement.
A consistory court is a type of ecclesiastical court, especially within the Church of England where they were originally established pursuant to a charter of King William the Conqueror, and still exist today, although since about the middle of the 19th century consistory courts have lost much of their subject-matter jurisdiction. Each diocese in the Church of England has a consistory court.
Commissar is an English transliteration of the Russian комиссáр (komissar), which means 'commissary'. In English, the transliteration commissar often refers specifically to the political commissars of Soviet and Eastern-bloc armies or to the people's commissars, while administrative officers are called commissaries.
An intendant was, and sometimes still is, a public official, especially in France, Spain, Portugal, and Latin America. The intendancy system was a centralizing administrative system developed in France. In the War of the Spanish Succession of 1701 to 1714 the French royal House of Bourbon secured its hold on the throne of Spain; it extended a French-style intendancy system to Spain and Portugal - and subsequently worldwide through the Spanish Empire and Portuguese Empire. Regions were divided into districts, each administered by an intendant. The title continues in use in Spain and in parts of Spanish America for particular government officials.
A commissariat is a department or organization commanded by a commissary or by a corps of commissaries.
Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it.
A police commissioner is the head of a police department, responsible for overseeing its operations and ensuring the effective enforcement of laws and maintenance of public order. They develop and implement policies, manage budgets, and coordinate with other law enforcement agencies and community groups. Additionally, the commissioner handles high-profile cases, addresses public concerns, and represents the department in various forums.
A vicar general 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 (arch)bishop, the vicar general exercises the (arch)bishop's ordinary executive power over the entire diocese and, thus, is the highest official in a diocese or other particular church after the diocesan bishop or his equivalent in canon law.
The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and domestic materials such as clothing, furniture and stationery and the supply of technical and military equipment. In 1965 its functions were divided between other Corps and the RASC ceased to exist; subsequently, in 1993, they in their turn became the "Forming Corps" of the Royal Logistic Corps.
Chancellor is an ecclesiastical title used by several quite distinct officials of some Christian churches.
Colonel (Col) is a rank of the British Army and Royal Marines, ranking below brigadier, and above lieutenant colonel. British colonels are not usually field commanders; typically they serve as staff officers between field commands at battalion and brigade level. The insignia is two diamond-shaped pips below a crown. The crown has varied in the past with different monarchs; Elizabeth II's reign used St Edward's Crown. The rank is equivalent to captain in the Royal Navy and group captain in the Royal Air Force.
Superintendent (Supt) is a rank in the British police and in most English-speaking Commonwealth nations. In many Commonwealth countries, the full version is superintendent of police (SP). The rank is also used in most British Overseas Territories, in many former British colonies, as well as in Portugal and in several former Portuguese colonies. In some countries, such as Italy, the rank of superintendent is a lower rank.
Kenneth Escott Kirk, also known as K. E. Kirk, was an English Anglican bishop. An influential moral theologian, he served as Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology at the University of Oxford from 1933 to 1938, and then as the Bishop of Oxford in the Church of England from 1937 to 1954.
Commissaire de police is a rank or group of ranks in the French National Police. It should not be confused with the French appointment of "armed forces commissary" which is an administrative military position.
Precedence signifies the right to enjoy a prerogative of honor before other persons; for example, to have the most distinguished place in a procession, a ceremony, or an assembly, to have the right to express an opinion, cast a vote, or append a signature before others, to perform the most honorable offices.
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