Uploaded May 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Christ is King! We proclaim it because it’s true. He governs all things sweetly, and invites us to partake of Him, to live in Him, and to rule and be ruled by Him. This makes us subjects and servants of the King of the Universe. Yet our obedience is also described as freedom itself. “For freedom Christ has set us free.” (Gal 5:1) This lecture investigates how Catholic teaching transforms the very notion of freedom, and in doing so, transforms how we see duties, obligations and rights. We'll examine how the idea of heavenly citizenship transforms how Catholics understand their political commitments on earth. We'll arrive at a deeper understanding of Pope Leo XIII’s view, that the Church always produces, in every place, “the best citizens,” precisely because we proclaim that Christ is King!
"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light."
— 1 Peter 2:9
Instructor:
Dr. Chad Pecknold received his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge (UK) and since 2008 he has been a Professor of Historical & Systematic Theology in the School of Theology at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. Pecknold is the author of a number scholarly articles and books, including Christianity and Politics: A Brief Guide to the History (Cascade, 2010) and The T&T Clark Companion to Augustine and Modern Theology (Bloomsbury, 2014). Dr. Pecknold is also a frequent contributor to debates in the public square, writing regular columns for First Things and National Review, and is a regular contributor on EWTN News Nightly offering his clear analysis and expert opinion on the Catholic Church, the papacy, and the relationship between the Church and politics in American culture.
Want to dive deeper? Visit our website for hundreds of hours of free audio and video content: instituteofcatholicculture.org
Christ is King! We proclaim it because it’s true. He governs all things sweetly, and invites us to partake of Him, to live in Him, and to rule and be ruled by Him. This makes us subjects and servants of the King of the Universe. Yet our obedience is also described as freedom itself. “For freedom Christ has set us free.” (Gal 5:1) This lecture investigates how Catholic teaching transforms the very notion of freedom, and in doing so, transforms how we see duties, obligations and rights. We'll examine how the idea of heavenly citizenship transforms how Catholics understand their political commitments on earth. We'll arrive at a deeper understanding of Pope Leo XIII’s view, that the Church always produces, in every place, “the best citizens,” precisely because we proclaim that Christ is King!
"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light."
— 1 Peter 2:9
Instructor:
Dr. Chad Pecknold received his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge (UK) and since 2008 he has been a Professor of Historical & Systematic Theology in the School of Theology at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. Pecknold is the author of a number scholarly articles and books, including Christianity and Politics: A Brief Guide to the History (Cascade, 2010) and The T&T Clark Companion to Augustine and Modern Theology (Bloomsbury, 2014). Dr. Pecknold is also a frequent contributor to debates in the public square, writing regular columns for First Things and National Review, and is a regular contributor on EWTN News Nightly offering his clear analysis and expert opinion on the Catholic Church, the papacy, and the relationship between the Church and politics in American culture.
Want to dive deeper? Visit our website for hundreds of hours of free audio and video content: instituteofcatholicculture.org
