caesaropapism
/ˌsiːzəɹəʊˈpeɪpɪzm̩/
caesaropapism means the combination of state (originally imperial) power with religious authority; state authority over ecclesiastical matters. It carries an Arena rating of 1313, earned across 124 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, caesaropapism ranks #112 of 17,128 for Most Ponderous Words, #309 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words, #569 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words, #2,045 of 17,151 for The Improbable.
caesaropapism is pronounced /ˌsiːzəɹəʊˈpeɪpɪzm̩/.
Why “caesaropapism” is a great word
CAESAROPAPISM — [Noun] The political doctrine by which a secular ruler, especially an emperor, holds supreme authority over the ecclesiastical affairs of a state. From caesar (Latin, title for Roman emperor) + -o- (connecting vowel) + papism (from pope, denoting papal authority); coined as New Latin caesaro-papia by the German jurist Justus Henning Böhmer in his work Jus ecclesiasticum Protestantium (1714–1736). Unlike theocracy (which invests divine authority directly in a priestly class to govern the state) or secularism (which seeks to erect a firm wall between temporal and spiritual jurisdictions), caesaropapism is the subsumption of the sacred under the imperial crown. It is the emperor presiding over an ecumenical council, the royal decree settling a doctrinal schism, and the state liturgy read as an edict of the palace—a consolidation so complete that the sacred becomes a department of government.
Etymology
From caesar + -o- + papism, probably modelled after New Latin caesaro-papia, coined by the German ecclesiastical jurist Justus Henning Böhmer (1674–1749) in his work Jus ecclesiasticum Protestantium (Ecclesiastical Law of the Protestants, 1714–1736).
noun
- The combination of state (originally imperial) power with religious authority; state authority over ecclesiastical matters.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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