Christ the King is a

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be ins ...

Jesus in Christianity In Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God as chronicled in the Bible's New Testament, and in most Christian denominations he is held to be God the Son, a prosopon (Person) of the Trinity of God in Christianity, God. Ch ...

referring to the idea of the

Kingdom of God The concept of the kingship of God appears in all Abrahamic religions, where in some cases the terms kingdom of God and kingdom of Heaven are also used. The notion of God's kingship goes back to the Hebrew Bible, which refers to "his kingdom" ...

where

Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

is described as being seated at the

right hand of God The right hand of God is a phrase used in the Bible and common speech as a metaphor for the omnipotence of God and as a motif in art. In the Bible, to be at the right side "is to be identified as being in the special place of honor". In " The S ...

. Many Christian denominations consider the kingly office of Christ to be one of the

threefold office The threefold office () of Jesus Christ is a Christian doctrine based upon the teachings of the Old Testament of which Christians hold different views. It was described by Eusebius and more fully developed by John Calvin. The doctrine states t ...

s: Christ is a prophet, priest, and king.''The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature''. James Strong and John McClintock; Harper and Brothers; NY; 1880
/ref> The title "Christ the King" is also frequently used as a name for churches, schools, seminaries, hospitals, and

religious institute In the Catholic Church, a religious institute is "a society in which members, according to proper law, pronounce public religious vows, vows, either perpetual or temporary which are to be renewed, however, when the period of time has elapsed, a ...

s. According to a tradition followed most prominently by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

is given the

Queen of Heaven Queen of Heaven () is a title given by the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodoxy, to Mary, mother of Jesus, and, to a lesser extent, in Anglicanism and Lutheranism. The title has long been a tradition, included in prayers and devotional literat ...

Biblical basis

In the

Gospel of Luke The Gospel of Luke is the third of the New Testament's four canonical Gospels. It tells of the origins, Nativity of Jesus, birth, Ministry of Jesus, ministry, Crucifixion of Jesus, death, Resurrection of Jesus, resurrection, and Ascension of ...

, the

angel Gabriel In the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), Gabriel ( ) is an archangel with the power to announce God's will to mankind, as the messenger of God. He is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and the Quran. Many Chris ...

proclaims to

, "Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."Hodge, Archibald Alexander, "The Kingly Office of Christ", ''Popular Lectures of Theological Themes'', Presbyterian Board of Publication and Sabbath-School Work, 1887, p. 260
/ref> In the

Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation, also known as the Book of the Apocalypse or the Apocalypse of John, is the final book of the New Testament, and therefore the final book of the Bible#Christian Bible, Christian Bible. Written in Greek language, Greek, ...

(17:14) it is declared that the Lamb is "King of kings, and Lord of lords".

Background

The concept of Christ as king was the subject of an address given by

Eusebius Eusebius of Caesarea (30 May AD 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilius, was a historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian polemicist from the Roman province of Syria Palaestina. In about AD 314 he became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima. ...

about AD 314. Depictions of the imperial Christ arise in the later part of the fourth century. Christ Pantokrator ("Ruler of All") is one of the most common religious icons of Orthodox Christianity. The Western equivalent is

Christ in Majesty Christ in Majesty or Christ in Glory () is the Western Christian image of Christ seated on a throne as ruler of the world, always seen frontally in the centre of the composition, and often flanked by other sacred figures, whose membership change ...

Pius XI

''Ubi arcano Dei consilio''

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

's first

encyclical An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Roman Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop. The word comes from the Late Latin (originally fr ...

was ''

Ubi arcano Dei consilio ''Ubi arcano Dei consilio'' () was Pius XI's first encyclical. Promulgated 23 December 1922, it is subtitled "On the Peace of Christ in the Kingdom of Christ". Context Pius XI was elected to the papacy on 6 February 1922. He took as his papal m ...

'' of December 1922. Writing in the aftermath of World War I, Pius noted that while there had been a cessation of hostilities, there was no true peace. He deplored the rise of class divisions and unbridled nationalism, and held that true peace can only be found under the Kingship of Christ as "Prince of Peace". "For Jesus Christ reigns over the minds of individuals by his teachings, in their hearts by His love, in each one's life by the living according to His law and the imitating of His example."Pope Pius XI. "Ubi Arcano Dei Consilio", 23 December 1922
/ref>

''Quas primas''

Christ's kingship was addressed again in the encyclical ''

Quas primas (from Latin: "In the first") is 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'', w ...

'' of

, published in 1925. Michael D. Greaney called it "possibly one of the most misunderstood and ignored encyclicals of all time." The pontiff's encyclical quotes with approval

Cyril of Alexandria Cyril of Alexandria (; or ⲡⲓ̀ⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ Ⲕⲓⲣⲓⲗⲗⲟⲥ; 376–444) was the Patriarch of Alexandria from 412 to 444. He was enthroned when the city was at the height of its influence and power within the Roman Empire ...

, noting that Jesus's kingship was given to him by the Father, and was not obtained by violence: "'Christ,' he says, 'has dominion over all creatures, a dominion not seized by violence nor usurped, but his by essence and by nature.'" He also referenced

Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the A ...

's 1899

Annum sacrum ''Annum sacrum'' (English language, English: 'Holy Year') is an encyclical by Pope Leo XIII on the consecration of the whole human race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It was delivered in St. Peter's Basilica on 25 May 1899, in the twenty-second y ...

wherein Leo relates the Kingship of Christ to devotion to his Sacred Heart.O'Donnell, Timothy Terrance. ''Heart of the Redeemer'', Ignatius Press, 1992

Early Propagation

In November 1926, the Pontiff gave his assent to the establishment of the first church dedicated to Christ under the title of ''King''. The Church of Our Lord, Christ the King, a young parish in the neighborhood of Mount Lookout, Cincinnati, which had previously been operating out of a pharmacy located in the neighborhood square, soon began to flourish. In May 1927, a proper sanctuary and neighborhood icon was consecrated. Designed by famed church architect

Edward J. Schulte Edward J. Schulte (April 27, 1890 – June 7, 1975) was an architect who designed a number of mid-twentieth-century churches notable for their blending of a modern idiom with traditional function. Inspired by an encounter with Ralph Adams Cram, he ...

, the building exemplifies the designer's signature marriage of

art deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

decoration in

Brutalist Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by minimalist constructions that showcase the b ...

construction, principally arranged to mimic Ancient liturgical spaces of early Christianity.

Feast of Christ the King

The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe was instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1925. The General Roman Calendar of 1969 moved its observance in the

Roman Rite The Roman Rite () is the most common ritual family for performing the ecclesiastical services of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. The Roman Rite governs Rite (Christianity) ...

to the last Sunday of

Ordinary Time Ordinary Time () is the part of the liturgical year in the liturgy of the Roman Rite, which falls outside the two great seasons of Christmastide and Eastertide, or their respective preparatory seasons of Advent and Lent. Ordinary Time thus inc ...

, the final Sunday of the liturgical year. Most

Anglicans Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

Lutherans Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 15 ...

and some

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

celebrate it on the same day. However, Catholics who observe the pre-

Vatican II The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilic ...

General Roman Calendar of 1960 This article lists the feast days of the General Roman Calendar as approved on 25 July 1960 by Pope John XXIII's '' motu proprio'' '' Rubricarum instructum'' and promulgated by the Sacred Congregation of Rites the following day, 26 July 1960, by t ...

, and members of the Anglican Catholic Church celebrate it instead on the last Sunday of October, the Sunday before

All Saints' Day All Saints' Day, also known as All Hallows' Day, the Feast of All Saints, the Feast of All Hallows, the Solemnity of All Saints, and Hallowmas, is a Christian solemnity celebrated in honour of all the saints of the Church, whether they are know ...

, the day assigned in 1925.

Oklahoma

In April 2025, the

Oklahoma Legislature The Legislature of the State of Oklahoma is the state legislative branch of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The Oklahoma House of Representatives and Oklahoma Senate are the two houses that make up the bicameral state legislature. There are 101 ...

voted to proclaim Christ the King and recognize "the enduring influence of Christian faith in the lives of its people."

Things named after Christ the King

References

External links

* {{Cite web , title=Quas Primas - Encyclical on the Feast of Christ the King , author=His Holiness Pope Pius XI , website=New Advent: CATHOLIC LIBRARY , date=December 11, 1925 , url= https://www.newadvent.org/library/docs_pi11qp.htm Christian terminology Christology