Ecclesiastical government, ecclesiastical hierarchy, or ecclesiocracy may refer to: *

Theocracy Theocracy is a form of government in which one or more deity, deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries who manage the government's daily affairs. Etymology The word theocracy origina ...

, a form of religious State government *

Hierocracy (medieval) In the Middle Ages, hierocracy or papalism''Hierocracy'' is sometimes construed as a more radical, specifically late medieval variant of ''papalism''. . was a current of Latin legal and political thought that argued that the pope held supreme aut ...

, papal temporal supremacy over the State *

Ecclesiastical polity Ecclesiastical polity is the operational and governance structure of a church or of a Christian denomination. It also denotes the ministerial structure of a church and the authority relationships between churches. Polity relates closely to ...

, the government of a Christian denomination **

Hierarchy of the Catholic Church The hierarchy of the Catholic Church consists of its bishops, priests, and deacons. In the ecclesiological sense of the term, "hierarchy" strictly means the "holy ordering" of the Church, the Body of Christ, so to respect the diversity of gif ...

Ecclesiastical jurisdiction Ecclesiastical jurisdiction signifies jurisdiction by church leaders over other church leaders and over the laity. Jurisdiction is a word borrowed from the legal system which has acquired a wide extension in theology, wherein, for example, it is ...

, jurisdiction by church leaders over other church leaders and over the laity

See also