Personal Ministry to a Christian Faith

Personal Ministry of Steve Kellar

Vicar of Christ

Vicar of Christ

Vicar of Christ (from Latin Vicarius Christi) Vicar of God is used as a title equivalent[1], is a term used in different ways, with connotations theological different throughout history. A vicar is a servant who stands in place of the real sovereign in some administrative matters of his kingdom, equivalent titles include “representative” or “overseer”. The title is now used in Catholicism to refer to the bishops[2] and more specifically to the Pope.[1]
Contents

* 1 History and different uses
o 1.1 Use for the bishops
o 1.2 Use for the Holy Spirit
o 1.3 Use for the popes
o 1.4 Use in Cesaropapism
* 2 Conspiracy theories
* 3 Notes
* 4 See also
* 5 References

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

The first record of the concept of the Vicar of Christ is mentioned in the Epistle to the Magnesians of St. Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, an alumnus of St. John, probably commanded by Peter[3], with a pastoral sense, written between the years 88 and 107 AD “your bishop presides in the place of God (…)”.[4] Although Ignatius did not explicitly use the term Vicar of Christ, he clearly sets out the concept. Currently the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that all bishops are vicars of Christ.[2]
Use for the Holy Spirit

The second recorded use of “Vicar of Christ is found in the epistles of Tertullian in the third century, with a different theological slant to refer to the Holy Spirit,[5] 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 err[6]. But this is the only scriptural use of the term this way. It is unknown whether this term was widely used in the early Church, or whether it was a personal theological observation of Tertullian.
Use for the popes

The third use of the term Vicar of Christ appears in the fifth 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, 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 (ie the Church) in his own place.[1]

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”[1], among other variants. This title is used by the Roman Missal in their prayers for a dead pope[7], and the oath of allegiance to St. Boniface to Pope Gregory II[8]. The appointment of the Vicar of Christ for the popes became only the regular use from the thirteenth century, due to the reforms employed by Pope Innocent III[9], often called Innocent to this title and prerogative to appoint bishops.[1] The edition of 2009 the Annuario Pontificio, the “Vicar of Jesus Christ” as the third official title of the Popes.[10]
Use in Cesaropapism

Another use of the title, with a different meaning, appeared in the Eastern Churches, in use between the century fifth and sixth, the term was used to refer to the Byzantine emperor,[9] showing the apex of caesaropapism. Although the emperor did not decide the doctrine – it was the responsibility of the bishops[11], that their role was to maintain the proper worship of God and the spirituality of her subjects, and to preserve the orthodoxy[11], so the emperor act as Vicar of Christ on issues of character and administrative time.
Conspiracy theories

The conspiracy theory of “Vicarius Filii Dei” (Vicar of the Son of God), supposedly considered an expansion of the historic title “Vicarius Christi”, is a term used in the “Donation of Constantine” to refer to Saint Peter. From the nineteenth century, because the interpretation of Uriah Smith[12], some groups of Seventh-day Adventists argue that the sentence is identified with the “number of the beast” (666), and would be used in the papal tiara, calling the Pope would be the Antichrist.[13]. But due to lack of images or any source of Use “Vicarius Filii Dei” the tiara[14] or miter, and the term was never used as an official title, the claim was abandoned by many Seventh-day Adventists. [15][16][17][18]

See also

* Vicarius Filii Dei

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