Catholic Theocracies of Europe

[Delvestius]

Is it possible to have Archbishops replace kings as heads of a nation, with the Pope wielding full control of the Western-European "Holy Roman Empire"? Probably ASB but It would be interesting to see any possibilities along these lines. I would imagine the coming of Islam may be one such catalyst, or an earlier conversion of Germanic tribes from Paganism/Arianism to Catholicism.

 

[iori]

There actually were quite a few theocratic states in Europe, ruled by Bishops, though these were all states within the HR for the most part (Avignon being one of the few exceptions).

 

[Delvestius]

There actually were quite a few theocratic states in Europe, ruled by Bishops, though these were all states within the HR for the most part (Avignon being one of the few exceptions).

or sure, Do you see any PoD putting Archbishops of nations in charge, instead of kings?

 

[Gurroruo]

or sure, Do you see any PoD putting Archbishops of nations in charge, instead of kings?

A far far more successful counter reformation in which Bishops replace the protestant kings

Just spitballing

 

[iori]

or sure, Do you see any PoD putting Archbishops of nations in charge, instead of kings?

Of large states, no, not really, religious authorities tend to be bad at running countries larger than a few thousand people and ultimately to some degree the Catholic Church has never really been big on directly running things, more indirectly doing so.

 

[profxyz]

Is it possible to have Archbishops replace kings as heads of a nation, with the Pope wielding full control of the Western-European "Holy Roman Empire"? Probably ASB but It would be interesting to see any possibilities along these lines. I would imagine the coming of Islam may be one such catalyst, or an earlier conversion of Germanic tribes from Paganism/Arianism to Catholicism.

Well if a fringe of the 1848 Italian revolutionaries had gotten their way then you could have seen Italy united under the banner of Pius IX, which would've probably led to an catholic theocracy in Italy.

The Archbishops of Riga (12th-16thC) ruled a sizeable chunk of what is now Latvia, so maybe a bit more financial acumen allowing them to purchase more land from the Teutonic Knights/Balts, and they could be ruling over a pretty sizeable nation.