SYNOD. – It is the legitimate assembly, convened by the bishop, of the priests and clerics of his diocese and of others who are obliged to attend, for the purpose of discussing and deliberating on matters concerning pastoral care. The synod’s particular task of study consists in examining pontifical constitutions, the prescriptions of the Roman Congregations, the statutes of predecessor bishops, and also in “constituere quae ad vitia coercenda, virtutem promovendam, depravatos populi mores reformandos et ecclesiarum disciplinam aut restituendam aut fovendam necessaria et utilia esse iudicaverit”.
According to the definition given above, formulated by Benedict XIV in De Synodo diocesana, the synod must always be regarded as a diocesan convocation, unlike a Council which, whether ecumenical or particular, is an assembly of all the bishops of the Catholic world or, in the case of a regional or provincial Council, a gathering of several bishops. The fundamentally important difference between the Council and the synod lies in their authority: it is legislative in the conciliar assembly, whereas in the synod it is merely consultative, since the sole legislator is the bishop, who has the right to sign the constitutions, collective suffrage being excluded (can. 362 CIC). On the basis of this principle, the legitimacy of the synod depends on the personal presence of the bishop or of the vicar general who has received a special mandate from the bishop. It is also obvious that the capitular vicar has no power to convene the synod.
Synodal assemblies have an ancient origin in the Church: it seems that the first was convened by Pope Siricius in Rome in 387; originally, however, they differed from Councils only in their purpose, since the terms, taken etymologically, are synonymous. The Fourth Lateran Council of 1215 laid down the first precise norms suitable for preventing any possibility of confusion with Councils. Subsequently, the Council of Trent greatly increased the importance of the synod by imposing on bishops the obligation of celebrating it annually (sess. XXIV, De ref., chap. 2). Only in the seventeenth century did synodal gatherings suffer a setback, owing to the accusation of Jansenism made by Pope Pius VI against the S. of Pistoia of 1786, de' Ricci (v.), in the constitution Auctorem fidei of 1794.
The CIC moderated the norms established by the Council of Trent, extending the obligation of convening the synod to ten-year intervals; according to some authors, this was because the legislation in force, being more perfect, provides more concretely for the spiritual needs of the clergy and the faithful. Under can. 356 § 2, if the bishop governs several dioceses aeque principaliter, it is sufficient to convene a single synod, which must always be celebrated in the Cathedral Church, nisi aliud rationalis causa suadeat (can. 357 § 2). The following are obliged to attend the synod, unless prevented by a legitimate impediment: the vicar general, the canons of the Cathedral Church and the diocesan consultors, the rector of the diocesan seminary saltem maioris, the vicars forane, one member of the collegiate Churches elected by the Chapter, the parish priests of the city where the synod is held, at least one parish priest from each vicariate, the abbots de regimine, and one of the superiors of each clerical religious institute residing in the diocese, designated by the provincial. The convocation of the canons, parish priests, religious superiors, and other priests of the diocese is instead left to the discretion of the Ordinary, except for those necessary for the care of souls. The Ordinary may impose penalties on those who are obliged to attend (can. 359 § 2) but who in fact fail to appear without informing the bishop of the reasons that compelled them not to participate. Before the sessions of the synod, the bishop convenes the commissions, and the participants are given a draft of the constitutions that are to be discussed (ca. 360 §§ 1-2).
The name synod is also used in the Waldensian Church, where it is an annual legislative assembly composed of ministers and laypersons, with deliberative or merely consultative votes.