Gelasian dyarchy

noun

The doctrine, traced back to Pope Gelasius I, that there are two authorities governing human affairs, the spiritual authority of the church and the temporal authority of the empire or secular government.

Meanings

nounGelasian dyarchy (uncountable)

alternative Gelasian diarchy

  1. uncountableCatholicismThe doctrine, traced back to Pope Gelasius I, that there are two authorities governing human affairs, the spiritual authority of the church and the temporal authority of the empire or secular government.

    Father Murray is concerned to restate the Gelasian dyarchy in democratic terms.

    1953, Religion in Life, volume 23, page 178
    2 more examples

    Between secularists and anticlericals who would subject the Church to the state or entirely separate the institutions, and fanatical medievalists and curialists who would, against all reasonable hope, cling to their own inaccurate versions of theocracy, the pope steered a middle course that recalled the Gelasian dyarchy.

    1962, Newman C. Eberhardt, A Summary of Catholic History, volume 2, page 161

    Determining the popes’ view of the relationship between church and state was their interpretation of “the Gelasian dyarchy,” the ancient papal teaching that “this world is ruled by two powers.”

    2004, Robert Krieg, Catholic Theologians in Nazi Germany, →ISBN, page 18

    Synonyms: Gelasian dualism

Synonyms & antonyms

nounThe doctrine, traced back to Pope Gelasius I, that there are two authorities governing human affairs, the spiritual authority of the church and the temporal authority of the empire or secular government.

Cite this entry
APA

Gelasian dyarchy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Gelasian%20dyarchy

MLA

“Gelasian dyarchy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Gelasian%20dyarchy. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Gelasian dyarchy,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Gelasian%20dyarchy.

Source: Gelasian dyarchy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.