secular arm

Etymology
with the figurative meaning "lay power", although in actual usage the term tends to be interpretable as either "power" or "branch of an organisation".

Noun

 * 1)  The lay or temporal authority of a secular judge to pronounce punishment (particularly capital punishment) of an offender tried by an ecclesiastical court.
 * 2) * 1819, "Arm", article in (editor), , Volume 2, unnumbered page,
 * The church ſheds no blood; even the judges of the inquiſition, after they have found the perſon guilty, ſurrender him to the ſecular arm.
 * The church ſheds no blood; even the judges of the inquiſition, after they have found the perſon guilty, ſurrender him to the ſecular arm.

Usage notes

 * Usage tends to be ambiguous as to whether the intended sense of is "power" or "branch of an organisation", although it is clear that the secular and ecclesiastical "branches" are of different organisations.

Translations

 * Finnish: maallinen valta
 * French: bras séculier
 * German: weltlicher Arm
 * Italian: braccio secolare