Apparitor

In ancient Rome, an apparitor^[1] (also spelled apparator in English, or shortened to paritor) was a civil servant whose salary was paid from the public treasury.^[2] The apparitores assisted the magistrates. There were four occupational grades (decuriae) among them.^[3] The highest of these was the scribae, the clerks or public notaries, followed by the lictores, lictors; viatores, messengers or summoners, that is, agents on official errands; and praecones, announcers or heralds.^[4]

The term has hence referred to a beadle in a university, a pursuivant or herald; particularly, in Roman Catholic canon law, which was largely inspired by Roman law. Apparitor remained an official title for an officer in ecclesiastical courts. They were designated to serve the summons, to arrest a person accused, and in ecclesiastico-civil procedure, to take possession, physically or formally, of the property in dispute, in order to secure the execution of the judge's sentence. This was done in countries where the ecclesiastical forum, in its substantial integrity, is recognized.^[5] He thus acts as constable and sheriff. His guarantee of his delivery of the summons is evidence of the knowledge of his obligation to appear, either to stand trial, to give testimony, or to do whatever else may be legally enjoined by the judge; his statement becomes the basis of a charge of contumacy against anyone refusing to obey summons.

References

1. Latin for "a servant of a public official", from apparere, "to attend in public."
2. Purcell, N. “The Apparitores: A Study in Social Mobility.” PBSR 51 (1983): 125– 73.
3. Christopher J. Fuhrmann (13 December 2011). Policing the Roman Empire: Soldiers, Administration, and Public Order. Oxford University Press. pp. 62–. ISBN 978-0-19-973784-0.
4. Marietta Horster, "Living on Religion: Professionals and Personnel," in A Companion to Roman Religion (Blackwell, 2007), p. 334; Daniel Peretz, "The Roman Interpreter and His Diplomatic and Military Roles," Historia 55 (2006), p. 452.
5. Apparitor - Catholic Encyclopedia article

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Apparitor". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Apparitor". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton.