Editing Prince-bishop (section)

==Overview==
In the West, with the decline of [[Roman Empire|imperial power]] from the 4th century onwards in the face of the [[barbarian]] invasions, sometimes [[Christianity|Christian]] bishops of [[city|cities]] took the place of the Roman commander, made secular decisions for the city and led their own troops when necessary. Later relations between a prince-bishop and the [[Bourgeoisie|burghers]] were invariably not cordial. As cities demanded charters from emperors, kings, or their prince-bishops and declared themselves independent of the secular territorial magnates, friction intensified between burghers and bishops. The principality or [[Hochstift|prince-bishopric (Hochstift)]] ruled politically by a prince-bishop could wholly or largely have overlapped with his diocesan jurisdiction, but some parts of his [[diocese]], even the city of his residence, could have been exempt from his civil rule, obtaining the status of [[free imperial city]]. If the [[episcopal see]] was an [[archbishop]]ric, the correct term was prince-archbishop; the equivalent in the regular (monastic) clergy was [[prince-abbot]]. A prince-bishop was usually considered an [[elective monarchy|elected monarch]]. With the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the title finally became defunct in the [[Confederation of the Rhine]]. However, in respect to the lands of the former [[Holy Roman Empire]] outside of French control, such as the [[Habsburg Monarchy]], including Austria proper ([[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Salzburg|Salzburg]], [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Graz-Seckau|Seckau]]), the [[Lands of the Bohemian Crown]] (the bulk of [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Olomouc|Olomouc]] and parts of [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Wrocław|Breslau]]), as well as in respect to the parts of the [[1795]]-[[Partitions of Poland|partitioned Polish state]], including those forming part of the [[Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria]] or those acquired by the [[Kingdom of Prussia]], the position continued in some cases nominally and was sometimes transformed into a new, titular type, initially recognized by the German Empire and Austria-Hungary until their demise, with the title ultimately abolished altogether by the pope in 1951.

The sole exception is the [[Bishop of Urgell]], Catalonia, who no longer has any secular rights in Spain, but remains ''ex officio'' one of two [[co-princes of Andorra]], along with the French head of state (currently its [[President of the French Republic|President]]), and thus the last extant prince-bishop.<ref name="andorramania.com"/><ref name="Royal Central"/>

In the [[Byzantine Empire]], the still [[autocratic]] Emperors passed general legal measures assigning all bishops certain rights and duties in the secular administration of their dioceses, possibly as part of a development to put the [[Eastern Christianity|Eastern Church]] in the service of the Empire{{Citation needed|date=November 2019}}, with its [[Ecumenical Patriarch]] almost reduced to the Emperor's minister of religious affairs.{{Citation needed|date=June 2021}}. The institution of prince-bishop was revived in the Orthodox Church in the modern times during the existence of the [[Prince-Bishopric of Montenegro]].