副主教是一个在施行主教制的教会内之行政职位，没有治理权。

在圣公宗教会内，副主教是教区主教的全职助理，在三级圣品制中，副主教是主教一级。有一些副主教是教区内其中的分区主教。例如：加拿大圣公会多伦多教区的余天锡主教就是约克-士加堡分区的副主教；前中华圣公会华南教区的莫寿增会督就是广东主教（副会督）。

A vicar general is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. 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 church after the diocesan bishop or his equivalent in canon law. The title normally occurs only in Western Christian churches, such as the Latin Church of the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion. The title for the equivalent officer in the Eastern churches is protosyncellus and in the Anglican Communion is archdeacon.