Pope

=== Vicar of Jesus Christ ===
"Vicar of Jesus Christ" (''Vicarius Iesu Christi'') is one of the official titles of the pope given in the ''Annuario Pontificio''. It is commonly used in the slightly abbreviated form "vicar of Christ" (''vicarius Christi''). While it is only one of the terms with which the pope is referred to as "vicar", it is "more expressive of his supreme headship of the Church on Earth, which he bears in virtue of the commission of Christ and with vicarial power derived from him", a vicarial power believed to have been conferred on Saint Peter when Christ said to him: "Feed my lambs...Feed my sheep".<ref>{{bibleverse||John|21:16–17}}</ref><ref name="New Advent – Vicar of Christ">{{cathEncy|wstitle=Vicar of Christ|author=Fanning, William Henry Windsor}}</ref>

The first record of the application of this title to a bishop of Rome appears in a synod of 495 with reference to [[Gelasius I]].<ref name="Macbrien">McBrien, Richard P. ''Os Papas. Os Pontífices de São Pedro a João Paulo II'' (original title: ''Lives of the Popes. The Pontiffs from St. Peter to John Paul II'' 1997. {{ISBN|0-06-065303-5}}), pp. 37, 85.</ref> But at that time, and down to the 9th century, other bishops too referred to themselves as vicars of Christ, and for another four centuries this description was sometimes used of kings and even judges,<ref>''Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church'' (Oxford University Press 2005 {{ISBN|978-0-19-280290-3}}), article ''Vicar of Christ''</ref> as it had been used in the 5th and 6th centuries to refer to the [[Byzantine emperor]].<ref name="New Commentary" /> Earlier still, in the 3rd century, [[Tertullian]] used "vicar of Christ" to refer to the [[Holy Spirit]]<ref>{{cite encyclopedia| url= http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0311.htm| title= Prescription against Heretics (Chapter 28)| access-date= 14 April 2013| publisher= New Advent| encyclopedia= Catholic Encyclopedia: The Fathers of the Church| archive-date= 17 October 2012| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121017062415/http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0311.htm| url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia| url= http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0403.htm| title= On the Veiling of Virgins (Chapter 1)| access-date= 14 April 2013| publisher= New Advent| encyclopedia= Catholic Encyclopedia: The Fathers of the Church| archive-date= 20 May 2013| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130520080041/http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0403.htm| url-status= live}}</ref> sent by Jesus.<ref>see {{bibleverse||John|16:7–14}}</ref> Its use specifically for the pope appears in the 13th century in connection with the reforms of [[Pope Innocent III]],<ref name="New Commentary">{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=JKgZEjvB5cEC&pg=PA432 |title= New Commentary on the Code of Canon Law |page= 432 |access-date= 18 February 2010 |isbn= 978-0-8091-4066-4 |date= 2002 |last1= Beal |first1= John P. |last2= Coriden |first2= James A. |last3= Green |first3= Thomas J. |publisher= Paulist Press |archive-date= 19 March 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210319004236/https://books.google.com/books?id=JKgZEjvB5cEC&pg=PA432 |url-status= live }}</ref> as can be observed already in his 1199 letter to [[Leo I, King of Armenia]].<ref>Faus, José Ignacio Gonzáles. "''Autoridade da Verdade – Momentos Obscuros do Magistério Eclesiástico''" (Edições Loyola. {{ISBN|85-15-01750-4}}), p. 33.</ref> Other historians suggest that this title was already used in this way in association with the pontificate of [[Eugene III]] (1145–1153).<ref name="Macbrien" />

This title "vicar of Christ" is thus not used of the pope alone and has been used of all bishops since the early centuries.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7bjDsZHPiSYC&pg=PA264 |title=The Practical Prophet: Pastoral Writings |page=264 |publisher=Paulist Press |location=New York |year=2007 |author1=Untener, Ken |author2=Picken, Elizabeth |access-date=21 November 2011 |isbn=978-0-8091-4429-7 |archive-date=19 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210319005223/https://books.google.com/books?id=7bjDsZHPiSYC&pg=PA264 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Second Vatican Council referred to all bishops as "vicars and ambassadors of Christ",<ref>{{cite web | url= https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html | title= Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution ''Lumen gentium'', 27 | access-date= 27 January 2010 | archive-date= 6 September 2014 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140906031754/https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html | url-status= live }}</ref> and this description of the bishops was repeated by John Paul II in his encyclical ''Ut unum sint,'' 95. The difference is that the other bishops are vicars of Christ for their own local churches, the pope is vicar of Christ for the whole Church.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vJ78Vd4O9d4C&pg=PA991 |page=991 |first=Russell B. |last=Shaw |location=Huntington, Ind |publisher=Our Sunday Visitor |year=1979 |title=Church & State: A Novel of Politics and Power |access-date=14 April 2013 |isbn=978-0-87973-669-9 |archive-date=26 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130526034011/http://books.google.com/books?id=vJ78Vd4O9d4C&pg=PA991 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On at least one occasion the title "vicar of God" (a reference to Christ as God) was used of the pope.<ref name="New Advent – Vicar of Christ" />

The title "vicar of Peter" (''vicarius Petri'') is used only of the pope, not of other bishops. Variations of it include: "Vicar of the Prince of the Apostles" (''Vicarius Principis Apostolorum'') and "Vicar of the Apostolic See" (''Vicarius Sedis Apostolicae'').<ref name="New Advent – Vicar of Christ" /> [[Saint Boniface]] described [[Pope Gregory II]] as vicar of Peter in the oath of fealty that he took in 722.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/boniface1.html |title=Medieval Sourcebook |publisher=Fordham.edu |access-date=21 November 2011 |archive-date=27 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111127185446/http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/boniface1.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In today's [[Roman Missal]], the description "vicar of Peter" is found also in the [[collect]] of the [[Mass (liturgy)|Mass]] for a saint who was a pope.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.clerus.org/bibliaclerusonline/en/end.htm#cml |title=''Missale Romanum'', Vatican City, 2008, p. 928 |publisher=Clerus.org |access-date=21 November 2011 |archive-date=30 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111130050255/http://www.clerus.org/bibliaclerusonline/en/end.htm#cml |url-status=live }}</ref>