Head of the Church

Therefore, the Pope is often unofficially called the Vicar of Christ by the faithful.

At the time of the English Reformation, Henry VIII took for himself the title of Supreme Head of the Church of England; his daughter Elizabeth I changed this to Supreme Governor of the Church of England.

The Presbyterian system, codified in the Westminster Standards, outlines teaching elders (Ministers) and ruling elders, and courts presided over by Moderators sitting "primus inter pares", and gives practical effect to the concept of the equal status of all believers behind the one and only head of the church - Jesus Christ.

Nor can the Pope of Rome, in any sense, be head thereof: but is that Antichrist, that man of sin, and son of perdition, that exalteth himself, in the Church, against Christ and all that is called God.

Evangelical literature harmonizes christology and ecclesiology within the context of sola scriptura.