Christopher's career began during the reign of Queen Isabella Jagiellon, who administered the eastern territories of the Kingdom of Hungary on behalf of her son, John Sigismund Zápolya, from 1556 to 1559.

After being elected King of Poland, Stephen Báthory adopted the title of Prince of Transylvania and made Christopher voivode in 1576.

Christopher cooperated with Márton Berzeviczy, whom his brother appointed to supervise the administration of the Principality of Transylvania as the head of the Transylvanian chancellery at Kraków.

Christopher ordered the imprisonment of Ferenc Dávid, a leading theologian of the Unitarian Church of Transylvania, who started to condemn the adoration of Jesus.

[3] At the time, Isabella administered the eastern territories of the Kingdom of Hungary on behalf of her son, John Sigismund Zápolya.

[2][6] Christopher defeated Maximilian's commander, Lazarus von Schwendi, forcing him to lift the siege of Huszt (now Khust in Ukraine) in 1565.

[2] After the death of John Sigismund, the Diet of Transylvania elected Christopher's younger brother, Stephen Báthory, voivode (or ruler) on 25 May 1571.

[2] The following year, the Ottoman Sultan, Selim II (who was the overlord of Transylvania), acknowledged the hereditary right of the Báthory family to rule the province.

[3] Anti-Trinitarian preachers began to condemn the worshiping of Jesus in Partium and Székely Land in 1576, although the Diet had already forbade all doctrinal innovations.

[15] Christopher invited Fausto Sozzini, a leading Anti-Trinitarian theologian, to Transylvania to convince Dávid that the new teaching was erroneous.