Saint Christ the King

Christ the King is a title of Jesus in Christianity referring to the idea of the Kingdom of God where Christ is described as being seated at the right hand of God. Many Christian denominations consider the kingly office of Christ to be one of the threefold offices: Christ is a prophet, priest, and king. The title "Christ the King" is frequently used as a name for churches, schools, seminaries, hospitals, and religious institutes. In the Gospel of Luke, the angel Gabriel proclaims to Mary, "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." In the Book of Revelation (17:14) it is declared that the Lamb is "King of kings, and Lord of lords". The concept of Christ as king was the subject of an address given by Eusebius about AD 314. Depictions of the imperial Christ arise in the later part of the 4th century. Christ Pantokrator ("Ruler of All") is one of the most common religious icons of Orthodox Christianity. The Western equivalent is Christ in Majesty. Pope Pius XI's first encyclical was Ubi arcano Dei consilio 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." Christ's kingship was addressed again in Pius's encyclical Quas primas, published in 1925. Michael D.