As nouns the difference between prelate and rector
is that
prelate is a clergyman of high rank and authority, having jurisdiction over an area or a group of people; normally a bishop while
rector is in the Anglican Church, a cleric in charge of a parish and who owns the tithes of it.
As proper nouns the difference between prelate and rector
is that
prelate is a village in Saskatchewan, Canada while
Rector is an English surname; derived from the German surname
Richter.
As a verb prelate
is to act as a prelate.