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Synod

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File:Anonymous Diocesan synod in Kraków's Saint Mary's Church.jpg
Diocesan synod in Kraków in 1643 presided by Bishop Piotr Gembicki

A synod (/ˈsɪnəd/) is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word synod comes from the Ancient Greek σύνοδος (synodos) 'assembly, meeting'; the term is analogous with the Latin word concilium 'council'. Originally, synods were meetings of bishops, and the word is still used in that sense in Catholicism,[1] Oriental Orthodoxy[2] and Eastern Orthodoxy.[3] In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not. The term 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 and Oriental 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 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: съборъ, romanized: sŭborŭ, lit. 'assembly') is a formal gathering or council 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.[4] The synod in the Western churches is similar, but it is distinguished by being usually limited to an assembly of bishops.[4]

The term is found among those Eastern Orthodox Churches that use Slavic languages (the Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Serbian 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.[4]

Important sobors in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church are:

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.

Roman 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",[5] is also applied to a permanent[6][7] 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.[8] 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).[9] 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 with consent of a majority of the suffragan bishops.

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, called by a papal legate rather than the pope or bishop.[10]

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 or auxiliary bishops, the vicars general and episcopal, the officialis, the vicars forane plus an additional priest from each vicariate forane, the presbyterial council, canons of the cathedral chapter (if there is one), the rector 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 Church bishops of a nation and those equivalent to diocesan bishops in law (i.e. territorial abbots). Bishops of other sui juris churches and papal nuncios 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 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, plus elected lay members.

Lutheran

  • 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 Landessynode (i.e. regional or land synod) or Generalsynode (general synod). A synod can also be used by an administrative subunit of a church body, such as a city synod (Stadtsynode; comprising synodal deputies of congregations of one denomination within one city) or provincial synod (Provinzialsynode; 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, 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)

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.

See also

From the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia

Synod — (Gr. synodos, an assembly).

A general term for ecclesiastical gatherings under hierarchical authority, for the discussion and decision of matters relating to faith, morals, or discipline. It corresponds to the Latin word concilium. The word synodus appears probably for the first time in the so-called "Apostolic canons", while the word concilium was employed in the same meaning by Tertullian more than a century earlier. Synod and council are, therefore, synonymous terms.

When the bishops of the whole world are congregated under the presidency of the pope, the synod is denominated ecumenical or general. It is only to such an assembly that it is lawful to apply the term sancta synodus (see GENERAL COUNCILS). If the bishops of an ecclesiastical province meet under the headship of their metropolitan, the council is termed provincial. When the hierarchs of all the provinces of a nation assemble, the synod is called national, or, under certain circumstances, plenary. The regulations governing provincial and plenary councils are practically the same. In addition to those mentioned, there are other synods that are more difficult of classification, as synods of the East or the West, the synodoi endemousai of Constantinople, and the mixed councils of ecclesiastical and secular dignitaries who assembled together to make regulations for both spiritual and civil matters.

Different from all other councils is the diocesan synod. Other councils are assemblies of bishops who have a definitive vote in the matters under consideration, but in a diocesan synod there is only one voter and only one lawgiver, the bishop of the diocese. This article deals mainly with diocesan synods. In his book "De Synodo Dioecesana" (lib. 1, c. i) Benedict XIV thus defines a diocesan synod: "A lawful assembly convoked by the bishop, in which he gathers together the priests and clerics of his diocese and all others who are bound to attend it, for the purpose of doing and deliberating concerning what belongs to the pastoral care." The Council of Trent (Sess. XXIV, c. ii, "De ref.") required that a diocesan synod be held once a year. This law is still in force, but a mild interpretation, introduced by custom, has been tacitly sanctioned by the Holy See. Usually, the date for holding the synod should be announced on the Feast of the Epiphany. A month before the opening the decree of convocation should be affixed to the cathedral doors, and it should be published on three successive Sundays in parish churches. When two dioceses are united under one bishop, the synod should be celebrated alternately in the cathedral of each such diocese. It belongs to the bishop to convoke the diocesan synod whether he be consecrated as yet or not. An archbishop, however, who has not yet received the pallium, has not the same right. Vicars-general can assemble a synod only in virtue of a special mandate of the bishop. When a diocese is vacant, the vicar capitular can and should hold a diocesan synod if a year has elapsed since the celebration of the last once. Ordinarily, the convocation of a synod should take place after the episcopal visitation of the diocese, as the bishop can then be better guided in forming his statutes. When, however, the visitation has been neglected for years, it is considered more advisable to hold the synod first. As the bishop is the only law-giver at a synod, it belongs to him to draw up the various decrees which he may wish to promulgate at its sessions. While he convokes the synod by his own authority and is not required to consult his chapter concerning the convocation or its preparatory acts, yet he must ask the counsel of his chapter or diocesan consultors as to the decrees he desires to enact, though he is not bound to follow their advice. The bishop is exhorted, in the formation of his decrees, to hold private conferences with the prudent, learned, and pious clerics of his diocese, and then to consult his chapter on the proposed statutes thus formed (S. C. C., 26 Nov., 1689). Only in this way does the bishop deliberate with the clergy of his diocese at a synod, and though the finished decrees will receive all their authority from him, yet it is consonant with the mind of the Church that, in the formation of the statutes, the opinion of the clergy be heard and considered. Summonses to a diocesan synod should be given to the vicar-general, the members of the cathedral chapter, holders of benefices, and all others who have care of souls. If there is a custom to that effect, all the clergy of the diocese may be summoned. Regulars who have care of souls are obliged to attend a synod. Their superiors are not, however, obliged to attend, unless they personally act as parish priests or curates. The bishop has power to punish with censures all those legitimately summoned who fail to attend. Laymen may also be invited by the bishop to be present at a synod if there is a custom to that effect, but under no circumstances can they acquire a right to such summons.

At the synod the decrees determined on by the bishop are promulgated, and a period of two months is allowed for having recourse against them to the bishop or the Holy See. All the clergy and laity of the diocese are bound by these decrees, and it is not necessary for the bishop to send his statutes to Rome for revision before publication. Exempt regulars are bound to observe diocesan decrees in all things which concern the sacred canons, the Constitutions of popes and councils, and the decrees of the Sacred Roman Congregations. The bishop may not force his clergy to buy printed copies of the diocesan statutes (S. C. C., 14 Dec., 1658). During the synod the appointment is made of synodal examiners. To the former duties of these officials has been added by the "Maxima Cura" of Pius X (20 Aug., 1910) that of being associated with the bishop in drawing up the decree for the administrative removal of parish priests. By the same papal Constitution, parochial consultors, who are to be assessors in case of recourse against a decree of removal, are also to be chosen by the synod from among the parish priests. Synodal witnesses are likewise chosen at some synods, whose main duty it is to help in the framing of deliberative questions or to report at the following synod what has been the effect of the degrees promulgated at the last assembly, or to suggest new ones. Synodal judges are also to be chosen, though they are rarely now employed. Their office is to expedite such causes as may be committed to their judgment outside Rome by the Holy See. These judges should be at least four in number in every diocese, and their names must be forwarded to Rome as soon as selected. The subject-matter of the decrees framed at a diocesan synod should concern only the preservation of faith or discipline. Under no circumstances may such a synod define any new article of faith or decide any doctrinal point in dispute between Catholic theologians or frame statutes contrary to the common canon law of the Church.

For synods in general use see bibliography of article COUNCILS, GENERAL. The best work on diocesan synods is that of BENEDICT XIV, De Synodo Dioecesana. BOUIX treats of these synods in De Episcopo, II (3rd ed., Parish, 1883); FERRARIS, Bibliotheca Canonica, II (Rome, 1891), s. v. Concilium, art. 3; in TAUNTON, The Law of the Church (London, 1906), s.v.; HEFELE, Councils of the Church, ed. CLARK (Edinburgh, 1871—-), and new French translation by LECLERCQ (Parish, 1907—-).

References

  1. Back to citation Bunson, Matthew (2023-09-15). "Synods Through the Ages in the Catholic Church". NCR. Retrieved 2026-07-26.
  2. Back to citation "Meeting of the Representatives of the Oriental Orthodox Synods in the Middle East at LOGOS Papal Center in Celebration of the Council of Nicaea - Coptic Orthodox Church". Retrieved 2026-07-26.
  3. Back to citation "Statement of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church". Western American Diocese. Retrieved 2026-07-26.
  4. Back to citation occurrence 4.0 Back to citation occurrence 4.1 Back to citation occurrence 4.2 "Sobor". Encyclopediaofukraine.com. 1990-06-06. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
  5. Back to citation In English "Synod of Bishops" is the usual expression for what in other languages is usually called the "Synod of the Bishops": "eo:Sinodo de la Episkopoj", "es:Sínodo de los obispos", "fr:Synode des évêques", "it:Sinodo dei vescovi".
  6. Back to citation "Motu proprio Apostolica sollicitudo, I". Vatican.va. 1965-09-15. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
  7. Back to citation "Synodal Information". Vatican.va. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
  8. Back to citation "Code of Canon Law, canon 343". Vatican.va. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
  9. Back to citation MacMullen, Ramsay. Voting About God in Early Church Councils, Yale University Press, New Haven, Connecticut, 2006. ISBN 978-0-300-11596-3
  10. Back to citation Robinson, I. S. (1990). The Papacy 1073–1198: Continuity and Innovation. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. p. 150. ISBN 0-521-31922-6.

Bibliography

Collections of synodal decrees

Other

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