Feast of Christ the King

According to Cyril of Alexandria, 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.”^[6]

The Feast of Christ the King has an eschatological 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 Advent, when the Church anticipates Christ’s second coming.^{[citation needed]}

Observance

Roman Catholic Church

Pope Pius XI instituted the Feast of Christ the King in his encyclical Quas primas^[7] of 1925, in response to growing secularism and secular ultra-nationalism, and in the context of the unresolved Roman Question.^[8]

In November 1926, Pope Pius XI gave his direct assent for the priest of a promising young parish in Mount Lookout, Cincinnati 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.^[9] The campus is an unapologetic love letter to its royal namesake, featuring a towering Byzantine 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 ([of] Our Lord Jesus Christ the King), 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“.^[10]

In the extraordinary form, as happens with all Sundays whose liturgies are replaced by those of important feasts,^{[note 1]} the prayers of the Sunday on which the celebration of the feast of Christ the King occurs are used on the ferias (weekdays) of the following week. The Sunday liturgy is thus not totally omitted. In 2023, the Solemnity day falls on 29 October^[14] for those using the former