Sacerdotal_state
Sacerdotal state
State led by an ecclesiastical leader
A sacerdotal state is a state whose head is also an ecclesiastical leader designated by a religious body. An example of this kind of state is the Vatican City - its heads of state, the popes of the Catholic Church, have governed papal lands distinct from secular authority since the eighth century CE.[1][dead link][2] Andorra operates under a semi-sacerdotal system, as one of its co-heads of state is the bishop of Urgell, while the other is the president of France. However unlike the Vatican, the co-princes of Andorra are not closely involved in the government.
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In the past, bishops commonly assumed civil as well as clerical power and ruled as prince-bishops. This occurred, for example, in the Holy Roman Empire, where three of the seven imperial electors were prince-archbishops (those of Trier, Mainz and Cologne). After the 1648 Peace of Westphalia certain prince-bishoprics became bi-confessional and alternated between governance by Catholic bishops and by Protestant administrators.