was the name of officers peculiar to the African Church, who acted as temporary incumbents of a vacant bishopric, and for the time being performed the episcopal functions. It was their duty to take measures for the immediate appointment of a bishop. To prevent abuses, which had become prevalent by either choosing incompetent successors or by protracting the election of a new prelate, a Council of Carthage in 401 forbade the tenure to continue longer than one year, and also any succession to the temporary occupant. See Farrar, Theol. Dict. s.v.; Walcott, Sacred Archeology, s.v.; Riddle, Christ. Antiq. p. 223.