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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 establishment of the Papal States in theeighth 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 head of state of France. However unlike the Vatican, the co-princes of Andorra are ceremonial and not closely involved in the government.
In the past, bishops commonly assumed temporal as well as spiritual authority 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.
- ^ "Dutch MPs protest Vatican international voting rights over AIDS". 18 November 2000. Archived from the original on 26 July 2003.
- ^ "In Biden's visit with the pope, a page from Reagan's playbook?". www.theconversation.com. 2021-10-27. Retrieved 2022-05-08.
The Holy See has been an independent city-state since 1929, but in reality, the pope has been a head of state at least since the eighth century.