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A synod () is a council of a
Christian denomination A Christian denomination is a distinct religious body within Christianity that comprises all church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadership, theological doctrine, worsh ...
, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''
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 ...
'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin word meaning "council". Originally, synods were meetings of bishops, and the word is still used in that sense in Catholicism,
Oriental Orthodoxy The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 60 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches are part of the Nicene Christian tradition, and represent ...
and Eastern Orthodoxy. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not. It is also sometimes used to refer to a church that is governed by a synod. Sometimes the phrase "general synod" or "general council" refers to an ecumenical council. The word ''synod'' also refers to the standing council of high-ranking bishops governing some of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches. Similarly, the day-to-day governance of patriarchal and major archiepiscopal Eastern Catholic Churches is entrusted to a permanent synod.


Usages in different Communions


Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox

In Eastern Orthodox and
Oriental Orthodox The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 60 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches are part of the Nicene Christian tradition, and represent o ...
churches, synods of bishops are meetings of bishops within each autonomous Church and are the primary vehicle for the election of bishops and the establishment of inter-diocesan ecclesiastical laws. A ''sobor'' (
Church Slavonic Church Slavonic (, , literally "Church-Slavonic language"), also known as Church Slavic, New Church Slavonic or New Church Slavic, is the conservative Slavic liturgical language used by the Eastern Orthodox Church in Belarus, Bosnia and Herzeg ...
: съборъ, "assembly") is a formal gathering or
council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...
of bishops together with other clerical and lay delegates representing the church to deal with matters of faith, morality, rite, and canonical and cultural life.''Sobor'' in the ''Encyclopedia of Ukraine'' online
/ref> The synod in the Western churches is similar, but it is distinguished by being usually limited to an assembly of bishops. The term is found among those Eastern Orthodox Churches that use Slavic language (the Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian,
Serbian Serbian may refer to: * someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe * someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people * Serbian language * Serbian names See also

* * * Old Serbian (disambiguat ...
and Macedonian Orthodox Churches), along with the Romanian Orthodox Church.


Assembly

The presence of clerical and lay delegates is for the purpose of discerning the consensus of the church on important matters; however, the bishops form an upper house of the sobor, and the laity cannot overrule their decisions. Kievan Rus' chronicles record the first known East Slavic church sobor as having taken place in Kiev in 1051. Sobors were convened periodically from then on; one notable assembly held in 1415 formed a separate metropoly for the church in the Grand Duchy of Lithuanian lands. Important sobors in the History of the Russian Orthodox Church are: * Vladimir's Sobor in 1276 * The
Stoglavy Sobor The Stoglav Synod (russian: Стоглавый Собор; also translated as ''Hundred Chapter Synod'' or ''Council of a Hundred Chapters'') was a church council (''sobor'') held in Moscow in 1551, with the participation of Tsar Ivan IV, Metro ...
( Sobor of a Hundred Chapters) in 1551 * The Moscow Sobor of 1666–1667, to deal with disputes surrounding the ecclesiastical reforms of Patriarch Nikon * The All-Russian Sobor of 1917, which restored the
Moscow Patriarchate , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...
and elected Saint Tikhon as the first modern Patriarch of Moscow * The All-Russian Sobor of 1988, called on the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus' to guide the church in the wake of
glasnost ''Glasnost'' (; russian: link=no, гласность, ) has several general and specific meanings – a policy of maximum openness in the activities of state institutions and freedom of information, the inadmissibility of hushing up problems, ...
and the loosening of the Soviet grip over the church A bishop may also call a sobor for his diocese, which again would have delegates from the clergy, monasteries and parishes of his diocese, to discuss important matters. Such diocesan sobors may be held annually or only occasionally.


Catholic

In Roman Catholic usage, ''synod'' and ''council'' are theoretically synonymous as they are of Greek and Latin origins, respectively, both meaning an authoritative meeting of bishops for the purpose of church administration in the areas of teaching (faith and morals) or governance (church discipline or law). However, in modern use, synod and council are applied to specific categories of such meetings and so do not really overlap. A synod generally meets every three years and is thus designated an "Ordinary General Assembly." However, "Extraordinary" synods can be called to deal with specific situations. There are also "Special" synods for the Church in a specific geographic area such as the one held November 16-December 12, 1997, for the Church in America.


Synod of Bishops

While the words "synod" and "council" usually refer to a transitory meeting, the term "Synod of Bishops" or "Synod of the Bishops", is also applied to a permanent body established in 1965 as an advisory body of the pope. It holds assemblies at which bishops and religious superiors, elected by bishops conferences or the Union of Superiors General or appointed by the Pope vote on proposals ("''propositiones''") to present for the pope's consideration, and which in practice the pope uses as the basis of "post-synodal apostolic exhortations" on the themes discussed. While an assembly of the Synod of Bishops thus expresses its collective wishes, it does not issue decrees, unless in certain cases the pope authorizes it to do so, and even then an assembly's decision requires ratification by the pope. The pope serves as president of an assembly or appoints the president, determines the agenda, and summons, suspends, and dissolves the assembly. Modern Catholic synod themes: * X "The Bishop: Servant of the Gospel of JESUS CHRIST for the hope of the world" 1998 * XI "The Eucharist: Source and Summit of the Life and Mission of the Church 2005 * XII "The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church" 2008 * XIII "New Evangelisation for the Transmission of the Christian Faith" 2012 * Extraordinary General "The Pastoral Challenges of the Family in the Context of Evangelization" 2014


Councils

Meetings of bishops in the Roman empire are known from the mid-third century and already numbered twenty by the time of the First Council of Nicaea (325). Thereafter they continued by the hundreds into the sixth century. Those authorized by an emperor and often attended by him came to be called ecumenical, meaning throughout the world (as the world was thought of in Western terms). Today, ''Council'' in Roman Catholic canon law typically refers to an irregular meeting of the entire episcopate of a nation, region, or the world for the purpose of legislation with binding force. Those contemplated in canon law are the following: *An '' ecumenical council'' is an irregular meeting of the entire episcopate in communion with the pope and is, along with the pope, the highest legislative authority of the universal Church (can. 336). The pope alone has the right to convoke, suspend, and dissolve an ecumenical council; he also presides over it or chooses someone else to do so and determines the agenda (can. 338). The vacancy of the Holy See automatically suspends an ecumenical council. Laws or teachings issued by an ecumenical council require the confirmation of the pope, who alone has the right to promulgate them (can. 341). The role of the pope in an ecumenical council is a distinct feature of the Catholic Church. *''Plenary councils'', which are meetings of the entire episcopate of a nation (including a nation that is only one ecclesiastical province), are convoked by the national episcopal conference. *''Provincial councils'', which consist of the bishops of an ecclesiastical province smaller than a nation, are convoked by the
metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...
with consent of a majority of the
suffragan bishop A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdiction ...
s. Plenary and provincial councils are categorized as particular councils. A particular council is composed of all the bishops of the territory (including coadjutors and auxiliaries) as well as other ecclesiastical ordinaries who head particular churches in the territory (such as territorial abbots and vicars apostolic). Each of these members has a vote on council legislation. Additionally, the following persons by law are part of particular councils but only participate in an advisory capacity: vicars general and episcopal, presidents of Catholic universities, deans of Catholic departments of theology and canon law, some major superiors elected by all the major superiors in the territory, some rectors of seminaries elected by the rectors of seminaries in the territory, and two members from each cathedral chapter, presbyterial council, or pastoral council in the territory (can. 443). The convoking authority can also select other members of the faithful (including the laity) to participate in the council in an advisory capacity. Meetings of the entire episcopate of a supra-national region have historically been called councils as well, such as the various Councils of Carthage in which all the bishops of North Africa were to attend. During the Middle Ages, some councils were
legatine 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title ''legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic ...
, called by a papal legate rather than the pope or bishop.


Synods

Synods in Eastern Catholic Churches are similar to synods in Orthodox churches in that they are the primary vehicle for election of bishops and establishment of inter-diocesan ecclesiastical laws. The term ''synod'' in Latin Church canon law, however, refers to meetings of a representative, thematic, non-legislative (advisory) or mixed nature or in some other way do not meet the qualifications of a "council." There are various types. Diocesan synods are irregular meetings of the clergy and laity of a particular church summoned by the diocesan bishop (or other prelate if the particular church is not a diocese) to deliberate on legislative matters. Only the diocesan bishop holds legislative authority; the other members of the diocesan synod act only in an advisory capacity. Those who must be invited to a diocesan synod by law are any
coadjutor The term coadjutor (or coadiutor, literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coadj ...
or auxiliary bishops, the vicars general and episcopal, the '' officialis'', the
vicars forane A dean, in an ecclesiastical context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy. The title is used mainly in the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, and many Lutheran denominations. A dean's assist ...
plus an additional priest from each vicariate forane, the presbyterial council, canons of the cathedral chapter (if there is one), the
rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
of the seminary, some of the superiors of religious houses in the diocese, and members of the laity chosen by the diocesan pastoral council, though the diocesan bishop can invite others to attend at his own initiative. (can. 463)


Episcopal conferences

National Episcopal Conferences are another development of the Second Vatican Council. They are permanent bodies consisting of all the Latin rite bishops of a nation and those equivalent to diocesan bishops in law (i.e. territorial abbots). Bishops of other '' sui juris'' churches and papal
nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international or ...
s are not members of episcopal conferences by law, though the conference itself may invite them in an advisory or voting capacity (can. 450). While councils (can. 445) and diocesan synods (can. 391 & 466) have full legislative powers in their areas of competence, national episcopal conferences may only issue supplementary legislation when authorized to do so in canon law or by decree of the Holy See. Additionally, any such supplemental legislation requires a two-thirds vote of the conference and review by the Holy See (can. 455) to have the force of law. Without such authorization and review, episcopal conferences are deliberative only and exercise no authority over their member bishops or dioceses.


Anglican

In the Anglican Communion, synods are elected by clergy and
laity In religious organizations, the laity () consists of all members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-ordained members of religious orders, e.g. a nun or a lay brother. In both religious and wider secular usage, a layperson ...
. In most Anglican churches, there is a geographical hierarchy of synods, with '' General Synod'' at the top; bishops, clergy and laity meet as "houses" within the synod. '' Diocesan synods'' are convened by a bishop in his or her diocese, and consist of elected clergy and lay members. '' Deanery synods'' are convened by the '' Rural Dean'' (or ''Area Dean'') and consist of all clergy licensed to a benefice within the
deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...
, plus elected lay members.


Lutheran

* In North America, a synod can be a local administrative region similar to a diocese in other denominations. An example of this is the Minneapolis Area Synod of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant Lutheran church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. , it has approxim ...
. However, for some denominations such as the
Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), also known as the Missouri Synod, is a traditional, confessional Lutheran denomination in the United States. With 1.8 million members, it is the second-largest Lutheran body in the United States. The LC ...
and the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, it denotes an entire church body. The usage of synod as an administrative ecclesiastical region is also reflected by the German term (i.e. synodal federation), such as the Regional Synodal Federation of the Free City of Danzig. * In Europe, a synod can be a legislature comprising deputies elected by all enfranchised members of a church and competent for the entire church. It is similar to a general assembly in Presbyterianism, and found, in regional Protestant church bodies (Landeskirche) in Germany; examples include (i.e. regional or land synod) or (general synod). A synod can also be used by an administrative subunit of a church body, such as a city synod (; comprising synodal deputies of congregations of one denomination within one city) or provincial synod (; comprising synodal deputies of congregations within an ecclesiastical province). The use of the term synod to describe a small gathering is now obsolete, the term used instead is ''Kirchenkreis''.


Presbyterian

In the Presbyterian system of church governance the synod is a level of administration between the local presbytery and the national general assembly. Some denominations use the synod, such as the
Presbyterian Church in Canada The Presbyterian Church in Canada (french: Église presbytérienne du Canada) is a Presbyterian denomination, serving in Canada under this name since 1875. The United Church of Canada claimed the right to the name from 1925 to 1939. According to ...
, Uniting Church in Australia, and the Presbyterian Church USA. However some other churches do not use the synod at all, and the Church of Scotland dissolved its synods in 1993, see List of Church of Scotland synods and presbyteries. The Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church is considered a Synod since there is no national church in the United States. (see
establishment principle Establishment may refer to: * The Establishment, a dominant group or elite that controls a polity or an organization * The Establishment (club), a 1960s club in London, England * The Establishment (Pakistan), political terminology for the military ...
)


Reformed

In Swiss and southern German Reformed churches, where the Reformed churches are organized as regionally defined independent churches (such as Evangelical Reformed Church of Zurich or Reformed Church of Berne), the synod corresponds to the general assembly of Presbyterian churches. In Reformed churches, the synod can denote a regional meeting of representatives of various classes (''regional synod''), or the general denominational meeting of representatives from the regional synods (''general'' or ''national synod''). Some churches, especially the smaller denominations, do not have the regional synod tier (for example, the Reformed Church in the United States (RCUS)). Historically, these were meetings such as the Synod of Homberg.


Church of Christ in Congo

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the vast majority of Protestant denominations have regrouped under a religious institution named the Church of Christ in Congo or CCC, often referred to – within the Congo – simply as The Protestant Church. In the CCC structure, the ''national synod'' is the general assembly of the various churches that constitutes the CCC. From the Synod is drawn an executive committee, and a secretariat. There are also synods of the CCC in every province of the Congo, known appropriately as ''provincial synods''. The CCC regroups 62 Protestant denominations.


Historical synods

*
Synods of Antioch Beginning with three synods convened between 264 and 269 in the matter of Paul of Samosata, more than thirty councils were held in Antioch in ancient times. Most of these dealt with phases of the Arian and of the Christological controversies. Fo ...
, 264–269 *
Synods of Carthage The Councils of Carthage were church synods held during the 3rd, 4th, and 5th centuries in the city of Carthage in Africa. The most important of these are described below. Synod of 251 In May 251 a synod, assembled under the presidency of Cypria ...
251, 255, 256, 348, 411, 418, 419, 424 * Synod of Elvira 305 * Synod of Ancyra 314 (about bestiality, broken down by age-group) * First Synod of Tyre and Jerusalem 335 *
Synod of Gangra The Synod of Gangra was held in 340, at Gangra (in modern Turkey). The synod condemned Manichaeans, and their practices. The concluding canons of the synod condemned the Manichaeans for their actions, and declared many of their practices anathe ...
340 *
Synod of Hippo The Synod of Hippo refers to the synod of 393 which was hosted in Hippo Regius in northern Africa during the Early Christianity, early Christian Church. Additional synods were held in 394, 397, 401 and 426. Some were attended by Augustine of Hippo. ...
393 * Council of Seleucia-Ctesiphon 410 * Synod of Gondishapur 484 * Councils of Toledo, 400–1583 * Third Council of Mâcon 585 ( Tithing) * Synod of Whitby 664 * Synod of Soissons 744 * Cadaver Synod 897 *
Synod of Erfurt The Synod (or Council) of Erfurt was a church council held at Erfurt in northeastern Thuringia under the presidency of Henry I of Germany in 932. Erfurt was attended by ecclesiastics from every region of the Kingdom of Germany save the Duchy of Ba ...
932 * Synods of Augsburg 952 & 1062 * Synod of Ráth Breasail, 1111 * Synod of Kells, 1152 * Synod of Cashel 1172 *
Synod of Verona The Synod of Verona was held November 1184 under the auspices of Pope Lucius III and the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I. The meeting was to address numerous issues. Some of these were the dispute over claims between empire and papacy in central ...
, 1184 (about Waldensians) *
Synod of Diamper The Synod of Diamper (Udayamperoor Synod) ( mal, ഉദയംപേരൂർ സൂനഹദോസ്, Udayampērūṟ Sūnahadōs), held at Udayamperoor (known as Diamper in non-vernacular sources) in June 1599, was a diocesan synod, or cou ...
, 1599 *
Synod of Dort The Synod of Dort (also known as the Synod of Dordt or the Synod of Dordrecht) was an international Synod held in Dordrecht in 1618–1619, by the Dutch Reformed Church, to settle a divisive controversy caused by the rise of Arminianism. The fi ...
1618–1619 * Synod of Iași, 1642 * Synod of Jerusalem, 1672 * Pan-Orthodox Council, 2016


See also

* Ancient church councils (pre-ecumenical) – church councils before the First Council of Nicaea *
College of Bishops College of Bishops, also known as the Ordo of Bishops, is a term used in the Catholic Church to denote the collection of those bishops who are in communion with the Pope. Under Canon Law, a college is a collection (Latin collegium) of persons un ...
* Conciliabulum, the diminutive used for an irregular council * United Methodist Council of Bishops *
Council of Jerusalem The Council of Jerusalem or Apostolic Council was held in Jerusalem around AD 50. It is unique among the ancient pre-ecumenical councils in that it is considered by Catholics and Eastern Orthodox to be a prototype and forerunner of the later ...
* Ecumenical council, representing the universal episcopate * First seven ecumenical councils * Great Moscow Synod * General Conference (LDS Church) * Sobor on the Blood * Sobornost *
Station days Station days were days of fasting in the early Christian Church, associated with a procession to certain prescribed churches in Rome, where the Mass and Vespers would be celebrated to mark important days of the liturgical year. Although other cit ...
*
Stoglavy Sobor The Stoglav Synod (russian: Стоглавый Собор; also translated as ''Hundred Chapter Synod'' or ''Council of a Hundred Chapters'') was a church council (''sobor'') held in Moscow in 1551, with the participation of Tsar Ivan IV, Metro ...


Notes


References


Bibliography


Collections of synodal decrees

* * * * * (See ) * * (See ) * * * *


Other


The synod of Constantinople in Byzantine times (in German)Calculating the Synod? A network analysis of the synod of Constantinople in Late Byzantine times


External links



at the Catholic Encyclopedia

{{Authority control Church councils Christian terminology Governing assemblies of religious organizations Episcopacy in Eastern Orthodoxy Episcopacy in Oriental Orthodoxy Episcopacy in the Catholic Church Religious law Types of Christian organization