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Questions/Church Seasons

What Is Christ the King Sunday? The Last Sunday of the Church Year Before Advent

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Illustration of a golden crown with rays of light on a deep purple background with the words What Is Christ the King Sunday?

Christ the King Sunday is the last Sunday of the church year, the day churches celebrate that Jesus Christ rules over all things. In 2026 it falls on Sunday, November 22, one week before Advent begins on November 29. It is also called the Feast of Christ the King, Reign of Christ Sunday, or, in the Catholic Church, the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. If your church feels like it is "ending" something right now, that is exactly the point: the year that began with a baby in Advent closes with a King.

When is Christ the King Sunday in 2026?

In most churches the feast sits on the final Sunday before Advent, so the date changes each year with the calendar. For the Catholic Church's ordinary form, the dates for the next few years are:

  • 2026: November 22
  • 2027: November 21
  • 2028: November 26

Churches that use the older Catholic calendar (the extraordinary form) keep the feast on the last Sunday of October instead, which in 2026 is October 25 (Wikipedia, Feast of Christ the King). The Church of England marks it on "the Sunday next before Advent," which gives the same November 22 date this year. If you want the full Advent dates that follow, see When Does Advent Start in 2026?

What does the feast mean?

The feast says one thing plainly: Jesus is Lord, now and at the end of history. It does not claim that every ruler or every government is Christian. It says that the final authority over the world, over your own life and over the church belongs to Christ.

Three biblical threads sit behind it:

1. A kingdom that is not like ours. When Pilate asked whether he was a king, Jesus answered, "My Kingdom is not of this world... You say that I am a king. For this reason I have been born, and for this reason I have come into the world, that I should testify to the truth" (John 18:36-37, WEB). His rule is not won by force. 2. A king above every power. Paul says God raised Christ and "made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named" (Ephesians 1:20-21, WEB). 3. A king who is also a shepherd. In Ezekiel, God says, "I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep... I will seek that which was lost, and will bring back that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken" (Ezekiel 34:15-16, WEB). Christians read Jesus as that shepherd-king.

The theme closes with Revelation 19:16, where the rider's name is written as "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS" (WEB). The church year ends where Scripture ends: with Christ reigning.

Where did Christ the King Sunday come from?

It is younger than most people expect. Pope Pius XI created the feast in his encyclical *Quas Primas* on December 11, 1925, to close a Holy Year. He gave a reason for the timing: the last Sunday of October seemed best "because it is at the end of the liturgical year, and thus the feast of the Kingship of Christ sets the crowning glory upon the mysteries of the life of Christ already commemorated during the year" (Vatican, Quas Primas). The first celebration was on October 31, 1926. It was introduced in response to growing secularism and ultra-nationalism (Wikipedia, above).

In 1969 Pope Paul VI revised the Roman calendar. He moved the feast to the last Sunday of the church year and gave it the title "King of the Universe," which brought out its connection with the end of time (Wikipedia, above). Many Protestant churches keep it too, and the Revised Common Lectionary, a shared three-year cycle of Bible readings, assigns readings for it. Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, Anglican and Moravian churches now keep it in some form, often under the name Reign of Christ Sunday. The Episcopal Church in the United States does not list it in its official calendar, though many parishes celebrate it anyway.

What is read in church on Christ the King Sunday 2026?

In the Revised Common Lectionary, November 22, 2026 is the last Sunday of Year A, the cycle built around the Gospel of Matthew. The assigned readings are:

  • Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24: God as the shepherd who rescues scattered sheep
  • Psalm 100 (or Psalm 95:1-7a): a call to worship the Lord
  • Ephesians 1:15-23: Christ raised and set over all things
  • Matthew 25:31-46: the Son of Man on his throne, separating the sheep and the goats

(Lectionary Page, Christ the King, Year A). The Gospel is the surprising one. Jesus says, "Then the King will tell those on his right hand, 'Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world'" (Matthew 25:34, WEB). The King then names how people lived: feeding the hungry, welcoming strangers, visiting the sick and the imprisoned. On Christ the King Sunday, kingship is measured less by crowns than by care for "the least of these."

How do Christians keep it?

Most churches keep it simply. White or gold paraments (the cloths on the altar and pulpit) are common, and the day often includes hymns about his reign such as "Crown Him with Many Crowns," "Rejoice, the Lord Is King" and "Lo! He comes with clouds descending," which the Christian Reformed Church lists for the feast (Wikipedia, above). Some congregations hold a procession or a time of dedication.

At home, it works well as a one-hour reset before Advent:

  • Read Matthew 25:31-46 aloud with your family or a friend, and ask who in your week fits the descriptions Jesus gives.
  • Pray a short prayer of surrender: "Lord Jesus, you are King. Rule my decisions, my money and my words this week."
  • Look back over the year. Write down three things you are thankful for and one thing you want to hand over to Christ.
  • Do one concrete act of care from the Gospel list: a meal, a visit, a call, a gift to someone in need.

If you are still working out how to pray when God feels far away, When Prayer Feels Like Talking to the Ceiling is a practical place to start.

Christ the King and Advent: the end and the beginning

Advent starts one week later, on November 29, and the Sunday readings move to a new cycle, Year B. The two Sundays are neighbours for a reason. Advent looks back to the first coming of Christ at Bethlehem and forward to his return. Christ the King Sunday stands at the hinge between them: the child we wait for is the King who will come again. For a quiet way to prepare for the next season, read The Spiritual Practice of Waiting.

It also pairs well with the other autumn feasts. All Saints' Day remembers the faithful who have died, and Should Christians Pray for the Dead? explains how the churches differ on that. What Is Reformation Day? covers October 31. Christ the King Sunday finishes the sequence by turning attention to the one all of it points to.

The short answer

Christ the King Sunday is the closing feast of the church year, observed this year on November 22, 2026. It celebrates that Jesus is the shepherd-king whose rule is not forced on people but offered to them, and it asks every believer a simple question before Advent begins: who is really on the throne of my life?

Frequently asked questions

Is Christ the King Sunday in the Bible?

The feast itself is not in the Bible, since it was created in 1925, but its theme is. Passages such as John 18:36-37, Ephesians 1:20-22 and Revelation 19:16 describe Christ as King, and the Gospel reading, Matthew 25:31-46, shows him enthroned.

Is Christ the King Sunday only for Catholics?

No. It began in the Catholic Church, but Lutheran, Anglican, Methodist, Presbyterian, Moravian and other churches now observe it, often as Reign of Christ Sunday. Not every church keeps the church calendar, and that is a matter of tradition rather than doctrine.

What color is used on Christ the King Sunday?

White is the liturgical color in the Catholic and Moravian traditions, and many other churches use white or gold to show joy and royalty (Wikipedia, above).

Why is it the last Sunday before Advent?

Because it ends the church year. The year begins with waiting for Christ in Advent and ends by proclaiming his rule, so the feast gathers the whole year into one confession: Christ is King.

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