Vicar of Christ (from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

) is a term used in different ways and with different

theological Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the s ...

connotations throughout history. The original notion of a vicar is as an "earthly representative of

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

", but it's also used in the sense of "person acting as parish priest in place of a real person." The title is now used in

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

to refer to the

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

s and more specifically was historically used to the

Bishop of Rome A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or offic ...

(the pope).

History and different uses

During the

history of Christianity The history of Christianity concerns the Christianity, Christian religion, Christendom, Christian countries, and the Christians with their various Christian denomination, denominations, from the Christianity in the 1st century, 1st century ...

, the title of Vicar of Christ was used in different ways, with implications for theological, pastoral or different time.

Use for the bishops

An early appearance of a similar concept of the Vicar of Christ is mentioned in the Epistle to the Magnesians of St. Ignatius,

Bishop of Antioch Patriarch of Antioch is a traditional title held by the bishop of Antioch (modern-day Antakya, Turkey). As the traditional "overseer" (ἐπίσκοπος, ''episkopos'', from which the word ''bishop'' is derived) of the first gentile Christian ...

, who was possibly a disciple of both

John the Apostle John the Apostle ( grc, Ἰωάννης; la, Ioannes ; Ge'ez: ዮሐንስ;) or Saint John the Beloved was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Generally listed as the youngest apostle, he was the son of Zebede ...

and

Saint Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupat ...

, with a pastoral sense, written between the years AD 88 and 107 "''your bishop presides in the place of God (...)".'' Although Ignatius did not explicitly use the term Vicar of Christ, he sets out the concept, with regard to local bishops. More recently, the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...

's Dogmatic Constitution on the Church ''Lumen gentium'' noted that bishops are "vicars and ambassadors of Christ," and the Catechism of the Catholic Church notes that each bishop governs his diocese " Christ's vicar." The first recorded use of the term "Vicar of Christ" is found in the epistles of

Tertullian Tertullian (; la, Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus; 155 AD – 220 AD) was a prolific early Christian author from Carthage in the Roman province of Africa. He was the first Christian author to produce an extensive corpus of L ...

in the late 2nd and early 3rd centuries, referring to the Holy Spirit, that is, as Christ is not physically performing miracles in the Church, Holy Spirit acts as his Vicar on his behalf, performing miracles and preventing the Church from error. Other roles Tertullian attributed to the Holy Spirit as Vicar were: the direction of discipline, the revelation of the Scriptures, the reformation of the intellect, and the advancement toward the better things. It is unknown whether this term was more widely used in the early Church.

Use for the Popes

V&A - Raphael, Christ's Charge to Peter (1515)

The third use of the term Vicar of Christ appears in the 5th century, in a synod of bishops to refer to Pope Gelasius I. The theological connotations of the title got a pastoral sense, evoking the words of Christ to the

Apostle Peter An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

, regarded by the first Catholic Pope in ''John 21:16-17'', "''Feed my lambs... Feed my sheep''", so Christ made Peter his vicar and pastor with the responsibility to feed his flock (i.e. the Church) in his own place. However, the use of the title to refer to the popes in the early Church was unstable, and several variants of the use of Vicar were used for the Pope, as "Vicar of Peter", indicating that they were the successors of St. Peter, "Vicar of the Prince of the Apostles" or "Vicar of the Apostolic See", among other variants. This title is used by the

Roman Missal The Roman Missal ( la, Missale Romanum) is the title of several missals used in the celebration of the Roman Rite. Along with other liturgical books of the Roman Rite, the Roman Missal contains the texts and rubrics for the celebration of th ...

in their prayers for a dead pope, and the oath of allegiance to St. Boniface to

Pope Gregory II Pope Gregory II ( la, Gregorius II; 669 – 11 February 731) was the bishop of Rome from 19 May 715 to his death.

. Since 1200, Popes have consistently used this title, although

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

recently moved this title to a different section of the 2021

Annuario Pontificio The ''Annuario Pontificio'' (Italian for ''Pontifical Yearbook'') is the annual directory of the Holy See of the Catholic Church. It lists the popes in chronological order and all officials of the Holy See's departments. It also provides names ...

. Insisting that he — and he alone—had the right to remove bishops from office,

Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III ( la, Innocentius III; 1160 or 1161 – 16 July 1216), born Lotario dei Conti di Segni (anglicized as Lothar of Segni), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 to his death in 16 ...

appealed to the title of Vicar of Christ. Occasionally, Popes like Nicholas III used "Vicar of God" as an equivalent title The 2012 edition of the

gives "Vicar of Jesus Christ" as the second official title of the Pope (the first being "Bishop of Rome").Annuario Pontificio, published annually by Libreria Editrice Vaticana, edition of 2012 (), p. 23*.

Use in Caesaropapism

Another use of the title, with a different meaning, appeared in the

Eastern Churches Eastern Christianity comprises Christian traditions and church families that originally developed during classical and late antiquity in Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus, Northeast Africa, the Fertile Crescent and ...

between the fifth and sixth centuries. The term was used to refer to the

Byzantine emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Byzantine Empire, Eastern Roman Empire, to Fall of Constantinople, its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. On ...

, showing the apex of

caesaropapism Caesaropapism is the idea of combining the social and political power of secular government with religious power, or of making secular authority superior to the spiritual authority of the Church; especially concerning the connection of the Chur ...

. Though decisions on doctrine, liturgy and spirituality were left to the bishopsRichards, Jeffrey. ''The Popes and the Papacy in the Early Middle Ages 476–752'' (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1979) pp. 14–15-16. (most notably in

Church Councils A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin word meani ...

, where the Emperor often played a key role since the time of Constantine the Great), the Emperor constantly had tremendous influence on the Church, which was increasingly charged with tasks in the service of the crown, such as supervising temporal authorities.

Notes

References