Dictionary

Words on this page

Advent

Advent means ‘coming’ and is the special four-week period leading up to Christmas. It is a time to prepare for the celebration of Jesus’s birth but also for his coming in glory at the end of time.

Bishop

‘Bishop’ comes from the Greek word for ‘overseer’. So a bishop is a senior Christian minister authorised to have oversight for God’s people. As well as duties given to deacons and priests, bishops confirm and ordain.

Diocese

‘Diocese’ refers to the geographical territory in which a bishop exercises oversight. The Church in Wales is divided into six dioceses each with its own cathedral in which is housed the cathedra (the bishop’s ‘chair’ or ‘throne’).

Evangelism

‘Evangelion’ means ‘good news’. Evangelism is about sharing the good news of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection in the hope that others may come to believe in and follow Jesus.

The Diocese of St Davids

Welcome to the Diocese of St Davids, named after Wales’ patron saint whose cathedral in Pembrokeshire is one of the jewels of the nation. The diocese also covers the counties of Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire including the western industrial valleys and the town of Llanelli.

Pruning for Growth

Pruning

Pruning for Growth is a new diocesan strategy which, over the next two years, will seek to make a comprehensive, in-depth analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of every church in the Diocese of St Davids.

The strategy was unveiled at an Extraordinary Diocesan Conference held on Saturday July 6th.

The strategy consists of three phases. The first, to be completed by the end of the year, is a fact-finding exercise to establish an up-to-date snapshot of each church, based on an eight-point matrix that will identify churches that are flourishing, growing, declining or dying.

Find out more

Video presentations

O Come Let Us Adore Him

2024 Advent course logo

The Church in Wales has launched a new Advent course for 2024.

O Come Let Us Adore Him is designed to strengthen our faith throughout the festive period, from Advent 1 through to Epiphany It consists of an introduction by the Archbishop of Wales followed by six full sessions, each led by one of the diocesan Bishops.

People can complete this course by themselves or in small groups and communities. Each session begins with a video, which includes the Bishop discussing a passage of scripture, two lay people talking about how the themes of the passage relate to their own lives, and discussion questions for you to take forward in your study together.

In addition to the video, each section is backed up by resources available from the Church in Wales website where you will also find details of each session : https://www.churchinwales.org.uk/en/evangelism/o-come-let-us-adore-him-advent-course-2024/

Newsfeed

News from St Davids Diocese.

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