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A convocation (from the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''
convocare'' meaning "to call/come together", a translation of the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
ἐκκλησία ''ekklēsia'') is a group of people formally assembled for a special purpose, mostly ecclesiastical or academic.
In academic use, it can refer variously to a gathering of all of an institution's alumni, to a ceremony at the start of the academic year to welcome incoming students, and to a graduation ceremony (sometimes otherwise known as a
commencement).
Ecclesiastical convocations
A
synod
A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...
ical assembly of a church is at times called "Convocation"
Convocations of Canterbury and York
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The Convocations of
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour.
...
and
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
were the synodical assemblies of the two Provinces of the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
until the
Church Assembly
The General Synod is the tricameral deliberative and legislative organ of the Church of England. The synod was instituted in 1970, replacing the Church Assembly, and is the culmination of a process of rediscovering self-government for the Church o ...
was established in 1920.
[''Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church'' (1974) art. "Convocations of Canterbury and York"] Their origins date back to the end of the seventh century when
Theodore of Tarsus
Theodore of Tarsus ( gr, Θεόδωρος Ταρσοῦ; 60219 September 690) was Archbishop of Canterbury from 668 to 690. Theodore grew up in Tarsus, but fled to Constantinople after the Persian Empire conquered Tarsus and other cities. After ...
(Archbishop of Canterbury, 668-690) reorganized the structures of the English Church and established national synod of bishops. With the recognition of York as a separate province in 733, this synod was divided into two.
In 1225, representatives of the cathedral and monastic chapters were included for the first time and in 1285 the membership of the Convocation of Canterbury assumed the basic form which it retained till 1921: Bishops, Abbots (till the 1530s and the
Dissolution of the Monasteries), Deans, and Archdeacons, plus one representative of each cathedral chapter and two for the clergy from each diocese.
By the fifteenth century, each convocation was divided into an upper house (the Bishops) and a lower house (the remaining members).
In 1921, the number of proctors (elected representatives) of the diocesan clergy was increased to make them a majority in the lower houses.
The Convocation of York was a relatively small part of the Church in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
with only five member dioceses in Henry VIII's reign. In 1462 it decided that all the provincial constitutions of Canterbury which were not repugnant or prejudicial to its own should be allowed in the Northern Province
[Kemp, Eric Waldram ''Counsel and Consent'' SPCK (1961) pp 111, 118 and 174 respectively] and by 1530 the Archbishop of York rarely attended sessions and the custom that York waited to see what Canterbury had decided and either accepted or rejected it was well established. The Convocation of York was, in practice, taking second place to that of Canterbury
so much so that in 1852 the Archbishop of York
Thomas Musgrave stated that since the time of
Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
the archbishop had only attended personally two sessions (in 1689 and 1708).
The legislative powers of the convocations varied considerably over the centuries. Until 1664, they (not Parliament) determined the taxes to be paid by the clergy, but their powers in general were severely curtailed by
Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
in 1532/4; and from the time of the Reformation till 1965 they were summoned and dissolved at the same time as Parliament.
Under Henry VIII and his successor
Edward VI
Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...
between 1534 and 1553 the Convocations were used as a source of clerical opinion but ecclesiastical legislation was secured by statute from Parliament.
[Kemp, Eric Waldram ''Counsel and Consent'' SPCK (1961) pp 158 and 159 respectively] Later between 1559 and 1641, Elizabeth I, James I and Charles I gave the force of law to decisions of Convocation without recourse to Parliament by letters patent under the great seal notably the
Thirty-Nine Articles
The Thirty-nine Articles of Religion (commonly abbreviated as the Thirty-nine Articles or the XXXIX Articles) are the historically defining statements of doctrines and practices of the Church of England with respect to the controversies of the ...
(1571) and the 141 Canons of 1603.
The Convocations were abolished during the Commonwealth but restored on the accession of Charles II in 1660 and they synodically approved the
Book of Common Prayer
The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign ...
which was imposed by the Act of Uniformity in 1662.
[Kemp, Eric Waldram ''Counsel and Consent'' SPCK (1961) pp 165; 166-7; 168-9 respectively] Formal sessions at the start of each parliament continued but no real business was discussed until after the Revolution of 1688 which brought William III and Mary II to the throne when attempts to include some of the Protestant dissenters met such resistance in the lower house that the government abandoned them and the Convocations resumed their purely formal meetings
In 1697
Francis Atterbury
Francis Atterbury (6 March 1663 – 22 February 1732) was an English man of letters, politician and bishop. A High Church Tory and Jacobite, he gained patronage under Queen Anne, but was mistrusted by the Hanoverian Whig ministries, and ban ...
published his ''Letter to a Convocation Man concerning the Rights, Powers and Privileges of that Body'' which, in essence, claimed that the Convocation was an estate of the realm like Parliament and that the lower clergy were being illegally disfranchised and denied its proper voice in government. Business was resumed in 1701 and by the time Queen Anne died in 1714 draft canons and forms of service had been drawn up for royal assent.
However, there was an inherent tension between the two houses, the lower house was mainly
Tory
A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...
in its politics and
high church
The term ''high church'' refers to beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, liturgy, and theology that emphasize formality and resistance to modernisation. Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term originate ...
in its doctrine while the upper house was mainly
Whig and
latitudinarian
Latitudinarians, or latitude men, were initially a group of 17th-century English theologiansclerics and academicsfrom the University of Cambridge who were moderate Anglicans (members of the Church of England). In particular, they believed that a ...
and therefore in favour of toleration for Protestant dissenters and their possible reincorporation into the Church of England and feelings ran high until in 1717 the session was prorogued by Royal Writ to avoid the censuring of Bp. Benjamin Hoadley by the lower house (see the
Bangorian controversy) and with the exception of an abortive session in 1741 the Convocations met only for formal business at the beginning of each parliament until the middle of the nineteenth century when Canterbury (in 1852) and York (in 1861) began to discuss issues of the day.
The resumption of proper business was brought about by the political changes which had taken place some twenty years earlier. Until the
Great Reform Bill
The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the 1832 Reform Act, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an Act of Parliament, Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. IV c. 45) that introduced major chan ...
of 1832, Parliament had been theoretically an Anglican body,
[Neill, Stephen. ''Anglicanism'', London Pelican(1960), p. 254 and 227 respectively] and many churchmen began to argue that neither Parliament nor the bishops in the House of Lords expressed the mind of the Church as a whole
[Chadwick, Owen. ''The Victorian Church I'' A&C Black (1966) p. 309; 310; 311 respectively] In 1847 the routine session at the beginning of a new Parliament coincided with the polemical nomination of
Dr Hampden to the see of Hereford. The formal address to the Queen was debated for six hours and an amendment carried praying the Crown to revive the active powers of convocation.
The driving force behind the campaign to achieve this was the London banker,
Henry Hoare
Henry may refer to:
People
*Henry (given name)
*Henry (surname)
* Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry
Royalty
* Portuguese royalty
** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal
** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...
, who dedicated himself to the task.
[Carpenter, S.C. ''Church and People:1789-1889'' SPCK (1937) p.268] The opposition was formidable: half the clergy and most of the laity rejected the idea, many politicians were against it and the two archbishops—
John Bird Sumner
John Bird Sumner (25 February 1780 – 6 September 1862) was a bishop in the Church of England and Archbishop of Canterbury.
Early life
John Bird Sumner was born in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, on 25 February 1780. He was the eldest son of the R ...
and Thomas Musgrave—had no desire to revive Convocation.
The legal basis of the resistance was the claim that convocation could only discuss such business as was expressly specified by the Crown. Over the next eight years it was established that it could debate and act provided it did not try to discuss or frame canons and that the archbishop could only prorogue (adjourn) a session with the consent of his fellow diocesans. In 1851, Canterbury received a petition, in 1853 it appointed committees and by 1855 archb. Sumner was convinced of the value of Convocation and those bishops who had opposed the revival were taking part positively in its debates. Archb. Musgrave maintained his opposition until his death in 1860—he even locked the room where it was due to meet—and the Northern Convocation remained inactive until his successor took office.
The Convocations have always been exclusively clerical assemblies. However, in 1885 the Convocations agreed to the establishment of parallel Houses of Laity elected by the lay members of the diocesan conferences. These were not part of Convocation; they had no constitutional status and were merely advisory.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, both Convocations together with their respective houses of laity began to meet as a Representative Council which however had no legal authority or position. This was superseded in 1920 by the
Church Assembly
The General Synod is the tricameral deliberative and legislative organ of the Church of England. The synod was instituted in 1970, replacing the Church Assembly, and is the culmination of a process of rediscovering self-government for the Church o ...
which was given the right to propose measures to Parliament by the "
Enabling Act of 1919". The Convocations still exist and their members constitute the two clerical houses of the
General Synod The General Synod is the title of the governing body of some church organizations. Anglican Communion
The General Synod of the Church of England, which was established in 1970 replacing the Church Assembly (Church of England), Church Assembly, is t ...
but, apart from some residual and formal responsibilities, all legal authority is now vested in the Synod which was established in 1970.
University use
In some universities, the term "convocation" refers specifically to the entirety of the alumni of a college which functions as one of the university's representative bodies. Due to its inordinate size, the Convocation will elect a standing committee, which is responsible for making representations concerning the views of the alumni to the university administration. The convocation also, however, can hold general meetings, at which any alumnus can attend. The main function of the convocation is to represent the views of the alumni to the university administration, to encourage co-operation among alumni, especially in regard to donations, and to elect members of the university's governing body (known variously as the Senate, Council, Board, etc., depending on the particular institution, but basically equivalent to a board of directors of a corporation). The equivalent of the Convocation in the Scottish university system is the
General Council General council may refer to:
In education:
* General Council (Scottish university), an advisory body to each of the ancient universities of Scotland
* General Council of the University of St Andrews, the corporate body of all graduates and senio ...
.
In the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
, Convocation was originally the main governing body of the university, consisting of all doctors and masters of the university, but it now comprises all graduates of the university and its only remaining function is to elect the Chancellor of the University and the
Professor of Poetry
The Professor of Poetry is an academic appointment at the University of Oxford. The chair was created in 1708 by an endowment from the estate of Henry Birkhead. The professorship carries an obligation to lecture, but is in effect a part-time po ...
. (The equivalent body at
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
is the Senate.)
At
Durham University
, mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1)
, established = (university status)
, type = Public
, academic_staff = 1,830 (2020)
, administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19)
, chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen
, vice_chan ...
, Convocation consists of all the graduates of the university along with the Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor, and Deputy Vice-Chancellor, the Pro-Vice-Chancellors, the heads of colleges, and all professors, readers, senior lecturers and lecturers. It has the power to discuss and make representations on "any matter whatsoever relating to the University" and appoints the
chancellor
Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
of the university, most recently
Fiona Hill on 28 November 2022. Convocation was established by the fundamental statue of the university in 1835 and then consisted of MAs and doctors "of the three faculties" at Oxford, Cambridge and
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
who were members of the university when the statue was passed and those afterwards admitted to the degrees of DD, DCL, MD or MS at Durham. Women were admitted to convocation from 1913.
In the
University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
, convocation, between its establishment in 1858 and its abolition in 2003, consisted of the university's graduates who were involved in the university's governance. After 1900, convocation had the power to elect the chancellor.
At some universities and colleges (e.g.
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
,
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
,
Teachers College, Columbia University
Teachers College, Columbia University (TC), is the graduate school of education, health, and psychology of Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. Founded in 1887, it has served as one of the official faculties and ...
,
University of Illinois
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...
, and most universities in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
),
graduation
Graduation is the awarding of a diploma to a student by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it. The date of the graduation ceremony is often called graduation day. The graduation ceremony is a ...
events are called "convocations", as opposed to commencements in other universities. At the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
, convocation events are held at a specific venue named
Convocation Hall
Convocation Hall is a domed rotunda (architecture), rotunda on the grounds of the University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Designed by Darling and Pearson and completed in 1907, its radially planned interior has been compared to the gran ...
. At other universities such as
Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
,
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...
, and
University of Utah
The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...
, graduation ceremonies consist of both a commencement and a convocation with the commencement being the larger, university-wide ceremony and the individual colleges presenting degrees at a convocation.
At many other colleges, convocation refers to a formal ceremony at the start of the academic year in which arriving freshmen are welcomed. They also may sign the college "matricula", a ceremonial parchment that contains the names of all of the students and alumni.
New Zealand universities have ''courts of convocation'' by which all graduates elect representatives to the institutions' governing bodies.
Graduation
In many universities throughout the world (including countries such as
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
,
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
(
National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy
National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy ( NaUKMA) ( uk, Національний університет «Києво-Могилянська академія» (НаУКМА)) is a national, research university located in Kyiv, Ukraine. The ...
),
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
and
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
) convocation is the university
graduation
Graduation is the awarding of a diploma to a student by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it. The date of the graduation ceremony is often called graduation day. The graduation ceremony is a ...
ceremony to award degrees to students and honorary graduates.
Convocation in Ancient India
The Samavartana ( sa, समावर्तन, ), also known as , is a rite of passage in the ancient texts of
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
performed at the close of the
Brahmacharya
''Brahmacharya'' (; sa, ब्रह्मचर्य ) is a concept within Indian religions that literally means to stay in conduct within one's own Self. In Yoga, Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism it generally refers to a lifestyle charac ...
period and marked the graduation of the student from ''Gurukul'' (school).
[For definition of , and alternate term , see: ] It signifies a person's readiness to enter
grihastashrama (householder, married life).
Other uses
*
Collective noun
In linguistics, a collective noun is a word referring to a collection of things taken as a whole. Most collective nouns in everyday speech are not specific to one kind of thing. For example, the collective noun "group" can be applied to people (" ...
for
eagle
Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...
s.
*A formal or ceremonial meeting (noun), or assembly.
*A meeting of companions of a
Holy Royal Arch
The Royal Arch is a degree of Freemasonry. The Royal Arch is present in all main masonic systems, though in some it is worked as part of Craft ('mainstream') Freemasonry, and in others in an appendant ('additional') order. Royal Arch Masons meet ...
chapter.
Notes
References
{{reflist
Meetings
Academic terminology
Terminology of the University of Oxford