Christ the King Sunday: A Rookie Anglican Guide
The final Sunday of the church year is the Feast of Christ the King. Pope Pius XI established the feast in 1925, seeking to counter the rise of secularism and atheism by reasserting the sovereignty of Christ. Though the named feast is a 20th-century innovation, the theme of Christ’s kingship is central to scripture and the entire history of the church. On Christ the King, the culmination of the church year mirrors the culmination of scripture, where Christ bears the title: “King of Kings and Lord of Lords” (Revelation 19:16).
As Anglicans, we also have a distinctive history of devotion to Christ the King, drawn especially from the history of kingship in England. In the medieval period, there was a strong emphasis on Christ as King in the final judgment. In the Reformed period, there was a strong emphasis on Christ as the kingly standard for all subsidiary human authorities. Today, we commemorate Christ as King in both our liturgy and our lives.
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Christ the King Through the Church Year
In one sense, the theme of Christ’s kingship is not unique to the day; we commemorate it throughout the liturgical year.
Advent presents Christ as the anticipated Lord, the prophesied Prince of Peace, and the government shall be upon his shoulders. Christmas presents him as the newborn King, frightening all Herods as he makes the angels sing. Epiphany presents him the messianic King, revealed to the nations, visited by magi, and anointed by the Spirit. Lent shows him to be the second Adam, the King of Humanity, resisting temptation where our first king failed. On Palm Sunday, he is the Son of David returning to Jerusalem, humble and mounted on a donkey. On Good Friday, he is the suffering servant of his people, as Pilate wrote better than he knew, “This is the King of the Jews.”
In Easter, Christ is the conquering King, breaking through the cords of death. On Ascension, Christ the King goes up in triumph and sits on his throne in heaven. On Pentecost, the King sends his Spirit to make his people ambassadors and extend his reign through the gospel. And in Ordinary Time, this King gives grace as we grow in the exercise of his will.
Finally, on the Feast of Christ the King, we commemorate his Kingdom in its cosmic sense, with an eye toward the coming Judgment and the consummation of all things. On this day especially, we rejoice to bend the knee at the name of King Jesus, for we remember how his story ends:
Though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:6-11
Anglican Devotion to Christ the King
Anglicans have a distinctive history of devotion to Christ the King, informed especially by the practice of kingship in England.
Medieval Anglicanism: Christ at the Judgment
In both the Anglo-Saxon and Norman periods, the Church in England had a particular devotion to Christ as King. For English kings, the kingship of Christ dignified their own kingship and informed their judicial practice. For example, James Hodges explains how scripture informed Alfred the Great:
Alfred was also a legislator. He codified laws, but unlike secular rulers, he began them with the Ten Commandments and excerpts from Mosaic law. To modern sensibilities, this seems quaint, but to Alfred it was essential. God’s law was the foundation of justice, and his kingdom was to mirror divine order.
Because of the close connection in English society between kings and systems of justice, the medieval church especially connected Christ the King to the final judgment. The theme was common in Anglo-Saxon poetry, as for example in “Christ in Judgment”:
The wonderful sight of Christ, the beautiful form of the glorious king, will come from the east out of the heavens, dear to the hearts of his own people, bitter to those full of evil, wondrously varied, different for the blessed and the wretched.
Reformation Anglicanism: The King’s Standard for All Authorities
After the English Reformation, the doctrine of Christ as King became an evaluative standard for all human authorities. In other words, where Christ continued to justify human kingship, he also provided a standard by which to judge human kings. John Milton, for example, could argue for the regicide of King Charles I because he fell grossly short of the model of Kingship established by Christ. Likewise, Anglican such as George Washington could lead the American revolution against King George III.
Similarly, the authority of Christ as King provided both a foundation and a benchmark for authorities in the civic sphere, the church, and the family. Though Christ establishes the subsidiary authorities of civic leaders, clergy, and parents, he also requires specific qualities and provides justification for disobedience if such authorities depart from the doctrine, discipline, or worship of Christ.
Though the date is variable, Christ the King always occurs in late November. This is especially providential in America, where elections happen in early November. After the long drama of election season, both winners and losers are reminded that Christ is the true King, and that his rules will ultimately judge all human authorities.
Global Anglicanism: Christ as King of All Nations
With the dramatic expansion of global Anglicanism over the last two centuries, Anglican devotion to Christ the King has also taken on a transnational character. Whereas in England, Christ’s kingship had a social analogy in the structure of English society, the global Anglican Communion takes inspiration from the cosmic Kingship of Christ. As Christ is the King of all nations, Anglicanism is defined not by the King of England but rather by the universal gospel of Christ to all nations.
This might explain why Christ the King has become a common name for Anglican parishes worldwide. In the Anglican Church in North America, according to current listings, there are more than 30 congregations named for Christ the King. These include parishes in locations as varied as Atlanta, GA (REC-SE), Birmingham, AL (ADOTS), Brooklyn, NY (C4SO), Lansing, MI (DGL), Denver, CO (DRM), Poway, CA (DWA), and Moscow, ID (DWE-YMA).
Similarly, a quick search of Facebook reveals parishes named “Christ the King Anglican Church” all over the world, from Australia and Malaysia, to Nigeria and Ghana, to the Bahamas and Guyana. Therefore, it is especially fitting that the Collect for the Feast of Christ the King speaks to his universal Lordship and the hope of unity for all peoples in him:
Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Music for Christ the King Sunday
The church has a selection of wonderful hymns for Christ the King Sunday. Perhaps the most famous is Crown Him With Many Crowns, by Matthew Bridges and Godfrey Thring. This hymn takes its orientation from the book Revelation, where Christ is figured as a lamb:
Crown him with many crowns, the Lamb upon his throne.
Hark! how the heavenly anthem drowns all music but its own.
Awake, my soul, and sing of him who died for thee,
and hail him as thy matchless king through all eternity
Another wonderful hymn for the day is Rejoice the Lord is King by Charles Wesley, Anglican clergyman and brother to John Wesley. This hymn emphasizes the joy of the people of God as we give glory to Christ our King. Notice how it borrows a phrase from the beginning of the communion prayers: “Lift up your heart”:
Rejoice, the Lord is King: Your Lord and King adore!
Rejoice, give thanks and sing, And triumph evermore.
Lift up your heart, Lift up your voice!
Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!
Here I include two videos of these hymns. The first is of Crown Him With Many Crowns, with choir and organ from Westminster Abbey. The second is sets Rejoice the Lord is King with guitar and band, by Australian Anglican musicians, EMU Music.
Image: Karl von Blaas, Jesus Christ, King of the World (19th Century). Photograph by sedmak from Getty Images, courtesy of Canva. Digitally edited by Jacob Davis.
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