This essay was unsuccessfully submitted to a Catholic website in June 2016. The internet search mentioned at the end of the first paragraph has been repeated and the results updated.
“Christendom” has acquired a quaint ring in English, as something once believed, but no longer. Etymologically it is derived from “Christians” and “kingdom,” words which, in the opinion of a few at least, belong in the past. A dictionary definition of Christendom, “that portion of the world in which Christianity prevails,” does not bring to mind any particular portion. The term appears in English translations of papal communications with less frequency from the mid-20th century, when the remaining Catholic governments were secularized. A search of the Vatican website shows Pope Benedict XVI was the last pope to use the term.
Pope Benedict, however, could be heard to have defied the trend. Preaching to a congregation gathered on the Solemnity of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul for the imposition of the sacred pallium on metropolitan Archbishops, he said: “St Peter’s First Letter is a greeting addressed from Rome to the Christendom of all epochs. It invites us to listen to ‘the teaching of the Apostles,’ which shows us the way to life.”
The “Christendom of all epochs”—Pope Benedict’s use removed the term from the conditions of the day and fixed it in the eternal. If Christendom does not pass, it is not quaint. Catholics living in today’s secularized world may still weigh its meaning.
Returning to the term’s etymological roots, Christians in any kingdom necessarily have a king. A kingdom destined to endure through all epochs must have an eternal king. Christ is the only eternal king, and after his resurrection he proclaimed to his Apostles, of whom our bishops are the successors:
“All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and behold, I am with you all days, even unto the consummation of the world.” Matthew 28:18-20.
Importantly, this proclamation establishes that Christ’s reign extends not only to Christians, but to non-Christians as well. As Pope Pius XI taught in Quas Primas, the encyclical establishing the Solemnity of Christ the King, “the empire of our Redeemer embraces all men.” Our Lord therefore instructed his Apostles to inform non-Christians of the fact.
Now, Christ’s reign is spiritual, not political. As Pope Pius XI taught in Ubi Arcano, his first encyclical: “It is possible to sum up all We have said in one word, ‘the Kingdom of Christ.’ For Jesus Christ reigns over the minds of individuals by His teachings, in their hearts by His love, in each one’s life by the living according to His law and the imitating of His example.” Such a reign cannot find its limits within an individual heart. God’s goodness is diffusive, as St. Thomas Aquinas explained, so the reign of Christ fittingly extends from individual Christians to society generally. As Pope Pius XI again taught in Quas Primas: “Nor is there any difference in this matter between the individual and the family or the State; for all men, whether collectively or individually, are under the dominion of Christ. In him is the salvation of the individual, in him is the salvation of society.”
This is known as our Lord’s social reign. It is not precisely convertible with Christendom, but Christendom presupposes it. Christendom means a society of Christians, and such a society should under grace become Christian as well.
The idea of Christendom is attractive, but Catholics might question its use today. The reign of the world, “Seculardom” as it is sometimes called, seems firmly established. Any serious call for a return to Christendom will undoubtedly produce rejection.
The primary use of Christendom is to glorify God. As his goodness transforms society, the resulting order, harmony, and justice glorify his name. “Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to your name give glory because of your kindness, because of your truth.” Psalm 115:1.
Another use of Christendom is to enable the work of clerics. These may work in any society absent expulsion or liquidation, of course. Yet their access to and influence over society varies, and it is never so thorough as in Christendom. Only where Christ reigns may clerics exercise their proper authority in the moral aspects of secular life.
The exercise of moral authority by clerics has confused many. Christendom is sometimes defined as a theocracy or rule by clerics. The Middle Ages of Europe, for example, are presented as a triumph of the clergy over the laity.
Although clerics have authority in the moral aspects of secular life, they lack authority over specifically secular matters. A priest might determine whether a law is immoral, for example, but he is not competent even to determine what the law means. For that decision, and for any resulting steps in the practical order, the priest must depend upon government. Clerics therefore cannot institute Christendom, except in those instances where they personally govern, like the Papal States of history. Such examples aside, the laity control secular matters. Thus only the laity can institute Christendom, when they allow Christ to rule over the lives they lead in the world.
This results in another use of Christendom. The extension of Christ’s reign into secular matters permits the laity to live and work with security of soul. At the level of principle at least, Christendom means they can be a good spouse, parent, child, employee, professional, judge, politician, or soldier, as society defines the role, and still hope to achieve heaven. Absent Christendom, it is likely society will define some aspect of their role in a way contrary to heaven. This can set up conflicts which, given the exigencies of life, produce severe temptations for those who constitute the great majority of the Church. To permit such a situation to continue, when it could be otherwise, would seemingly violate both justice and charity. Christendom thus represents a triumph of the laity as well as the clergy, and of the religious too, who support the effort with their prayers and sacrifices.
All Catholics, clerical, religious, and lay, should remember Christendom and plan for its return. Catholics cannot serve God, whose good is diffusive, without sharing in the task. “To Him is the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 5:11.