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theocracy
(redirected from hierocracy)

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Legal, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.01 sec.

theocracy

Government by divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided. In many theocracies, government leaders are members of the clergy, and the state's legal system is based on religious law. Theocratic rule was typical of early civilizations. The Enlightenment marked the end of theocracy in most Western countries. Contemporary examples of theocracies include Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Vatican. See also church and state; divine kingship.


theocracy
1. government by a deity or by a priesthood
2. a community or political unit under such government


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These people promoted the Temple-centered sacrificial hierocracy, legitimated by the Persian authority, with high priests appointed by the Persian authorities.
Thus, even after Pope John XXIII opened the Roman Catholic Church to the modern world, it remained, in political form, closer to a hierocracy (a holy caste) than to a democracy (the entire holy people of God).
Assuredly, by foretelling the destruction of a Temple a preacher could invite backlash for the implied criticism of its hierocracy.
 
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