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.
Anglicans form the family of Christians closely related to the Archbishop of Canterbury. Whilst tracing their inheritance back to Christ and the earliest Christians and to the ancient Roman Catholic church, the sixteenth century Reformation was a crucial moment for Anglicanism.
Baptism involves declaring faith in God and being washed with water. It means being cleansed from sin, being united to Jesus Christ, receiving his Holy Spirit and becoming God’s children. Sometimes called ‘Christening’.
Confirmation is about ‘confirming’ the faith in God we declared at baptism. It also involves being strengthened by God’s Holy Spirit. In the Church in Wales it is administered by the bishop.
‘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’).
The Christian Church is divided due to different interpretations of the faith and different religious practices. The ecumenical movement promotes dialogue and understanding between Christians and works for visible unity.
Prayer sustains our human relationship with God and may involve words (formal or informal) or be silent. Prayer can involve adoration (‘I love you’), confession (‘sorry’), thanksgiving and supplication (‘please’).
‘Priest’ comes from the Greek word for ‘elder’. Priests in the Church in Wales are those authorised specifically to proclaim forgiveness of sins, preside at the Eucharist and bless God’s people, as well as other responsibilities.
‘Theology’ means literally ‘words about God’. Christian theology involves our trying to understand and explain what God has revealed about himself through Scripture. This work is aided by the writings of past and present theologians and human reason.
Welcome to our education page. Here, you can access various resources, project links, and detailed information regarding guidance on Religion, Values, and Ethics for Church in Wales Schools. We invite all schools to discover and make use of our resources. Feel free to share them within your network.
