 Until the 19th century the parishes were not only religious districts, but also the core territorial units in the state administration, and the modern municipalities were based upon them; in the same way that the parish priest was normally the foremost government official in most parishes (corresponding to the modern municipalities), the provost was not only a regional religious leader, but one of the highest-ranking government officials within a larger region comprising multiple parishes, in many cases arguably the highest-ranking government official alongside the governor.In the church hierarchy in Denmark and Norway the rank of provost was broadly comparable to the secular rank of governor ("amtmand"), while the higher rank of bishop corresponded to "stiftamtmand" (governor of a larger region traditionally based on a diocese or "stift").While the modern spelling is ""Propst"," in an historical context the spelling ""Probst"" may also occur.