Synods in the History of the Church

Etymology: “walk together”

The Greek word σύνοδος (synodos) is formed from the preposition σύν (syn, “with”) and the noun ὁδός (hodos, “path”, “way”, “road”). Primary meaning: “path traveled together”. Derived meaning: “meeting”, “assembly”, “meeting”. In secular Greece, the word designates both a conjunction of stars and a meeting of citizens.^[4]

Christian tradition uses this term from the 2nd century to designate assemblies of bishops. Eusebius of Caesarea thus reports, in his Ecclesiastical History (book V, chapter 16), that the bishops of Asia held “synods and assemblies of bishops” to discuss the Montanist prophecy, around 170-180. It is one of the oldest historiographical attestations of the word in its ecclesial sense.^[5]

The Latin concilium, formed from cum (“with”) and calare (“to call”), translates the same reality: to summon together. The Latin Fathers (Tertullian, Cyprian, Augustine) use the two words interchangeably. When Saint Cyprian of Carthage († 258) held with the bishops of proconsular Africa his famous councils, meeting at regular intervals, he spoke of concilium as well as of synodus.^[6]

Synod and council: ancient equivalence, modern distinction

In the early centuries, the two words were interchangeable. The synod of Nicaea I (325) is also a council; the Council of Jerusalem (49) is also a synod. This equivalence is still found in the acts of the great ancient ecumenical councils, which call themselves hagia synodos ("the holy synod").^[7]

The technical distinction appears gradually with the codification of canon law. In the 20th century, the Code of Canon Law of 1917 reserves the word concilium for plenary and provincial assemblies (canons 281-291) and the word synodus for the diocesan assembly (canons 356-362).^[8] The Code of 1983 extends this distinction by speaking of particular councils (plenary, provincial) and Synod of Bishops (canons 342-348) and diocesan synod (canons 460-468). In contemporary French, the two words often remain synonymous in everyday language, but their canonical usage is specified.

“The diocesan synod is the meeting of priests and other faithful of the particular Church chosen to provide their assistance to the diocesan Bishop for the good of the entire diocesan community. ” — Code of Canon Law 1983, canon 460^[9]

This canon gives a normative definition which illuminates the entire tradition: a synod is not a parliament, it is not a majority vote, it is an assembly of bishops (and collaborators) who advise and who deliberate under the authority of the one who presides, who remains the sole legislator in the case of the diocesan synod (canon 466).^[10]

Typology: one word, several realities

The Catholic Church today knows several kinds of synods, inherited from different historical strata:

The article follows chronological order: from the Council of Jerusalem (49) to the Synod on Synodality (2021-2024). This article treats neither the ecumenical councils - which have their own articles - nor the contested contemporary synods such as the Synod on the Amazon, which are treated separately.

A crisis born from the mission to the Gentiles

Around the years 48-49, the early Church went through its first major crisis. In Antioch, brothers from Judea taught that Gentile converts “cannot be saved unless they are circumcised according to the custom of Moses” (Acts 15, 1).^[11] Paul and Barnabas contest this thesis. To decide, the Church of Antioch sends them to Jerusalem, to the Apostles and the Elders.^[12]

The crisis is not anecdotal. If Paul loses, the Gospel becomes a Jewish sect and the mission to the nations closes. If Paul wins without procedure, the communion between Jerusalem and Antioch is broken. A decision is needed that maintains the visible unity of the Church as it expands beyond the borders of Israel.^[13]

The progress: Peter, James, Paul, Barnabas and the elders

The narrative of Acts (chapter 15) presents a remarkable structure. Paul and Barnabas explain “all that God had done with them” (Acts 15:4). Pharisees who became Christians asked to impose the Mosaic Law on converts. After a long debate, Peter speaks and recalls that God has already given the Spirit to the Gentiles of Caesarea without circumcision (Acts 15, 7-11). Paul and Barnabas then recount the signs wrought among the nations. James — who presides over the Church of Jerusalem — then formulates the decision based on the prophet Amos and proposes the famous “James clause”: abstinence from idolatrous meats, blood, suffocated animals and illegitimate unions (Acts 15, 19-21).^[14]

The decision is then written by the Apostles, the Elders and the entire Church, sealed by a letter and sent by Jude and Silas to the Churches of Syria and Cilicia. The matrix sentence of the entire synodal tradition concludes this letter:

“The Holy Spirit and we ourselves have decided not to impose on you any obligations other than these, which are necessary. ” — Acts of the Apostles, 15, 28 (official AELF translation)^[15]

The translation of the Vulgate, which shaped the entire Latin tradition, fixed the formula in a form that has become proverbial: “visum est Spiritui Sancto et nobis”, “it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us”.^[16] This double signature — first the Holy Spirit, then the Church — is not a rhetorical politeness: it is the very definition of what a Christian synod is. An ecclesial assembly which decides is not a parliament among others; it claims to be, to varying degrees, inhabited by the Spirit which enlightens the decision without canceling the responsibility of those who decide.

The patristic reception: model for all councils

Eusebius of Caesarea and the Fathers of the first centuries reread all Christian assemblies in the light of this first model. When Carthage, Antioch, Rome or Nicaea come together, they consider reenacting Jerusalem.^[17] The phrase “it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us” will appear in the conclusion of numerous synodal and conciliar decrees, and the Final Document of the Synod on Synodality (2024) still invokes it to seal ecclesial discernment.^[18]

The apostolic model poses three principles still in force:

• A presidential primacy — Peter's voice intervenes at a decisive moment and directs the outcome.
• A collegial episcopal decision — the Apostles and the Elders deliberate and sign together.
• An ecclesial reception - the letter is written “with the whole Church” (Acts 15, 22) and addressed to the local Churches.

The entire rest of Catholic synodal history will consist of articulating these three principles in successive contexts, without sacrificing any of them.

The first episcopal assemblies

Eusebius reports, as we have seen, that the bishops of Asia held from the end of the 2nd century “synods and assemblies” to examine the Montanist prophecy which appeared in Phrygia around 170.^[19] At the same time, the debate on the date of Easter (Quartodeciman quarrel) triggered a series of synods in Palestine, in Pontus, in Gaul and in Rome. These assemblies are not yet very structured, but they attest to an already universal practice: faced with a contested question, neighboring bishops are called to decide collegially.^[20]

The African synods of Saint Cyprian

It is in North Africa that the practice is formalized earliest. Saint Cyprian of Carthage († 258) presides, from 251, over the annual or even biennial synods where the bishops of the Carthaginian province gather.^[21] These synods deal with the question of the return of lapsi (Christians who fell during persecution), the baptism of heretics, and penitential discipline. Cyprian formulates an ecclesiology that has remained famous: the episcopate is one, and each bishop bears joint responsibility.

“Episcopatus unus est, cuius a singulis in solidum pars tenetur. ” “The episcopate is one, and each bishop bears his part in solidarity. ” — Saint Cyprian of Carthage, De catholicae ecclesiae unitate, chap. 5 (towards 251)^[22]

This formula sheds light on the primary meaning of the synods. If the episcopate is a single body, its members do not decide alone: ​​they deliberate together. A synod is not a democratic concession made to the bishop, it is the normal expression of the collegial nature of the episcopate.

The synod of Elvira (around 305-306) and its 81 canons

At the turn of the 4th century, the Church of Spain convened in Eliberis (present-day Granada) a regional synod bringing together nineteen bishops, accompanied by priests of their Churches. Generally dated from 305 or 306, shortly before the peace of Constantine, this synod promulgated 81 canons which form the oldest preserved canonical corpus of the Christian West.^[23]

The canons of Elvira deal with clerical discipline (continence of adult clerics, canon 33 often cited in current debates on priestly celibacy), relations with Jews and Gentiles, marriage, penance, games and spectacles. The historical interest is considerable: Elvira shows that even before the legalization of Christianity, the Church already practiced written and precise synodal legislation.^[24]

Arles (314), first council convened by an emperor

A few years after the Constantinian Turning Point (Edict of Milan, 313), Emperor Constantine summoned to Arles, on August 1, 314, bishops from all over the West to deal with the Donatist crisis which was tearing North Africa apart. It is the first council convened by a Christian emperor, a direct foreshadowing of Nicaea I eleven years later.^[25]

Arles attests to a change of scale: the synod moved from the province to a quasi-universal Western framework, and the emperor acquired a role in the convocation and security of the assemblies. This Constantinian model will mark all synodal history until the end of the Middle Ages - not without tensions, as the Investiture Quarrel will later show.

From the province to the universal Church: Nicaea I (325)

The transition from the provincial synod to the ecumenical synod was accomplished at Nicaea in 325. Convened by Constantine — in the presence of the legates of Pope Saint Sylvester I, Bishop Ossius of Cordoba, adviser to the emperor, playing a leading role alongside the great bishops of the East (Alexandria, Antioch) —, Nicaea I brought together approximately 318 bishops from throughout the empire to respond to Arianism and set the date of Easter. The big novelty is not the procedure – already tested in Carthage, Elvira, Arles – but the scale. It is now the entire Church, Latin and Greek, which deliberates together.^[26]

Nicaea I also created the technical terminology that later councils would take up: symbol of faith, canons, anathema. For this article, let us especially remember this point: every ecumenical council is also a synod, and the word hagia synodos ("holy synod") commonly designates Nicaea in Greek sources.^[27] The rigorous synod/council opposition will only become established with modern Latin canon law.

A unique Byzantine institution

In the 5th century a particular institution appeared in Constantinople: the synodos endemousa, literally “synod of resident bishops” or “permanent synod”. It is a synod composed of bishops passing through or temporarily residing in the imperial capital, presided over by the Patriarch of Constantinople, and held quasi-continuously.^[28]

The term is attested from the mid-5th century in the synodal acts of Constantinople; at the Council of Chalcedon (451), canon 28 confirms the honorary primacy of Constantinople "because of its quality of New Rome".^[29] The endemousa becomes the main governing body of the ecumenical patriarchate, distinct from the ecumenical councils but in permanent activity.

Role in dogmatic controversies

The permanent synod intervenes in most of the major controversies of the Christian East. He judges heretics, proposes candidates to the emperor for patriarchal and metropolitan seats, examines liturgical and disciplinary questions.^[30] He plays a role in the trial of the philosopher John Italos (1082) for Platonism, in the affairs of the union of Florence (1439), in the hesychast disputes of the 14th century (Gregoire Palamas).

This system marks all Eastern ecclesiology. Where Latinity will develop pontifical primacy as an ordinary unifying principle, the East will develop patriarchal synodality as an ordinary principle of government, articulated with a primacy of honor of the see of Constantinople.

Heritage in Orthodoxy

The endemousa survived the Ottoman invasions (1453) and continued to function in the ecumenical patriarchate under Muslim supervision. It inspires the Holy Synod of the autocephalous Orthodox Churches (Constantinople, Antioch, Jerusalem, Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Georgia, Greece, etc.), where each autocephalous patriarchate or archbishopric is governed collegially by a permanent synod presided over by the primate.^[31] We will find the same structure in the Oriental Catholic Churches united with Rome, including the Code of canons of the Eastern Churches (1990) regulates the operation today (canons 102-113 on the synod of bishops of the patriarchal Church).

Merovingian synods (6th – 7th century)

After the Germanic invasions, the Frankish kings in turn convened national synods. The council of Orléans (511), convened by Clovis shortly after his baptism, brought together thirty-two bishops of Gaul and adopted thirty-one canons on the relations between the Church and the Frankish kingdom.^[32] Followed by the councils of Orléans (533, 538, 541, 549), of Tours (567), of Mâcon (581, 585), which constitute ecclesial legislation of territorial application.

These Merovingian synods present an original feature: the king plays an active role, either by convening the assembly, or by confirming its canons by capitulary. The distinction between ecclesiastical authority and royal authority, still not very marked, also prepares the later tensions of the Investiture Quarrel.^[33]

Carolingian Synods and Reform of the Imperial Church

Under Charlemagne and his successors, synodal practice experienced unprecedented growth. The Council of Frankfurt (794) condemns Spanish adoptionism and discusses the reception of the Second Council of Nicaea (787) on holy images. The councils of Aix-la-Chapelle (816-817) reformed monastic and canonical life. Charlemagne convenes general assemblies — generalia placita — where bishops, abbots and great laity deliberate together under royal presidency.^[34]

The Carolingian contribution is ambivalent. On the one hand, the imperial state supports a vast ecclesial reform by synodal means: generalized Roman liturgy, reinforced episcopal school, tightened clerical discipline. On the other hand, the dependence of the synod on civil power prepared the way for the abuses of secular investiture which would dominate the 10th century and trigger the Gregorian reform.

The Lateran Synod of 1059: In nomine Domini

In the middle of the 11th century, the papacy emerged from a long period of degradation through the action of the Ottonian emperors, then through that of the Lorraine reformers (Leo IX, Stephen IX). In April 1059, Pope Nicholas II convened a synod at the Lateran which marked a turning point. The decree In nomine Domini reserves papal election for cardinal-bishops, with the progressive exclusion of the Roman nobility and imperial power.^[35]

This decree is the birth certificate of the modern conclave. He frees the papacy from the political pressures which had produced, in the previous century, the worst scandals (“pornocratic papacy” of the 10th-11th centuries). He also manifests a decisive conviction: it is by synodal means, in Rome itself, that the authority of the Church must be resolved - not by the imperial court.

The annual synods of Gregory VII (1075-1080)

Pope Saint Gregory VII (1073-1085) systematized the practice. In Rome, at the Lateran, annual synods in Lent are held in Rome where the major decisions of the Gregorian reform are taken: ban on simony, condemnation of Nicolaitanism (concubinage of clerics), ban on secular investiture.^[36]

At the synod of Lent 1075, Gregory VII made known his famous Dictatus papae (27 propositions on the papal primacy), although the exact nature of this document is debated by historians.^[37] At the synod of Lent 1076, he excommunicated the emperor Henry IV; at the synod of 1080, he excommunicated him again and recognized him as an anti-king. The Gregorian reform is therefore largely carried out by Roman synodal route, and not primarily by unilateral pontifical decree. The synod is the ordinary instrument of the medieval papacy.

Medieval synods and universal legislation

From the 12th century, the Lateran councils (I 1123, II 1139, III 1179, IV 1215) continued this practice by extending it to all of Latin Christianity. The Lateran Council IV (1215), under Innocent III, is undoubtedly the summit of this dynamic: 71 canons, doctrine of transubstantiation, obligatory annual confession and communion, fight against the Cathar and Waldensian heresies, organization of the Fifth Crusade (canon 71 Ad liberandam, departure set for 1217). It was also at this time that the practice of the annual provincial councils, prescribed by Lateran IV (canon 6, De conciliis provincialibus) to metropolitans, was established.^[38]

The main idea has not changed since Jerusalem: the ecclesial decision is taken in assembly, under the authority of the president, and involves the entire body. But the scale has exploded: Rome is now the center where all legislation converges, and the diocesan bishop becomes the local relay of universal legislation which comes down from the top.

The crisis of the Great Schism and the Council of Pisa (1409)

Between 1378 and 1417, the Latin Church experienced an unprecedented schism: two, then three pretenders simultaneously claimed the See of Peter. In Rome, Avignon, then in the Pisan line after 1409, obediences competed for kingdoms, universities, religious orders and faithful. This Great Western Schism creates a crisis of authority which calls for a synodal solution.^[39]

The Council of Pisa (1409) attempted to depose the two rival popes and elect a third. The intention is good, the result catastrophic: the deposed refuse to give in, and Pisa adds a third pretender instead of unifying Christianity. The failure of Pisa made a larger, better prepared council necessary, and that is what Constance would be.

Constance (1414-1418) and the decree Frequens

Convened in Constance by the emperor Sigismund with the agreement of John XXIII (Pisan line), the council (November 5, 1414 - April 22, 1418) resolved the schism through a combination of deposition (John XXIII, Benedict XIII), renunciation (Gregory XII, recognized retrospectively as legitimate, reconvened the council on July 4, 1415 and abdicate) and election (Martin V, November 11, 1417). It was also in Constance that the famous decree Frequens was promulgated, at the 39th session of October 9, 1417.^[40]

“The frequent celebration of general councils is a privileged means of cultivating the Lord's field, by eliminating the thorns, thorns and thistles of heresies, errors and schisms. ” — Council of Constance, decree Frequens, session 39, October 9, 1417^[41]

Frequens provides for a general council five years after Constance, then seven years after, then every ten years. The intuition is simple: if the councils had been more frequent, the Great Schism would have been avoided or resolved sooner. The decree reflects confidence in the synodal rhythm as an antidote to crises.

The conciliarist temptation and its Catholic reception

Constance also promulgates the decree Haec sancta (1415), which affirms that the council, representing the Church militant, derives its power immediately from Christ and that every Christian, even pope, must obey him in what concerns the faith, the extinction of the schism and the reform of the Church.^[42] This decree, read in the extreme circumstances of the spring of 1415 (flight of John XXIII), will then be used by the conciliarists as a general thesis of the superiority of the council over the pope - theoretical basis of a Catholic quasi-synodalism.

Later Catholic reception rejects this maximalist reading. As already noted in the Catholic Encyclopedia of 1908, “the articles of the fifth session [...] have not received papal confirmation as anti-pontifical doctrine”.^[43] Martin V ratifies what was determined “conciliariter” in the legitimately reconvoked council, without ratifying a general conciliarist doctrine. The following council (Basel-Ferrara-Florence, 1431-1445) in turn experienced a conciliarist drift in Basel, disavowed by Eugene IV, and the union of Florence (1439) restored a Catholic reading of pontifical primacy.

The Fifth Lateran Council (1512-1517), then especially Vatican I (1869-1870) with its dogmatic constitution Pastor aeternus, definitively fixed the Catholic reading: the primacy of jurisdiction of the Roman pontiff is ordinary and immediate over the entire Church.^[44] Constance remains a received ecumenical council, but read as an extraordinary case way out of the crisis, not as an ordinary constitutional model opposable to papal primacy.

The pre-Tridentine crisis and the demand for reform

On the eve of the Council of Trent (1545-1563), the diocesan situation of the Latin Church was very unequal. Many bishops live little in their diocese, delegate to vicars, and do not hold synods. The lack of catechesis, insufficient preaching, mediocre training of clerics, episcopal absenteeism are at the heart of Lutheran criticism. Trent is betting that Catholic reform involves the vigorous restoration of diocesan government — residence, pastoral visitation, seminaries, and regular diocesan synod.^[45]

Session XXIV (1563): triennial provincial synod, annual diocesan synod

At the 24th session of the Council of Trent (November 11, 1563), the reform decree prescribed, in chapter 2, the regular holding of synods:

• Provincial Synod every three years, presided over by the metropolitan;
• Diocesan Synod every year, presided over by the diocesan bishop.^[46]

This legislation, taken from medieval law (Lateran IV) but energetically reaffirmed, aims to give bishops back an ordinary instrument of government. The diocesan synod becomes the opportunity to promulgate diocesan statutes, to instruct the clergy, to examine abuses, and to coordinate pastoral practices.

Real application: a lasting shift

In reality, the application is very uneven. In the 17th century, exemplary bishops like Saint Charles Borromeo in Milan, Saint Francis de Sales in Geneva-Annecy, Bossuet in Meaux, actually held regular diocesan synods. But in many other dioceses, the prescribed frequency is quickly abandoned.^[47]

The Code of Canon Law of 1917 will relax the prescription: diocesan synod every ten years instead of every year. The Code of 1983 will go even further by leaving the frequency to the discretion of the bishop. Diocesan synodal practice has therefore become considerably rarer - less through neglect than through adaptation to new forms of consultation: presbyteral council, diocesan pastoral council, episcopal vicars.

The Code of 1917: three types of synod-councils

The Code of Canon Law of 1917 (CIC 17) systematizes for the first time all of canon law in a single Latin corpus. It clearly distinguishes:

• Plenary Council (canons 281-282): group of Churches of a nation or region, convened by a pontifical delegate.
• Provincial Council (canons 283-291): group of Churches of an ecclesiastical province, convened every twenty years by the metropolitan.
• Diocesan Synod (canons 356-362): assembly of the clergy of the diocese, presided over by the bishop, to be held at least every ten years.^[48]

CIC 17 reserves the word synodus for the diocesan framework only and the word concilium for supra-diocesan frameworks. This terminology will be maintained by the 1983 Code, with one exception: the appearance of the Synod of Bishops reintroduces the word synod at the universal level.

Vatican II and episcopal collegiality

The Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) renewed the theology of the episcopate. The constitution Lumen gentium (November 21, 1964) teaches that the bishops, “in union with their head, the Roman Pontiff, and never without him”, constitute a college which exercises together the care of the universal Church (LG 22).^[49]

This doctrine of episcopal collegiality directly prepares the creation of the Synod of Bishops. If the episcopate is a college, it must be able to express itself collegially on a regular basis, without it being necessary to wait for an ecumenical council (the previous one, Vatican I, left a century of gap before Vatican II). The idea of ​​a permanent synodal body consulting the pope between two councils emerged during the last session of Vatican II.

The CIC 1983: current architecture

The Code of 1983, promulgated by John Paul II on January 25, 1983, establishes the current architecture of Latin synodal law. Three major sets of cannons:

• Synod of Bishops (canons 342-348) — assembly of bishops chosen from around the world, convened by the pope;
• Particular councils (canons 439-446) — plenary (episcopal conference) and provincial (ecclesiastical province) councils;
• Diocesan Synod (canons 460-468) — assembly of the diocese presided over by the bishop.^[50]

“In the diocesan synod the diocesan Bishop is the sole legislator, the other members of the synod only having a consultative voice; he himself alone signs the declarations and decrees of the synod which can only be published by his authority. ” — Code of Canon Law 1983, canon 466^[51]

This canon specifies an essential point often misunderstood by the general public: a Catholic synod is not a parliament. The deliberation is broad, the consultation can be very extensive, but the legislator remains unique - the bishop in the diocese, the pope in the Synod of Bishops. Synodality does not remove primacy; it nourishes it.

Apostolica sollicitudo (September 15, 1965)

On September 15, 1965, two months before the closing of Vatican II, Pope Paul VI established by the motu proprio Apostolica sollicitudo a new ecclesial body: the Synod of Bishops (Synodus Episcoporum).^[52] The institution responds to a request from the Council Fathers wishing for a stable body of collegial consultation between Rome and the episcopate worldwide.

The text defines the Synod as:

“A central ecclesiastical body; representative of the entire Catholic episcopate; of a perpetual character; of a structure such that its function will be exercised in a temporary and occasional manner. ” — Paul VI, motu proprio Apostolica sollicitudo, September 15, 1965^[53]

Four essential characteristics. The Synod is central (in Rome, under the presidency of the pope), representative (bishops chosen from all regions of the world), perpetual (established to last), but temporary and occasional in its exercise (it meets for a session, not continuously). This is precisely what distinguishes it from a permanent Orthodox holy synod like the Byzantine endemousa.

The motu proprio specifies the consultative nature of the Synod:

“By its very nature, the Synod of Bishops has the mission to inform and advise. ” — Paul VI, Apostolica sollicitudo, II^[54]

The Synod does not, in principle, have deliberative power — it proposes to the Pope who decides. This is an important point for understanding Francis' later reforms.

The first assemblies (1967-2018)

The first ordinary general assembly was held in Rome from September 29 to October 29, 1967, on “the preservation and strengthening of the Catholic faith”. Fifteen ordinary assemblies followed between 1971 and 2018, on various themes:

In addition to these ordinary assemblies, there are extraordinary assemblies (1969, 1985, 2014) and special assemblies devoted to regions of the world (synods for Africa 1994 and 2009, for America 1997, for Asia 1998, for Oceania 1998, for Europe 1999 and 2009, for the Middle East 2010, for the Amazon 2019).^[55]

Each of these assemblies produces a working document (Instrumentum laboris) then transmits proposals (propositiones) to the pope. The pope then writes a post-synodal apostolic exhortation which becomes the reference magisterial document. Thus: Evangelii nuntiandi (Paul VI, 1975) follows the synod of 1974; Catechesi tradendae (John Paul II, 1979) follows that of 1977; Familiaris consortio (1981) follows that of 1980; Pastores dabo vobis (1992) follows that of 1990; Verbum Domini (2010) follows that of 2008; Amoris laetitia (2016) follows those of 2014-2015.

Strength and limit of the consultative character

During its first fifty years, the Synod of Bishops remained strictly consultative. Several voices, including that of Cardinal Kasper and certain canonists, regretted that this consultative dimension limits the real collegial scope. Others, including Cardinal Pell or Cardinal Sarah, have on the contrary valued this limit as a guarantee of pontifical primacy.^[56] The debate remains lively and partly explains the choices of the reform led by Francis from 2018.

The speech of October 17, 2015

On October 17, 2015, in the Paul VI Hall, during the commemoration of the fifty years of the Synod of Bishops, Francis delivered a speech which will remain as the program of his pontificate on this point. He first recalls the etymology:

“What the Lord asks of us, in a certain sense, is already fully contained in the word “Synod”. Walking together — Laity, Pastors, Bishop of Rome — is a concept easy to express in words, but not so easy to put into practice. ” — Francis, Speech for the 50th anniversary of the Synod of Bishops, October 17, 2015^[57]

Then he formulates the decisive orientation:

“The world in which we live, and which we are called to love and serve even in its contradictions, requires the Church to strengthen synergies in all areas of its mission. The path of synodality is precisely that which God expects of the Church of the third millennium. ” — Francis, Speech for the 50th anniversary of the Synod of Bishops, October 17, 2015^[58]

Finally, he specifies what synodality means ecclesially:

“A synodal Church is a Church of listening, with the awareness that listening “is more than hearing”. It’s reciprocal listening in which everyone has something to learn. ” — Francis, Speech of October 17, 2015^[59]

This word does not introduce an ecclesiological novelty foreign to the Catholic tradition: it updates the experience of Jerusalem (Acts 15) - "it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us" - by adding a modern insistence on mutual listening between the levels of the hierarchy and with the faithful.

Episcopalis communio (September 15, 2018)

Three years later, to the day fifty-three years after Apostolica sollicitudo, Francis promulgated the apostolic constitution Episcopalis communio (September 15, 2018), which structurally reforms the Synod of Bishops.^[60]

“Episcopal communion (Episcopalis communio), with Peter and under Peter, is manifested in a particular way in the Synod of Bishops which, established by Paul VI on September 15, 1965, constitutes one of the most precious legacies of the Second Vatican Council. ” — Francis, constitution Episcopalis communio, September 15, 2018, preamble^[61]

Three main new features:

• Three formalized phases: a preparatory phase where the People of God is consulted in the particular Churches; a celebration phase where the Assembly deliberates; an implementation phase where findings are received in local Churches.
• Systematic consultation of the People of God: priests, deacons, lay faithful and consecrated persons are consulted through the episcopal conferences and the Synods of the Eastern Catholic Churches.
• Possible deliberative power: the Pope can, in specific cases, confer deliberative power on the Assembly. This is a notable change compared to Apostolica sollicitudo where the consultative nature was the absolute rule.

The constitution also specifies an important dogmatic point: synodality as “constitutive dimension of the Church” — a formula taken up by the International Theological Commission (2018) — is not a political system imposed on the Church, it is a Catholic way of existing, articulated with the primacy of Peter, not in competition with it.^[62]

A unique three-phase approach

On October 9-10, 2021, Francis opens the Synod on Synodality in Rome, formally titled “For a synodal Church: communion, participation, mission”. For the first time, the whole Church is invited to participate, and not just to receive a prepared text. The structure follows Episcopalis communio:

• Diocesan phase (2021-2022): consultation of the faithful in each diocese based on a Preparatory Document from September 2021 and a Vade-mecum for coordinators.
• Continental phase (2022-2023): seven continental assemblies (Africa, Oceania, Asia, Middle East, Europe, Latin America, North America) write their summaries.
• Universal phase: two plenary sessions in Rome, in October 2023 (October 4-29) and October 2024 (October 2-27), bringing together around 360 participants, including for the first time lay people with the right to vote.^[63]

Documents and final document

Several documents guide the process:

• Preparatory document (September 7, 2021).
• Document for the continental stage — “Expand the space of your tent” (October 27, 2022).
• Instrumentum laboris for the first session (June 2023) and for the second session (July 2024).
• Summary report of the first session (October 28, 2023).
• Final document approved by the assembly on October 26, 2024, validated by the two thirds required for each paragraph.^[64]

Francis took an unprecedented decision: instead of drafting a post-synodal apostolic exhortation like his predecessors, he immediately approved the final document and integrated it into his ordinary magisterium in his accompanying note dated November 24, 2024 (solemnity of Christ the King), made public on November 25. This gesture aims to demonstrate that the fruit of the synod is not a raw material to be reformulated by the pope, but already an ecclesial act received by him in communion with the assembly.^[65]

A reception still in progress

The 2021-2024 Synod is the subject of very diverse readings, ranging from enthusiasm for the participatory dimension to criticisms of doctrinal points considered ambiguous. Three points come up most often: the place of women in ordained ministry, the reception of homosexual people and the magisterial authority of episcopal conferences. On each, the state of the doctrine can be recalled simply: on the sacerdotal ordination of women, John Paul II declared in Ordinatio sacerdotalis (May 22, 1994) that the Church has no power to confer it, while the question of the female diaconate remains entrusted to study^[66]; homosexual people must be received with respect, compassion and sensitivity, avoiding any unjust discrimination (Catechism, nos. 2358-2359), and the declaration Fiducia supplicans (December 18, 2023) specified the possible framework for pastoral blessings, without changing the doctrine on marriage^[67]; on episcopal conferences, the motu proprio Apostolos suos (May 21, 1998) fixed their theological and juridical nature, and the proposals of the final document aimed at broadening their doctrinal role remain under study, without change to the law in force^[68]. Several specialized Ignispedia articles discuss the disputed points in detail. For the institutional reception of the Synod on Synodality as a whole, several phases are planned: study groups continue their work after 2024, and an ecclesial assembly is announced for October 2028.

Beyond these debates, the article retains a structural point: for the first time in the modern history of the Synod of Bishops, the consultation of the People of God was constituted as an ordinary phase, and laity voted alongside the bishops. Whether this innovation fits harmoniously into the great synodal tradition of the Church — Jerusalem, Carthage, Trent, Vatican II — or whether it distorts certain balances is precisely the question that the coming decades will have to discern.

Holy Synod and Orthodox Synodality

As we saw above, the Byzantine East developed a very strong patriarchal synodality. Today, each autocephalous Orthodox Church is governed by a Holy Synod presided over by its primate (patriarch, archbishop). The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople maintains a endemousa synodos in direct continuity with the Byzantine tradition.^[69]

The Pan-Orthodox Council of Crete (June 2016) attempted to bring together all the Orthodox patriarchates into a common assembly. The absence of the patriarchates of Moscow, Antioch, Bulgaria and Georgia illustrated the practical difficulty of exercising universal synodality in contemporary Orthodoxy — a difficulty which illuminates, by contrast, the ordinary role of papal primacy in the Catholic Church.

Synods of the Eastern Catholic Churches

The Eastern Catholic Churches united with Rome (Maronite, Melkite, Syriac, Coptic, Chaldean, Armenian, Ukrainian, etc.) retain their own synodal structure. The Code of Canons of the Oriental Churches (CCEO, promulgated by John Paul II on October 18, 1990) regulates in canons 102 to 113 the functioning of the synod of bishops of the Patriarchal Church, the ordinary organ of patriarchal government.^[70]

These Eastern Synods elect the Patriarch, legislate for their particular Church, and send their delegates to the Synods of Roman Bishops. They demonstrate that strong synodality is not foreign to Catholic communion, and that it can be articulated with Petrine primacy without dissolving it.

The synod of Paris (1559) and the presbyteral system

Outside of Catholic communion, the Protestant Reformation developed its own synodal system in the 16th century. The first national synod of the Reformed Churches of France was held in Paris at the end of May 1559, in the rue des Marais-Saint-Germain (current rue Visconti, 6ᵉ arrondissement), in complete clandestinity under the reign of Henry II.^[71] Presided over by Francis de Morel, it brought together some twenty delegates, representing around 72 local Churches. It adopted a Confession of faith in 40 articles (revised in 1571 under the name of La Rochelle Confession) and an Ecclesiastical Discipline which would lastingly structure French Protestantism.

This synod introduces an original presbyteral-synodal system: the ecclesial decision circulates from the local Consistory to the provincial Synod then to the national Synod, without episcopal hierarchy. It is a model parallel to catholicity — where the absence of a pope and a bishop does not eliminate the need for collegial structures. Jean Calvin will theorize this system in the Christian Institution (1559) and organize it in Geneva.

Presbyterian, Lutheran, Anglican Synods

Scottish Presbyterianism (John Knox, Book of Discipline 1560; Second Book of Discipline 1578) extends the Paris model. German and Scandinavian Lutheranism developed territorial synods linked to Protestant states. Anglicanism creates its own system: Canterbury and York Convocations, which became the General Synod in 1970 (under the Synodical Government Measure of 1969).

These Protestant synods share a common intuition: the ecclesial decision must be collegial and discussed, not monarchical. However, they differ fundamentally from the Catholic model in that they exclude in principle pontifical primacy and the apostolic episcopal ministry as understood by the Catholic Church. Protestant synodality is horizontal; Catholic synodality is vertical-horizontal, articulated with primacy.

An institution irreducible to a parliament

The first achievement of two thousand years of synodal practice is negative and frees the contemporary debate: a Catholic synod is not a parliament. It does not decide by mathematical majority, it does not remove the authority of the one who presides, it does not transform the diocesan bishop or the pope into a simple spokesperson for majority sentiment. Canon 466 of the CIC 1983 (“the diocesan bishop is the sole legislator”) extends the practice of Saint Cyprian, Trent and all Catholic synods to the present day.^[92] This point must be firmly maintained against modern parliamentary readings which disfigure the institution.

An institution irreducible to a simple consultative procedure

The second achievement is just as important: synodality is not a courtesy that the hierarchy would grant to the people. It is a constitutive dimension of the Church, present from Jerusalem (Acts 15). When Paul VI establishes the Synod of Bishops, when Francis consults the People of God in the 2021-2024 Synod, they do not create an ecclesiological novelty foreign to tradition: they update the experience of the primitive Church in forms adapted to the modern world. Synodality nourishes pontifical primacy, it does not compete with it.^[93]

An articulation to receive

The essential remains – and the most difficult. How can we concretely articulate these two poles? The history of conciliarisms (Constance, Gallicanisms) shows the risks of a synodality which claims to be superior to the pope. The history of papal absolutisms of the 19th century shows, conversely, the risks of a primacy which would neglect collegial consultation. The Catholic path, from Jerusalem to the Synod on Synodality, is to keep the two together — Peter and the bishops, the pope and the People of God, presiding authority and collegial deliberation.

Francis summarized this articulation in a sentence which directly extends Lumen gentium 22-23:

“I am convinced that, in a synodal Church, even the exercise of the Petrine primacy will be able to receive greater light. ” — Francis, Speech for the 50th anniversary of the Synod of Bishops, October 17, 2015^[94]

The synod does not diminish primacy; it illuminates it. The challenge of the coming decades will be to verify in ecclesial practice what this articulation concretely produces, without giving in to either synodalist sectarianism or anti-synodal minimalism.

• Read The Council of Jerusalem (49): article dedicated to the first Christian synod.
• Read Council of Nicaea I (325): first ecumenical council, model of universal synodality.
• Read Council of Constance (1414-1418): Great Schism, Frequens and conciliarist temptation.
• Read Council of Trent (1545-1563): Tridentine restoration of the diocesan synod.
• Read Second Vatican Council (1962-1965): episcopal collegiality and preparation for the Synod of Bishops.
• Read The Synod of Bishops after Vatican II: detailed study of the assemblies from 1967 to 2024.
• Read Did the Synod on the Amazon betray the Catholic faith?: critical analysis of a contested synod.
• Read The Code of Canon Law of 1917 and The 1983 Code: codification of synodal law.
• Read The Great Western Schism: crisis which makes Pisa then Constance necessary.
• Read The Gregorian Reform: Roman synods of Gregory VII.
• Read Orthodoxy: oriental patriarchal synodality.
• Read Responses to Protestantism: Protestant presbyteral-synodal system.