Catholic Churches, Mass Times, Parishes, Websites, Schools, Priests and People
Marriage Preparation
Bishops' Conference: Bishops` Conference of England and Wales (Cymru)
Diocese: Diocese of Northampton
People
Contact
| Phone | 01536 460 909 |
|---|---|
| Click here to email Marriage Preparation | |
 https://smartloving.org |
|
About Marriage Preparation
Internationally approved and well resourced, Smart Loving Engaged offers an easy and supported way for parishes to provide marriage preparation for their engaged couples whose life- long intimate love affair can witness to the profound depths of God’s love and be a source of inspiration and encouragement to their children and extended community. Combining a number of adult learning methods, the course is designed to be used in one of four ways- couple to couple mentoring, small home - centred groups, larger groups in parish rooms, or on - line mentored correspondence. Core content is presented on DVD and is supported by comprehensive participant materials with additional take - home activities to stimulate discussion in private. This is a marriage formation programme that fully integrates:-Contemporary relationship psychology presented by husband and wife teams, the perspectives and experience of both sexes are brought to each topic with examples and personal stories, so making the concepts come alive in relatable and relevant ways which offer profound opportunities for personal discovery. -Robust practical skills and tools- useable immediately for a direct impact on a relationship at whatever stage and throughout marriage. -Comprehensive Catholic theology for an effective and powerful sacramental preparation of the engaged couple, helping them to grow into the fullness of their spiritual potential and mission to love. For further details, course availability in the Diocese, resources & information leaflets for parishes and engaged couples
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Useful Definitions of the Structures in the Catholic Church
What is a Catholic Bishops' Conference?
An episcopal conference, sometimes called a conference of bishops, is an official assembly of the bishops of the Catholic Church in a given territory. ... Individual bishops do not relinquish their immediate authority for the governance of their respective dioceses to the conference (Wikipedia).
What is an Archdiocese?
Dioceses ruled by an archbishop are commonly referred to as archdioceses; most are metropolitan sees, being placed at the head of an ecclesiastical province. A few are suffragans of a metropolitan see or are directly subject to the Holy See.
The term 'archdiocese' is not found in Canon Law, with the terms "diocese" and "episcopal see" being applicable to the area under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of any bishop.[8] If the title of archbishop is granted on personal grounds to a diocesan bishop, his diocese does not thereby become an archdiocese (Wikipedia).
What is a Diocese?
The group of churches that a bishop supervises is known as a diocese. Typically, a diocese is divided into parishes that are each overseen by a priest.
The original dioceses, in ancient Rome, were political rather than religious. Rome was divided into dioceses, each of which was made up of many provinces. After Christianity became the Roman Empire's official religion in the 4th century, the term gradually came to refer to religious districts. The Catholic Church has almost 3,000 dioceses. The Greek root of diocese is dioikesis, "government, administration, or province." (Vocabulary.com).
As of April 2020, in the Catholic Church there are 2,898 regular dioceses: 1 papal see, 649 archdioceses (including 9 patriarchates, 4 major archdioceses, 560 metropolitan archdioceses, 76 single archdioceses) (Wikipedia).
What is the difference between a Diocese and an Archdiocese?
Each diocese is within a Province - a group of Dioceses - the Archdiocese is the main Diocese within that Diocese. The bishop of that Archdiocese is therefore automatically an Archbishop. If a bishop has been made an Archbishop personally is referred to as an Archbishop but it does not make their Diocese an Archdiocese.
What is a Deanery?
A subdivision of a diocese, consisting of a number parishes, over which presides a dean appointed by a bishop. The duty of the dean is to watch over the clergy of the deanery, to see that they fulfill the orders of the bishop, and observe the liturgical and canon laws. He summons the conference of the deanery and presides at it. Periodically he makes a report to the bishop on conditions in the deanery.www.catholicculture.org
What is a Parish?
In the Roman Catholic Church, a parish (Latin: parochia) is a stable community of the faithful within a particular church, whose pastoral care has been entrusted to a parish priest (Latin: parochus), under the authority of the diocesan bishop. It is the lowest ecclesiastical subdivision in the Catholic episcopal polity, and the primary constituent unit of a diocese. In the 1983 Code of Canon Law, parishes are constituted under cc. 515–552, entitled "Parishes, Pastors, and Parochial Vicars." Wikipedia
