hierocracy

American  

[hahy-uh-rok-ruh-see, hahy-rok-] / ˌhaɪ əˈrɒk rə si, haɪˈrɒk- /

noun

plural

hierocracies

1. rule or government by priests or ecclesiastics.

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hierocracy British  

/ ˌhaɪərəˈkrætɪk, ˌhaɪəˈrɒkrəsɪ /

noun

1. government by priests or ecclesiastics

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Other Word Forms

• hierocratic adjective
• hierocratical adjective

Etymology

Origin of hierocracy

First recorded in 1785–95; hiero- + -cracy

Example Sentences

For under the last-named the secularisation of the hierocracy no longer presented any attractive aspects; it was wholly repellent.

From Prolegomena by Wellhausen, Julius

All these changes are the natural outcome of the importation of the hierocracy into Mosaic times.

From Prolegomena by Wellhausen, Julius

The policing of this combined fortress, sanctuary, and treasure house was left, even to the power of life and death, in the hands of the Sadducean hierocracy.

From Religion and the War by Various

According to natural order, Vermont will emerge next, because least, after Rhode Island, under the yoke of hierocracy.

From Memoir, Correspondence, And Miscellanies, From The Papers Of Thomas Jefferson, Volume 3 by Randolph, Thomas Jefferson

The circumstance is one indication of a melancholy process of disintegration that was at that time going on within the hierocracy.

From Prolegomena by Wellhausen, Julius