Hereditary Priesthood Polity

Hereditary priesthood polity is the governance form recorded in this atlas for religious bodies in which priestly office passes by descent within particular families rather than by appointment or election. Wikipedia's article on the Kohen, the Hebrew word for priest, gives a well known example: the kohanim are traditionally believed, and halakhically required, to be of direct patrilineal descent from the biblical Aaron. In this atlas the entity stands for the governance form itself, so denominations, religious orders and societies governed this way can be grouped and compared under it, while each member entry keeps its own governance facts and sources.