Vicar of Christ
1
8.4
- noun
- /ˈvɪkər əv kraɪst/
- Formal
:
Vicario de Cristo
- The official title of the pope, one of several, is Vicar of Christ, not Vicar of the Son of God.
Examples
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As successor of Peter, the bishop of Rome is "the Vicar of Christ and pastor of the whole Church, having full, supreme, and universal power over the whole Church, which he can always freely exercise" (LG no. 22; see Christus Dominus no. 2).
Academic text (2002) -
Every Sunday, the congregation looks to the Vicar of Christ for inspiration and teachings on their faith.
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The Holy Father is the Successor of Peter, the Vicar of Christ.
Blog text (30) -
Hence, to the Bishop of Rome, as head of the Church, was given the title "Vicar of Christ."
Blog text (30) -
And we will go to our Mass, and we will go gladly and happily, and be grateful for the gift we have, and we will kneel and pray simply that the Vicar of Christ live up to his promise.
Blog text (21) -
For what is the temporal power, but the condition of peaceful independence and supreme direction over all Christians, and all Christian societies, inherent in the office of Vicar of Christ and head of the Christian Church?
Blog text (30) -
This is an apt description of the Pope, who is frequently referred to as "the Vicar of Christ," and, at present, probably only the most bitterly anti-Catholic individuals would take offense at the title.
Blog text (30) -
The Pope, known as the Vicar of Christ, provides spiritual guidance to millions of Catholics around the world.
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The title Vicar of Christ signifies the role of the Pope as the earthly representative of Jesus in the Catholic Church.
Synonyms
239
3.2
A religious leader in Rome who leads the Roman Catholic Church worldwide
17
8.2
The leader of the Roman Catholic Church
12
5.6
A title for the Pope, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church
2
6.0
The leader of the Roman Catholic Church
A person who leads the Roman Catholic Church and is the Bishop of Rome
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is compositionally transparent: 'vicar' means a representative or clergyman acting for a higher authority and 'of Christ' specifies whom they represent, so the meaning 'representative of Christ' is directly derivable from the parts. This follows a straightforward possessive/relational pattern found across languages, so a learner who knows the constituent words can infer the core meaning (even if they might not know the specific institutional reference to the Pope without extra cultural knowledge).
Etymology
Vicar of Christ comes from an old use of the word vicar, meaning a person who stands in for someone else, so it creates the image of someone standing in place of Christ on earth. That's why it means 'the Pope as Christ's representative'.