Vicar of Christ (Latin Vicarius Christi) has been used since Pope Gelasius I, alongside a few rarer 'vicarial' titles, as one of the titles of the Bishop of Rome —the Pope— as head of the universal apostolic Catholic Church. Image File history File links Unbalanced_scales. ... Shortcut: WP:NPOV Wikipedia policy is that all articles should be written from a neutral point of view. ... Pope Gelasius I was the third pope of African origin (more exactly from Kabylie) in Catholic history. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The Pope (from Latin... The name Catholic Church can mean a visible organization that refers to itself as Catholic, or the invisible Christian Church, viz. ...

History

This title of the pope implies his supreme and universal primacy, both of honour and of jurisdiction, over the Catholic Church. Roman Catholics find justification for this in the words of Jesus Christ to St. Peter - "Feed my lambs ... Feed my sheep" (John 21:16-17). The Catholic Church believes Jesus made St. Peter the leader of the Apostles, hence, Prince of the Apostles, and constituted him as the guardian of His entire flock (the Church) in His own place, thus making him His Vicar and fulfilling the promise He made in Matthew 16:18-19. Wiktionary has a definition of: Primacy Primacy is the state or condition of being prime or first, as in time, place, rank, etc. ... The Apostle Peter, also known as Saint Peter, Shimon Keipha Ben-Yonah/Bar-Yonah, Simon Peter, Cephas and Keipha—original name Shimon or Simeon (Acts )—was one of the Twelve Apostles whom Jesus chose as his original disciples. ... In the broadest sense, a vicar (from the Latin vicarius) is anyone acting as a substitute or agent for a superior (compare vicarious). In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant. ...

In the course of the ages other vicarial designations have been used for the pope, such as Vicar of St. Peter, Vicar of the Prince of the Apostles (again referring to St. Peter, the first Pope) and even Vicar of the Apostolic See (Pope Gelasius, I, Ep. vi), but the title Vicar of Christ is more expressive of his supreme headship of the Catholic Church on earth, which Catholics believe he bears by virtue of the commission of Christ and with vicarial power derived from Him. Thus, Pope Innocent III removed bishops by appealing to his power as Vicar of Christ (cap. "Inter corporalia", 2, "De trans. ep."). He declared that Christ had given such power only to His vicar, Peter and his successors (cap. "Quanto", 3, ibid.) and stated that the Roman Pontiff is "the successor of Peter and the Vicar of Jesus Christ" (cap. "Licet", 4, ibid.). Vicar of Christ (Latin Vicarius Christi) has been used since Pope Gelasius I, alongside a few rarer vicarial titles, as one of the titles of the Bishop of Rome —the Pope— as head of the universal apostolic Catholic Church. ... Innocent III, né Lotario de Conti ( 1161–June 16, 1216), was Pope from January 8, 1198 until his death. ... In Rome, the title of Supreme Pontiff (in Latin, Pontifex Maximus), belongs to the chief religious official of the city. ...

The title Vicar of God used for the pope by Nicholas III (c. "Fundamenta ejus", 17, "De elect.", in 6) is employed as an equivalent for Vicar of Christ. Nicholas III, né Giovanni Gaetano Orsini ( 1216 - August 22, 1280), pope from November 25, 1277 to his death in 1280, was a Roman nobleman who had served under eight popes, been made cardinal-deacon of St Nicola in carcere Tulliano by Pope Innocent IV, protector of the Franciscans by Pope...

The word "vicar" means one who serves as a substitute, and is derived from the word "vicarius."

Source

• This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913.

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See also

• Vicarius Filii Dei