Besides the Vatican today, are there any modern Christian theocracies in the formal sense?

Question

Yes, yes. I know some of you might consider the US, for example, a "theocracy". I'm really wondering about formal established theocracies.

Answer 1

Iran is a theocracy with a democratic body acting as advisers. Saudi Arabia is not a theocracy but it is close. A few European states such as the United Kingdom and Norway have rulers imposed by Divine Right and are the heads of their Churches, but they are not theocracies in any sense. Andorra is lead by co-princes, one of which is the President of France, the other is a bishop in Spain. The bishop, of course, as a direct successor by ordination from the apostles (See Acts 2 and the ordination of Mathias the first bishop) has maybe the strongest historical claim to any "divine right." Still, despite its status as a principality it isn't really a principality. Mount Athos is an island with multiple independent monasteries, as such it isn't truly a state, but it is a state of being. Mount Athos, although not a country, is directly ruled by the rule of St. Basil the Great or in some cases Pachomius. Since only monks can reside on the island, it may be the only other true theocracy, but it is a democratically ran set of monasteries so one could really argue that it is a set of democracies, of which, all the members choose the monastic life voluntarily.

Finally, any state using Sharia might be considered a theocracy, but maybe not too. Sharia is a juridical concept and not a concept of rule. It is akin to common law, except it claims divine origin.

Answer 2

Athos Greece is a self-governing state run by the Orthodox Catholic church. Like Vatican City, it is an autonomous theocracy.

Andorra, England, and Norway all have religious authorities as nominal heads of state (or heads of state as nominal religious authorities), but are not truly theocratic in practice.