The study presents the office of provincial superior, starting with ordinaries and major superiors of religious orders. The office of prior provincial is characterised here on the basis of the law of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans). The following topics are covered: the relationship between the prior provincial and the ordinary of the place, authority in the Dominican Order, the basic powers of the prior provincial, requirements for a prior provincial candidate, and the functioning of the provincial during the provincial chapter.