By the time of the Council of Trent the office of archpriest was replaced by the office of vicar forane, also known in English as "dean". The first recorded use of this meaning of the title comes from St Charles Borromeos reforms in his own diocese. Unlike vicars general and vicars episcopal, vicars forane are not prelates, which means they do not possess ordinary power. Their role is entirely supervisory, and they perform visitations for the bishop and report to the bishop or vicar general any problems in their territory. Exceptionally, the pope on occasion raised a territory to the rank of archipresbyterate nullius, detached from any prelature, yet under a non-prelate, as happened in 1471 with the future abbacy (1583) and later (1828-1986) Diocese of Guastalla. In the 16th and 17th centuries, during the persecution of Catholics in England, an archpriest was appointed by the Holy See as head of the Catholic Church in England, with authority over all of the secular clergy in the country.The title of archpriest has survived in Rome, in Malta and elsewhere, where it is now held by the rectors of the principal basilicas. However, the title is entirely honorary, reflecting the fact that these churches held archpriestly status in the past.
The rank of "Protopresbyter" as a distinction higher than "Archpriest" is a later addition. The same Order, naturally, is used for what is now called "Protopresbyter". Other uses
The Unitarian Church of Transylvania is divided into five Archpriestships as a form of territorial governance, virtual dioceses. See also
Archimandrite
Archpriest Controversy
Arnaud de Cervole, also known as "the Archpriest"
Archpriest of Hita
Protopope

Notes
References and sources
References

Sources

Cross, F. L., ed. (1957). Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. London: Oxford University Press; pp. 79–80

Further reading
Amanieu, A. (1935). "Archiprêtre", in: Dictionnaire de Droit Canonique. Coll. 1004–26. Includes good bibliography. External links
"Archpriest in Catholic Encyclopedia". NewAdvent (organization).