Caesaropapism

Definition: Caesaropapism is the term for a system whereby secular rulers exercised direct control over the church. Where Caesaropapism was established, kings or emperors could appoint clerics and influence church doctrine. The term is most frequently applied to the Byzantine Empire, where emperors were proclaimed to be equal to the apostles in 754, but it has also been used in describing the Russian Empire, the Holy Roman Empire, and England after Henry VIII broke from Catholicism and initiated the Anglican church.