spiritual authority
Religious guiding power
Spiritual authority is the power to guide, teach, or make decisions in religious or moral matters.
It may be claimed by individuals (priests, pastors, gurus), institutions (churches, councils), or texts (scripture, tradition).
Someone with spiritual authority speaks with weight on questions of faith, ethics, or the soul: She challenged the priest's spiritual authority to interpret doctrine.
The concept assumes a realm beyond material concerns where certain figures hold legitimate influence.
- blessingPrayer seeking divine favor
- rabbiJewish spiritual leader
- guruRevered authority figure
- spiritual teacherGuide in faith matters
- spiritual leaderReligious community head
holy man · sacred texts · prayer · hierarchy · religious order · shaman · mandate of heaven · icon · succession · bishop · imam · secularization · charisma · prophet · priest · papacy · papal infallibility · divine revelation
- church authoritypapacy, bishops, popes, papal supremacy, deacons
- early churchapostles, early church, Church Fathers, apostolic fathers, Acts of the Apostles
- Shia IslamAli, Ali ibn Abi Talib, Hussein, Hussain, imam
- theocracytheocracy, theocrat, hierocracy, caliphate, Vatican City
- Orthodox Churchpatriarch, patriarchate, metropolitan, holy synod, Greek Orthodox
- Caliphatecaliph, caliphate, Umar, Ali, successor
spiritual authoritysecular authority
Governmental power without religious basis
political power · civil authority · state power · governmental authority · military authority