parish / rectory
Loading your saved state.
parish
A church administrative unit that includes a community of believers in a specific geographical area and is led by a priest or pastor. A synonym for parish or church community.
Unsere Pfarre organisiert jedes Jahr einen Wohltätigkeitsbasar.
Our parish organizes a charity bazaar every year.
'Die Pfarre' (the parish/rectory) is closely connected with 'der Pfarrer' (the priest/pastor). The Pfarre is the official or community district for which a Pfarrer is responsible.
Der neue Pfarrer wurde in seiner Pfarre herzlich willkommen geheißen.
The new priest was warmly welcomed in his parish.
The meaning 'Pfarrhaus' (rectory/parsonage, the priest's residence) is common mainly in Austria and southern Germany. In the rest of the German-speaking world, people usually say 'das Pfarrhaus' for this.
Die Pfarre muss dringend renoviert werden.
The rectory urgently needs to be renovated.
Whether the community (m01) or the building (m02) is meant can be recognized from the verb. Verbs like 'gehören zu' (to belong to) or 'organisieren' (to organize) point to the community, while verbs like 'einziehen' (to move in) or 'renovieren' (to renovate) refer to the building.
Viele Freiwillige engagieren sich in unserer Pfarre.
Many volunteers are active in our parish.
When the church community is meant, 'Pfarre' (parish) is often used with prepositions such as 'in der Pfarre' (in the parish) or 'zur Pfarre' (to the parish). Typical verbs are 'leiten' (to lead), 'angehören' (to belong to), or 'aktiv sein' (to be active).
Er gehört seit seiner Kindheit zur Pfarre St. Michael.
He has belonged to the parish of St. Michael since childhood.
church community / parish
'die Kirchengemeinde' and 'die Pfarre' can both mean a church community or administrative unit in a particular place. In this sense, they are very similar. 'Kirchengemeinde' is a very common and neutral word in modern German, especially in Protestant contexts. 'Pfarre' sounds different depending on the region: in Austria and southern Germany, it can be completely normal; elsewhere, it tends to sound more church-specific or regional. In those regions, 'Pfarre' can also mean the rectory. Learners may confuse the words because they often refer to the same unit. If you want to be generally understood, 'Kirchengemeinde' is usually clearer; 'Pfarre' fits especially well in regional or Catholic contexts.
In dem kleinen Ort trifft sich die Pfarre jeden Sonntag nach dem Gottesdienst.
In the small town, the parish meets every Sunday after the church service.
Im Gespräch erzählt sie, dass die Kirchengemeinde ein Sommerfest plant.
In the conversation, she says that the church community is planning a summer festival.