“Jesus is the head of the Church, and Peter is the steward, given the keys to the kingdom while the King is away.”
Odd. “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you...it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”
Why do you think God is away? Could this be why some church fathers called the Holy Spirit the ‘Vicar of Christ’?
***Why do you think God is away?***
The whole deal of the Ascension in which Jesus is taken away up to Heaven and promises to return is significant. The Holy Spirit, which He promises to send, does not actually arrive until Pentecost. Peter and the Apostles are bereft and very afraid. The Holy Spirit arrives at Pentecost and Peter takes charge and leads the Apostles into the future of the Church.
So; what does all this mean? The Holy Spirit is not a physical form and works through men. Jesus was physical and acted in person. And, Jesus set up his own Church and instructed (rather laboriously) his Apostles to carry out His instruction.
***Could this be why some church fathers called the Holy Spirit the ‘Vicar of Christ’?***
Yes. The term Vicar means substitute or somebody who acts in the place of somebody higher ranking. In other words, the man who acts for Christ in the celebration of the Mass or other capacity while waiting for Him to return.