The Yanus Protocol
My first real worldbuilding post.
The Yanus Protocol an agreement between church and state. Originally between Froturn and the Church of Titanius, but later Etrand and Artaburro signed it too. Basically, it states that the Church and the state have their own laws and judge people accordingly on their property, and they shouldn't disturb each other.
Case A: The King of Froturn wants someone executed for treason, but the Church defends the person as innocent. The Church puts the person under its defense, which can mean one of two things: either house arrest in a church/chapel/cathedral or a monastery (in Church property, basically), or exile to a Titanist country with a more religious king... like Etrand.
Case B: The Church condemns someone as a heretic or apostate. The King of Froturn chooses to defend the person as innocent, granting the person immunity from the Church's judgement... in Froturn. The person is then forbidden to enter Church property, and if he goes to a Titanist country with a more religious King - like Etrand - the best case scenario is him getting deported back to Froturn.
Or alternatively, the Church and the state could just make a compromise on the fate of the condemned. More often than not, this happens.
If the Church takes a condemned - condemned by the King - person under its protection, the King doesn't dare to use his soldiers to knock down a monastery's door and kidnap the condemned person, because... that would be a huge scandal resulting in the King's excommunication, massive rebellions, etc.
Likewise, if the King gives someone immunity from the Church’s judgement, and that person travels to a Titanist country with a more religious King, the religious King doesn't usually have that traveller judged by the Church’s laws (executed/imprisoned), because that would cause a diplomatic incident. Instead, he just has the person deported back to the less religious King’s country.
http://ways-of-darkness.sonck.nl/Yanus_Protocol
I think this system is a good system, and is a much better way of separating Church and State than in real-life, where the state keeps pointing a gun at the church, while the church keeps bitching and moaning.
It’s also the reason why Artograch will never have gay marriage, among other things. The state might legalize homosexuality at one point, but the Church won’t. And marriage is the Church’s business in this world.
