Christ the King

Christ in Glory, Graham Sutherland

The Feast of Christ The King (on Sunday 23rd November) was instituted a hundred years ago, in 1925 in the Roman Catholic Church. Since 1970 it has been observed in many other churches, including the Anglican Church, on the last Sunday before Advent.

And so the liturgical year that begins with Advent and the hope of the coming Messiah ends with the celebration of Christ in Majesty. In the Orthodox Church, Christ Pantocrator (“Ruler of All”) is celebrated in iconography and in mosaics, often in the apsidal domes of churches. (Rev 1:8)

As the world becomes more and more complex and uncertain, it is vital for Christians to hold on to the authority and sovereignty of Christ, who is Omnipotent, despite all appearances to the contrary.

Christ is enthroned in majesty in the huge tapestry by Graham Sutherland, entitled “Christ in Glory,” which hangs in the modern Coventry Cathedral above a smaller depiction of “Christ Crucified.”

This cathedral grew out of the ruins of the old cathedral which was destroyed by bombing on one single night in November 1940.

As our minds turn to Advent and the busy Christmas season ahead, let us ponder what really matters – new birth, new life, new hope in suffering – symbolized by the arrival of the Christ Child one night in Bethlehem over two millennia ago.

Amen.