Lords Spiritual (Noun)
Meaning
The clergy in France and the heads of the church in Britain.
Classification
Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects.
Examples
- The French Revolution marked the decline of the power held by the lords spiritual, a clergy that dominated French society for centuries.
- Historically, the British House of Lords consisted of both the lords temporal and the lords spiritual, comprising senior bishops of the Church of England.
- Prior to the Reformation, the influence of the lords spiritual extended to all areas of public life in both Britain and France.
- As heads of the Church of England, the lords spiritual wield significant power within the House of Lords.
- Unlike their British counterparts, the lords spiritual in pre-Revolutionary France struggled to reform their corrupt institutions, exacerbating their decline.