The Terran Republic was set up such that it is a civil service bureaucracy that essentially "purges" itself every ten years. The intent of the purges is to ensure that the bureaucracy doesn't become bogged down by bottlenecks, duplication, and incompetents. The one exception is the Prime Minister, a position that traditionally (so far) been filled by individuals who had proven their leadership abilities through being selected to run various government agencies over multiple cycles. In that respect, the upper echelons can be thought of as a meritocracy. There is a Ministry of Religious Affairs, but it essentially exists to give the Priestess of the Faith a seat at all the cabinet meetings and the ear of the Prime Minister. It also has a single power, but its a powerful one--the ability to veto government decisions.
During the Gabree-el era, that meant that she was effectively the real power behind the throne. If the Prime Minister did something that went against the best interest of the Republic (in the opinion of the Priestess of the Faith), or if she had a revelation (psionic vision) that called for immediate action, the Priestess of the Faith could act. This changed somewhat under Shoshanna, with the Priestess of the Faith being a much less a visible symbol of political power, and more of quiet ombudsman for the masses. Indeed as of 1202, Shoshanna had asserted her veto power only once, that being the lead up to the Battle of Ganesh, and then because of the psionic visions she was having regarding the battle.
Note that Terra was my first and only choice as the site where Gabreelism could begin. Before she was Gabree-el, Priestess of The One Faith, "The Prophetess of Terra", St. Gabrielle the Savior, and deified by certain heretics on Prometheus, she was Gabrielle Dahnara, a History professor at the University of Terra, working along side her husband Dassaq, a Theology professor, at the Terra offices of the Searcher for the One Faith. A trained psion (at an underground psionic institute in Alexandra when she was an undergrad), she displayed the ability to see the origin of objects through psionic visions. This talent proved very useful to someone studying Terran history of course, but it wasn't until later that she also discovered she had the ability to see visions of the future as well as the past. This lead to her visions of the Collapse, which gained her notoriety on Terra (and a lot of unwanted attention), and when her visions came true, helped to create the religious figure that is central of the Terran storyline leading up to the New Era.
There, you asked a question, you got drowned in explanation and back story. Need a towel?
During the Gabree-el era, that meant that she was effectively the real power behind the throne. If the Prime Minister did something that went against the best interest of the Republic (in the opinion of the Priestess of the Faith), or if she had a revelation (psionic vision) that called for immediate action, the Priestess of the Faith could act. This changed somewhat under Shoshanna, with the Priestess of the Faith being a much less a visible symbol of political power, and more of quiet ombudsman for the masses. Indeed as of 1202, Shoshanna had asserted her veto power only once, that being the lead up to the Battle of Ganesh, and then because of the psionic visions she was having regarding the battle.
Note that Terra was my first and only choice as the site where Gabreelism could begin. Before she was Gabree-el, Priestess of The One Faith, "The Prophetess of Terra", St. Gabrielle the Savior, and deified by certain heretics on Prometheus, she was Gabrielle Dahnara, a History professor at the University of Terra, working along side her husband Dassaq, a Theology professor, at the Terra offices of the Searcher for the One Faith. A trained psion (at an underground psionic institute in Alexandra when she was an undergrad), she displayed the ability to see the origin of objects through psionic visions. This talent proved very useful to someone studying Terran history of course, but it wasn't until later that she also discovered she had the ability to see visions of the future as well as the past. This lead to her visions of the Collapse, which gained her notoriety on Terra (and a lot of unwanted attention), and when her visions came true, helped to create the religious figure that is central of the Terran storyline leading up to the New Era.
There, you asked a question, you got drowned in explanation and back story. Need a towel?