One of the ten guiding principles from the 1967 Synod of Bishops on the revision of the 1917 Code of Canon Law was that a new Code should present the office of bishop in accord with the norms given in the conciliar decree, Christus Dominus. In the 1917 Code, canon 329 stated that bishops ‘govern with ordinary power under the authority of the Roman Pontiff’. The change in the revised Code would reflect that bishops do not act as vicars of the Pope but as vicars and legates of Christ. To support the bishop in his ministry, there are a number of structures outlined in the Code which provide him with opportunities for consultation and listening, and which allow participation by others, both clergy and lay faithful. After defining what is meant by the word ‘diocese’, this article considers the role of bishops, and then looks at the channels outlined in the 1983 Code for ‘consultation’ and ‘listening’. After briefly outlining the challenges arising in terms of processes, accountability, and consultation, this article examines the possible shared principles between the Roman Catholic and the Anglican tradition.

This article examines the role of the parish primarily within the Church of England’s processes of synodical government. After providing an overview of the historical foundations of the parish, the article moves on to compare parish arrangements in the Church of England, the Church in Wales, and the broader Anglican Communion.

The newly coined term ‘synodality’ has for some years been receiving widespread and close attention, and its potential is difficult to delimit. Synodality is a composite concept, with a range of applications, abstracted from the traditions of the Eastern and Western Churches expressed in varied synodal institutions and events. Synodality might be defined as the process by which Christians gather to dialogue, discern and at times decide. This article examines one of synodality’s levels – the parish – in the Roman Catholic Church.1

Articles in this issue of the Journal have considered the various levels of church government at the universal, the regional, the local (diocesan), and the parochial levels. The mechanical operations of each synodical body has been considered, with notions of subsidiarity, authority and participation key. This article takes a step back and looks at the classes of individuals concerned in ecclesial life: bishops, (other) clergy, and laity, and considers how they participate in synodical ecclesial life by virtue of either purely their ecclesial life (as a bishop, a priest or deacon, or as a member of the laity), or through the role they exercise/office they hold as a member of that ecclesial class.

Other articles in this issue of the Journal have examined different levels of government, whether in the Catholic Church or in the Anglican Communion, and presented the notion and practice of synodality at that level of the institution in question. This article takes a different methodological approach by examining the various categories of the faithful, and discusses their different roles in the processes and structures provided for in Roman Catholic canon law that might be called ‘synodal’.