Modus vivendi Modus vivendi Modus vivendi is a Latin phrase that means "mode of living" or “way of life”. It often is used to mean an arrangement or agreement that allows conflicting parties to coexist in peace. In science it is used to describe lifestyles. "Modus" means "mode", "way", "method", or "manner". "Vivendi" means "of living". The phrase is often used to describe informal and temporary arrangements in political affairs. For example, if two sides reach a "modus vivendi" regarding disputed territories, despite political, historical or cultural incompatibilities, an accommodation of their respective differences is established for the sake of contingency. In
Archdiocese of Carthage in Tunisia legal personality and stated that it was legally represented by the prelate "nullius" of Tunis. The Holy See chose the prelate "nullius" but the government could object against the candidate before an appointment. The "modus vivendi" banned the Catholic Church from any political activity in Tunisia. This particular agreement was unofficially described as instead a "modus non moriendi" ("a way of not dying"). By it, all but five of the country's more than seventy churches were handed over to the state, including what had been the cathedral of the archdiocese, while the state, for its part, promised that