How does a Catholic theocracy differ from other Christian theocracies?
Upvote:2
There were many theocratic states in Germany, taking OP's definition of a theocracy as a state in which the civil power is vested in an ecclesiastical official. One example was the Hochstift of Cologne, an area not identical with the Archdiocese of Cologne. This area was ruled by the Prince-Archbishop.
The position of Archbishop of Cologne was, for centuries, filled by a member of the Bavarian ruling dynasty, usually a younger son of one ruler and brother of the next. Joseph Clemens was appointed archbishop at the age of 16 in 1688.
Since the archbishop held the civil power, it could be seen as a theocracy. In practice, far from theocratising the state, it secularised the Church.
Even in the case of the Papal States the ruler, the Pope, was usually drawn from the ruling families and was expected to appoint his nephews as cardinals. It is questionable whether at conclaves the good of the Catholic Church was uppermost in all cardinals' minds. With whom would a papabile side was always an issue.
Luther's objection to the sale of indulgences was widely approved in Germany in part because it could be seen as the abuse by the rulers of Central Italy of the fact that they were, ex officio, popes. It is a perspective which is easy for moderns to overlook.
Pope Sixtus V in the sixteenth century devoted a lot of time and energy, and his subjects money raised through very heavy taxation, to rebuilding and beautifying Rome. He brought in vigorous methods to reduce crime, executing around 5,000 brigands. He tried to stamp out corruption.
Church of England Bishop Lee of Lichfield was credited with hanging 5,000 Welshmen as well as "some of the best blood in Shropshire".
Until 1836 he Protestant (i.e. Church of England) Bishop of Durham was known as Pronce-Bishop within the county of Durham, where he had the same powers as the monarch did in the rest of England. Shute Barrington was bishop from 1791 to 1826. He was responsible for many public works. When the miners in pits owned by the Diocese went on strike he sent in troops against them and came down very harshly on poachers even in a time of hunger.
It would be hard to say there was any significant difference between Protestant and Catholic theocracies though there were enormous differences in conditions at differing times and places. It is perhaps more a question if there was any difference between a prince-bishop and any other prince.
Mount Athos is an autonomous peninsula under the direct authority of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. However it contains only monasteries and no civilian population so perhaps is not truly theocratic government in the general sense.
More post
- 📝 What common dog species were the ancient Jews familiar with?
- 📝 According to Latter-day Saints, Jesus is Jehovah in OT. Therefore do they view all the occurrences of the Tetragrammaton as referring to Jesus?
- 📝 How do we explain Paul's encounters with disciples of Jesus in light of the Great Commission?
- 📝 How do Unitarians explain Hebrews 1:10-12?
- 📝 According to those holding that Lazarus was literally raised from the dead, why did Matthew, Mark, and Luke not mention it?
- 📝 Why, in the Gospel of Mark, is Jesus referred to as the son of Mary but, in the Gospel of Luke, he is referred to as the son of Joseph?
- 📝 Can a Mormon wife be unsealed from her husband, and what is required for it?
- 📝 Does the Church believe that an economic system with shared property is better than one based on private property?
- 📝 Where in the Bible does it say that God is creating a new earth?
- 📝 Has the Church stated any advantages or reasoning or prompting to re-formulating positively the Catholic Church's salvation doctrine?
- 📝 Where did the trait in man come from which causes him to deny the superiority of God?
- 📝 Why do so many Christians call Paul "teacher", when Jesus said it was forbidden?
- 📝 How is the atonement sufficient for salvation according to Calvinists?
- 📝 If Calvary is seen as a Holy Mass and Jesus is the sacrifice then who presided as the priest celebrant?
- 📝 Has the Lord handed over the souls of the redeemed to St Michael?
- 📝 According to Catholics at what moment did the ransom sacrifice go into effect?
- 📝 What's the biblical basis for the belief that God truly judges our hearts behind our actions and not the actions themselves?
- 📝 Automatic Excommunication in 1967?
- 📝 What was the reason for the suspension of the “vegetarian mandate” in Gen 9:1-3 after maintaining it for over 1500 years?
- 📝 Is a belief that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are not three persons, but one, Modalism?
- 📝 Where in OT does someone ask another to be his father?
- 📝 Does the Bible teach us to be truthful or nice?
- 📝 A priest I requested kindly to bless salt and oil did not use the prescribed prayer but used his own, is the blessing valid?
- 📝 What official statements represent Christianity's position on the Gospel of Barnabas?
- 📝 Was Jesus a time traveller?
- 📝 What significance, if any, does the doctrine of the eternal virginity of Mary have?
- 📝 What problems, if any, do Oneness Pentecostals have with the Apostles' Creed?
- 📝 According to the Bible, how should Christians meditate?
- 📝 According to Catholics (and Mark 7:19) what happens to Jesus' flesh after it is ingested?
- 📝 What should the man of God in 1 Kings 13 have done when faced with the old prophet's lie?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 How does a Catholic theocracy differ from other Christian theocracies?
- 📝 How does the loss of Wesleyan perfectionism differ from Catholic distinctions between mortal and venial sins?
- 📝 How does Catholic doctrine differ from LDS doctrine concerning God the Father?
- 📝 How does the mainstream Christian view of the physical body differ from that presented in The Gospel of Thomas?
- 📝 What is the Lutheran doctrine of consubstantiation and how does it differ from transubstantiation and a more general protestant sacramental view?
- 📝 How does the doctrine of the URC differ from its predecessors?
- 📝 How does the relationship of the Church of Scotland to the state differ from that of the Church of England?
- 📝 How does the view of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints about Jesus Christ differ from Protestant Trinitarian Christology?
- 📝 How does societal consecration to Mary differ from individual consecration?
- 📝 Apart from Milan is there any other Roman Catholic place where Lent does not start on Ash Wednesday?
- 📝 How does the Protestant OT canon differ from the Jewish scriptures?
- 📝 How does the Jehovah’s Witness view of who Jesus Christ is differ from Protestant Trinitarian Christology?
- 📝 How does mainstream Christianity's perception of Heaven differ from the Mormon perception of the Terrestrial Kingdom?
- 📝 How does the essence–energies distinction differ from the ontological/economic views of God?
- 📝 How does the Christology of the Baha'i faith differ from that of trinitarian Christianity?
- 📝 How do Jehovah's Witnesses understand the essential nature of hell, and how does it differ from that of Seventh-day Adventists?
- 📝 How did the fasting and abstinence requirements of Lenten Ember Days differ from other days of Lent in the United States?
- 📝 What are the core beliefs of Presbyterianism? How does it differ and compare to other denominations of reformed Protestantism?
- 📝 For traditional sources, how does the Catholic Church distinguish between holy truth and human speculation from the same author?
- 📝 How should we address a person from Israel such as a Christian or other non-Jewish individual?
- 📝 How did the Catholic canon that Christians could not 'share a meal with a Jew' differ in spirit from the Pharisees traditions concerning Gentiles?
- 📝 How is the Christian Jesus different from the Muslim Jesus?
- 📝 How does the Catholic church explain Matthew 19:9, which seems to allow divorce in case of sexual misconduct?
- 📝 Why does Catholic Church (and possibly some other denominations) approve natural family planning and condemn different kinds of contraception?
- 📝 How does the Catholic Church reconcile evolution with original sin?
- 📝 How have mainstream Christian denominations interpreted the Acts command to abstain from blood?
- 📝 How can we be sure our specific Christian confession is true, when every other Christian group claims that it's not?
- 📝 How does the Catholic Church understand the priesthood of all believers?
- 📝 How do Christians discern genuine spiritual experiences from hallucinations or other mundane psychological phenomena?
- 📝 How does a Roman Catholic reconcile a preference for purely procreative sex with the Song of Solomon?