Chaplain vs. Notary — What's the Difference?

A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intelligence agency, embassy, school, labor union, business, police department, fire department, university, sports club), or a private chapel. Though originally the word chaplain referred to representatives of the Christian faith, it is now also applied to people of other religions or philosophical traditions, as in the case of chaplains serving with military forces and an increasing number of chaplaincies at U.S. universities.

A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems.The Worshipful Company of Scriveners use an old English term for a notary, and are an association of notaries practising in central London since 1373.

A member of the clergy attached to a chapel.

A notary public.

A member of the clergy who conducts religious services for an institution, such as a prison or hospital.

A lawyer of noncontentious private civil law who drafts, takes, and records legal instruments for private parties, and provides legal advice, but does not appear in court on his or her clients' behalf.

A lay person who is appointed to provide spiritual leadership and counseling to members of an institution, as at a university.

(common law) A public notary, a legal practitioner who prepares, attests to, and certifies documents, witnesses affidavits, and administers oaths.

A member of the clergy who is connected with a royal court or an aristocratic household.

A notary public, a public officer who serves as an impartial witness to the signing of important documents, but who is not authorised to practise law.

A member of the clergy attached to a branch of the armed forces.

One who records in shorthand what is said or done; as, the notary of an ecclesiastical body.

A member of a religious body who is (often, although not always, of the clergy) officially assigned to provide pastoral care at an institution, group, private chapel, etc.

A public officer who attests or certifies deeds and other writings, or copies of them, usually under his official seal, to make them authentic, especially in foreign countries. His duties chiefly relate to instruments used in commercial transactions, such as protests of negotiable paper, ship's papers in cases of loss, damage, etc. He is generally called a notary public.

A person without religious affiliation who carries out similar duties in a secular context.

Someone legally empowered to witness signatures and certify a document's validity and to take depositions

An ecclesiastic who has a chapel, or who performs religious service in a chapel.

A clergyman who is officially attached to the army or navy, to some public institution, or to a family or court, for the purpose of performing divine service.

Any person (clergyman or layman) chosen to conduct religious exercises for a society, etc.; as, a chaplain of a Masonic or a temperance lodge.

A clergyman ministering to some institution