Vicar of Christ (from Latin ) is a term used in different ways and with different theological connotations throughout history. The original notion of a vicar is as an "earthly representative of Christ", 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 to refer to the bishops and more specifically was historically used to the Bishop of Rome (the pope).

History and different uses

During the history of Christianity, 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 The Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians (often abbreviated ''Magnesians'' or Ign. Mag.) is an epistle attributed to Ignatius of Antioch, a second-century bishop of Antioch, and addressed to the church in Magnesia on the Maeander. It was written d ...

of St. Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, who was possibly a disciple of both John the Apostle and Saint Peter, 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's Dogmatic Constitution on the Church ''Lumen gentium'' noted that bishops are "vicars and ambassadors of Christ," and the

Catechism of the Catholic Church The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' ( la, Catechismus Catholicae Ecclesiae; commonly called the ''Catechism'' or the ''CCC'') is a catechism promulgated for the Catholic Church by Pope John Paul II in 1992. It aims to summarize, in book for ...

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 in the late 2nd and early 3rd centuries, referring to the

Holy Spirit In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...

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

of bishops to refer to

Pope Gelasius I Pope Gelasius I was the bishop of Rome from 1 March 492 to his death on 19 November 496. Gelasius was a prolific author whose style placed him on the cusp between Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages.The title of his biography by Walter Ullma ...

. The theological connotations of the title got a pastoral sense, evoking the words of Christ to the Apostle Peter, 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 in their prayers for a dead pope, and the oath of allegiance to

St. Boniface Boniface, OSB ( la, Bonifatius; 675 – 5 June 754) was an English Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of the Frankish Empire during the eighth century. He organised significant foundations of ...

to Pope Gregory II. Since 1200, Popes have consistently used this title, although Pope Francis recently moved this title to a different section of the 2021 Annuario Pontificio. Insisting that he — and he alone—had the right to remove bishops from office, Pope Innocent III 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 Annuario Pontificio 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 between the fifth and sixth centuries. The term was used to refer to the Byzantine emperor, showing the apex of caesaropapism. 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, 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.

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