The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, commonly referred to as the Feast of Christ the King, Christ the King Sunday or Reign of Christ Sunday, is a feast in the liturgical year which emphasises the true kingship of Christ. The feast is a relatively recent addition to the liturgical calendar, instituted in 1925 by

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City from ...

for the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. In 1970 its Roman Rite observance was moved from October to the last Sunday of Ordinary Time and thus to the end of the liturgical year. The earliest date on which the Feast of Christ the King can occur is 20 November and the latest is 26 November. The Lutheran,

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...

, Moravian, Methodist, Nazarene, Reformed and United Protestant churches also celebrate the Feast of Christ the King, which is contained in the

Revised Common Lectionary The Revised Common Lectionary is a lectionary of readings or pericopes from the Bible for use in Christian worship, making provision for the liturgical year with its pattern of observances of festivals and seasons. It was preceded by the Common ...

; the Methodist,

and Presbyterian Churches often observe this as part of the liturgical season of

Kingdomtide Kingdomtide is a liturgical season that is observed, albeit uncommonly, in the autumn by the United Methodist Church, in the United States, and some other Protestant denominations. The season of Kingdomtide was introduced in the early 20th century ...

, which runs between the Fourth Sunday before

Advent Advent is a Christian season of preparation for the Nativity of Christ at Christmas. It is the beginning of the liturgical year in Western Christianity. The name was adopted from Latin "coming; arrival", translating Greek ''parousia''. In ...

and the Feast of Christ the King. It is also observed on the same computed date as the final Sunday of the ecclesiastical year, the Sunday before the First Sunday of Advent, by

Western Rite Latin liturgical rites, or Western liturgical rites, are Catholic rites of public worship employed by the Latin Church, the largest particular church ''sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church, that originated in Europe where the Latin language once ...

parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia. Roman Catholics adhering to the

Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite In the Catholic Church, the use of preconciliar rites after the Second Vatican Council has resulted in certain Latin liturgical rites coexisting with older ("preconciliar": "before the Second Vatican Council") versions of those same rites. In t ...

use the General Roman Calendar of 1960 and continue to observe the Solemnity on the date established in 1925, the final Sunday of October.

Origin in patristics

According to

Cyril of Alexandria Cyril of Alexandria ( grc, Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας; cop, Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ Ⲕⲩⲣⲓⲗⲗⲟⲩ ⲁ̅ also ⲡⲓ̀ⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ Ⲕⲓⲣⲓⲗⲗⲟⲥ; 376 – 444) was the Patriarch of Alexandria from 412 to 444 ...

, Christ "has dominion over all creatures, a dominion not seized by violence nor usurped, but his by essence and by nature. His kingship is founded upon the hypostatic union. From this it follows not only that Christ is to be adored by angels and men, but that to him as man angels and men are subject, and must recognize his empire; by reason of the hypostatic union Christ has power over all creatures."Pope Pius XI, ''Quas primas'', Nr. 7, Libreria Editrice Vaticana
/ref> The Feast of Christ the King has an

eschatological Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of the present age, human history, or of the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic), which teach that nega ...

dimension pointing to the end of time when the kingdom of Jesus will be established in all its fullness to the ends of the earth. It leads into

, when the Church anticipates Christ’s second coming.

Observance

Roman Catholic Church

instituted the Feast of Christ the King in his encyclical ''

Quas primas (from Latin: "In the first") was an encyclical of Pope Pius XI. Promulgated on December 11, 1925, it introduced the Feast of Christ the King. Purpose and content ''Quas primas'' followed Pius's initial encyclical, '' Ubi arcano Dei consilio'', ...

'' of 1925, in response to growing secularism and secular ultra-nationalism, and in the context of the unresolved Roman Question. In November 1926, Pope Pius XI gave his direct assent for the priest of a promising young parish in

Mount Lookout, Cincinnati Mount Lookout, Ohio is one of the Eastern neighborhoods of Cincinnati, just northwest of Linwood and overlooking the Ohio River valley. The Mount Lookout Observatory moved to the neighborhood in 1873. The population was 4,814 at the 2010 cen ...

to establish the first church dedicated to Christ under the title of King. In May 1927, a purpose-built sanctuary was consecrated. 1956 saw the construction of the current church, led by the architect Edward J. Schulte. The campus is an unapologetic love letter to its royal namesake, featuring a towering

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

mosaic of Christ, crowned and robed, above the high altar where Catholic practice usually expects a crucifix (most protestant institutions simply employ symbolic crosses). This instance illustrates a marked change of tone that arose as a product of the Vatican's endorsement of this feast and the associated devotional. The title of the feast was ''Domini Nostri Jesu Christi Regis'' ( fOur Lord Jesus

Christ the King Christ the King is a title of Jesus in Christianity referring to the idea of the Kingdom of God where the Christ is described as seated at the right hand of God. Many Christian denominations consider the kingly office of Christ to be one of ...

), and the date was established as "the last Sunday of the month of October – the Sunday, that is, which immediately precedes the Feast of All Saints". In his motu proprio '' Mysterii Paschalis'' of 1969, Pope Paul VI amended the title of the Feast to ''Domini Nostri Iesu Christi universorum Regis'' (Our Lord Jesus Christ King of the Universe). He also moved it to the new date of the final Sunday of the liturgical year. Through this choice of date "the

importance of this Sunday is made clearer". The feast was assigned the highest rank of solemnity. The liturgical vestments for the day is white. In , the Solemnity day falls on . In the extraordinary form, as happens with all Sundays whose liturgies are replaced by those of important feasts, the prayers of the Sunday on which the celebration of the feast of Christ the King occurs are used on the

feria In the liturgy of the Catholic Church, a feria is a day of the week other than Sunday. In more recent official liturgical texts in English, the term ''weekday'' is used instead of ''feria''. If the feast day of a saint falls on such a day, the ...

s (weekdays) of the following week. The Sunday liturgy is thus not totally omitted. In , the Solemnity day falls on for those using the former calendar.

Moravian Church

In the Moravian Church, Reign of Christ Sunday is the feast marking the end of Pentecostide. White is the liturgical colour associated with the Reign of Christ.

Lutheran Churches

In the

Evangelical-Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched t ...

Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden ( sv, Svenska kyrkan) is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.6 million members at year end 2021, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sweden ...

and the Church of Finland, this day is referred to as Judgement Sunday, previously highlighting the final judgement, though after the Swedish Lectionary of 1983 the theme of the day was amended to the ''Return of Christ''. A distinct season of

is or has been observed by a number of churches on the four Sundays before Advent, either officially or semi-officially.

Anglican Churches

In the Church of England, the Feast of Christ the King falls on "the Sunday next before Advent," when " e year that begins with the hope of the coming Messiah ends with the proclamation of his universal sovereignty." In the

Episcopal Church (United States) The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine provinces. The presiding bishop of ...

, Christ the King Sunday "is unofficially celebrated in some Episcopal parishes, but it is not mentioned in the Episcopal calendar of the church year."

Reformed Churches

The

Continental Reformed Church Continental Reformed Protestantism is a part of the Calvinist tradition within Protestantism that traces its origin in the European continent. Prominent subgroups are the Dutch Reformed, the Swiss Reformed, the French Reformed (Huguenots), the ...

es, such as the

Christian Reformed Churches The Christian Reformed Churches in the Netherlands ( nl, Christelijke Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland) is a Protestant church in the Netherlands. History The original name of the church was Christian Reformed Church in the Netherlands ('' ...

, assign the following hymns to be used on the Feast of Christ the King: "

Crown Him with Many Crowns "Crown Him with Many Crowns" is an 1851 hymn with lyrics written by Matthew Bridges and Godfrey Thring and sung to the tune 'Diademata' by Sir George Job Elvey. The hymn appears in many hymnals. The full twelve verses of the song (which has two ...

", " Lo! He comes with clouds descending", and "Rejoice, the Lord Is King". In the

Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their na ...

es, such as the Presbyterian Church (USA), at the Feast of Christ the King (Feast of the Reign of Christ) "the church gives thanks and praise for sovereignty of Christ, who is Lord of all creation and is coming again in glory to reign (see Revelation 1:4-8)." In the United Church of Christ, a Congregationalist denomination, the Feast of Christ the King is the last Sunday of the liturgical season known as the Time of the Church.

Methodist Churches

The Feast of Christ the King is observed in the

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's br ...

es, such as the

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...

, as the last Sunday of the liturgical season of

. The season of Kingdtomtide itself starts on

Trinity Sunday Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christian liturgical calendar, and the Sunday of Pentecost in Eastern Christianity. Trinity Sunday celebrates the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, the three Persons of God: th ...

and culminates in the Feast of Christ the King. Some Methodist parishes have been dedicated to Christ the King.

United Protestant Churches

In United Protestant Churches, such as the United Church of Canada,

Uniting Church of Australia The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) was founded on 22 June 1977, when most congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church of Australia and almost all the churches of the Congregational Union ...

Church of North India The Church of North India (CNI) is the dominant united and uniting churches, united Protestant church in northern India. It was established on 29 November 1970 by bringing together the Protestant churches working in northern India. It is a prov ...

Church of Pakistan The Church of Pakistan is a united Protestant Church in Pakistan, which is part of the Anglican Communion and a member of the World Communion of Reformed ChurchesDatabase (9 February 2006)"Sialkot Diocese of the Church of Pakistan" Reformed On ...

and

Church of South India The Church of South India (CSI) is a united Protestant Church in India. It is the result of union of a number of mainline Protestant denominations in South India after independence. The Church of South India is the successor of a number of P ...

, the Feast of Christ the King (Reign of Christ), is observed as the last Lord's Day of the liturgical calendar.

Explanatory notes

References

External links

Pope Benedict XVI, "Pope Benedict: Angelus for the feast of Christ the King", News.VA
{{Authority control Catholic holy days Christ the King Christian Sunday observances Church of Sweden Festivals established in 1925 Holidays and observances by scheduling (nth weekday of the month) November observances October observances Pope Pius XI Recurring events established in 1925