Temporal power is a term of art in medieval and early modern political philosophy to refer to
sovereign
''Sovereign'' is a title that can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to ...
and
secular
Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin , or or ), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. The origins of secularity can be traced to the Bible itself. The concept was fleshed out through Christian hi ...
power, as contrasted with spiritual power.
* The temporal power (simply), the
state (polity)
A state is a politics, political entity that regulates society and the population within a definite territory. Government is considered to form the fundamental apparatus of contemporary states.
A country often has a single state, with various a ...
or secular authority, in contrast to the church or spiritual authority
*
Temporal power (papal)
The Holy See exercised temporal power, as distinguished from its spiritual and pastoral activity, while the pope ruled the Papal States in central Italy.
The Papal States ceased to exist following the capture of Rome in 1870 by the Royal I ...
, the worldly power exercised by the Roman Pontiff
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