''Aeque principaliter'' ("equally important") is a Latin term used by the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

to indicate a merger of two or more

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

s in which – to avoid questions of predominance – the dioceses are all given equal importance. Such a merger often followed a merger ''

in persona episcopi ''In persona episcopi'' ( en, In the person of the bishop) is a Latin expression used by the Roman Catholic Church to indicate a union of two or more dioceses in which the dioceses are administered by a single bishop but undergo no alteration to t ...

''.

Examples

* Diocese of Atri merged ''aeque principaliter'' with the

Diocese of Penne The Archdiocese of Pescara-Penne ( la, Archidioecesis Piscariensis-Pinnensis) is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory on the east coast in central Italy. It was promoted to the status of metropolitan archbishopric in 1982, and its name was ...

(15 March 1252 to 1 July 1949) * Diocese of Prato united ''aeque principaliter'' with

Diocese of Pistoia The Italian Catholic Diocese of Pistoia ( la, Dioecesis Pistoriensis) is located in the Province of Florence. It has existed since the third century. From 1653 to 1954, the historic diocese was the diocese of Pistoia and Prato. The Diocese of Pra ...

(from 22 September 1653 to 25 January 1954) *

Diocese of Bitonto The Italian Catholic diocese of Bitonto, in Apulia, had a short independent existence from 1982 to 1986. In the latter year it was united into the Archdiocese of Bari, forming the Archdiocese of Bari-Bitonto. Before 1982, it had existed since the ...

united ''aeque principaliter'' to

Diocese of Ruvo The diocese of Ruvo was a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in Apulia, southern Italy, which existed until 1986, when it was united into the diocese of Molfetta-Ruvo-Giovinazzo-Terlizzi. From 1818 to 1982, it was united with the diocese of ...

(from 27 June 1818 to 30 September 1982) *

Diocese of Brugnato The Roman Catholic Diocese of Brugnato (Latin: ''Dioecesis Brugnatensis'') was a Roman Catholic diocese located in the city of Brugnato in the Province of La Spezia in the Italian region Liguria of Italy. On 25 November 1820, it was united with an ...

united ''aeque principaliter'' with Diocese of Luni-Sarzana (from 2 October 1820 to 30 September 1986) *

Diocese of Cervia The diocese of Cervia was a Roman Catholic diocese in Emilia-Romagna. In 1947 it merged with the archdiocese of Ravenna to form the Archdiocese of Ravenna-Cervia.Historical SummaryArchdiocese of Ravenna-Cerviacatholic-hierarchy.org/ref> Ordinari ...

united ''aeque principaliter'' with the

Archdiocese of Ravenna The Archdiocese of Ravenna-Cervia ( la, Archidioecesis Ravennatensis-Cerviensis) is a metropolitan archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy.Canon law (Catholic Church) The canon law of the Catholic Church ("canon law" comes from Latin ') is "how the Church organizes and governs herself". It is the system of laws and ecclesiastical legal principles made and enforced by the hierarchical authorities of the Cathol ...

Catholic Church legal terminology Catholic canonical structures Episcopacy in the Catholic Church {{Latin-vocab-stub