The Feast Day of Christ the King
The feast day marking the end of the liturgical year also points to advent and the eschaton.
Note for new subscribers: while I am a professional historian and history educator who writes a lot about curriculum and indigenous history, my specialty is religion, war, and empire in American history, and I have a graduate degree in theology, so some of my posts will naturally flow into the subject of religion.
Today, in short form, is the feast day of Christ the King, or, more formally, The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. As someone who grew up in a faith tradition (the Churches of Christ) which completely rejects the liturgical calendar and all things seemingly Catholic or catholic (except for weekly Eucharist and baptism for the remission of sins, of course), I was unaware of this feast day until it was announced by the priest in the Episcopal church that I have been attending last Sunday. While I was excited about the feast day because of its title, I simply didn’t have time this week to look it up and learn more about it on my own, until today.
The Feast of Christ the King was first proclaimed by Pope Pius XI in 1925, though theologically, it can be traced to the Patristic period. The Bishop of Rome proclaimed this feast six years after the end of the First World War, because he was concerned both with the ultra-nationalism that was appearing throughout Europe and the rest of the world, as well as because so many were disheartened that “the war to end all wars” had not done so. Indeed, while the “War to Make the World Safe for Democracy,” in the words of U.S. President Woodrow Wilson had seen the destruction of the German, Italian, Russian, and Ottoman Empires, it had not ended war or conflict or otherwise made the world safe, for Democracy or anything else. The Bishop of Rome proclaimed the feast day of Christ the King with the hope that people—in the midst of widespread secularization after the war—would place their hope for peace with the King of Heaven and the Prince of Peace. He also specifically hoped that Italy and the rest of Europe would turn away from the fascism that was already obviously rising in several nations after the war, including in Italy, Germany, and Japan.
On this feast day celebrating the Prince of Peace as King of the Universe, I hope we heed Pious’ words and turn away from the fascism that is raising its ugly head here and elsewhere, and place our hopes for peace and prosperity elsewhere.