ecclesiocracy
Clergy rule society
Ecclesiocracy is government by religious authorities or clergy—rule by the church.
The term describes political systems where religious institutions hold formal governmental power, as in medieval papal states or modern theocracies where clerics occupy top offices: Iran functions as an ecclesiocracy with supreme authority vested in religious leaders.
Diocesan clergy head
- priestOne who performs sacraments
- patriarchMale head of family
- popeCatholic Church's supreme leader
- cardinalOf foremost importance
archbishop · deacon · canon · rector · vicar · curate · pastor · chaplain
Ranked authority structure
- synodChurch governing assembly
- papacyPope's office and authority
- episcopateBishops as a body
- patriarchateChief bishop's office or realm
curia · council · conclave · presbytery · consistory · vestry · convocation · assembly
Unchallengeable official beliefs
- creedStatement of belief
- orthodoxyAdherence to accepted beliefs
- heresyBelief opposing official doctrine
- apostasyRenunciation of former beliefs
theology · catechism · ecclesiology · canon · exegesis · infallibility · excommunication · interdict
God-granted ruling authority
- papal supremacyPope's highest ecclesiastical authority
- investitureCeremony conferring rank
- concordatVatican-state formal agreement
- interdictAuthoritative prohibition order
excommunication · inquisition · imprimatur · index · dispensation
bishop
Diocesan clergy head
cardinal · archbishop · deacon · canon · rector · vicar · curate · pastor · chaplain · acolyte
hierarchy
Ranked authority structure
- synodChurch governing assembly
- papacyPope's office and authority
- episcopateBishops as a body
patriarchate · curia · council · conclave · presbytery · consistory · vestry · convocation · assembly · chapter
dogma
Unchallengeable official beliefs
- creedStatement of belief
- orthodoxyAdherence to accepted beliefs
- heresyBelief opposing official doctrine
apostasy · theology · catechism · ecclesiology · canon · exegesis · infallibility · excommunication · interdict · anathema
divine right
God-granted ruling authority
- papal supremacyPope's highest ecclesiastical authority
- investitureCeremony conferring rank
- concordatVatican-state formal agreement
interdict · excommunication · inquisition · imprimatur · index · dispensation
ecclesiocracysecularism
Separation of faith, state
secular state · separation of church and state · civil government · republicanism · democracy
ecclesiocracysecular rule
Governance without religious basis
separation of church and state · disestablishmentarianism · secularization · civil authority · anticlericalism
democracy, aristocracy, bureaucracy, autocracy, plutocracy, ecclesiastical, theocracy