hagiarchy

[ hag-ee-ahr-kee, hey-jee- ]

noun

, plural hag·i·arch·ies.

1. hagiocracy.

hagiarchy

/ ˈhæɡɪˌɑːkɪ /

noun

1. government by saints, holy men, or men in holy orders
2. an order of saints

Word History and Origins

Origin of hagiarchy¹

First recorded in 1820–30; hagi- ( def ) + -archy

Example Sentences

Associated words: acolyte, hierarchy, hierocracy, hagiarchy, exeat, hierarchism, hierarchal, hieratic, hagiocracy, unfrock, ordain, ordination, sacerdotalism, pontificate, pontific, pontifical, priesthood, Holy Orders, priestcraft, priest-ridden, soutane, cassock, vestments, canonicals, rectory, incumbent. provincial words.

From Project Gutenberg

Nowhere was the crystallization of form and principle more pronounced than in religious life, which fastened upon the mother country a deadening weight that hampered all progress, and in the colonies, notably in the Philippines, virtually converted her government into a hagiarchy that had its face toward the past and either could not or would not move with the current of the times.

From Project Gutenberg

Then with the separation of Mexico and the other American colonies from Spain a more marked change was brought about in that direct communication was established with the mother country, and the absolutism of the hagiarchy first questioned by the numbers of Peninsular Spaniards who entered the islands to trade, some even to settle and rear families there.

From Project Gutenberg