Synod on Synodality

Click Here to view the 3 questions we will be discussing in our Parish Listening Sessions on March 26/27th 2022.

What is a Synod?

To understand synodality, we first need to understand what a synod is. Simply put, a synod is a meeting or assembly of church leaders. The idea of a synod has New Testament roots in Acts 15. In several Protestant denominations, synods exist on various levels—local, regional and national; in some cases, like the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, it describes the entire church. Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches have used synods for centuries to gather bishops and laypeople to reach consensus on important issues, similar to the way that the Roman Catholic Church has used ecumenical councils like Vatican II.

The Synod on Synodality is a two-year process of listening and dialogue beginning with a solemn opening in Rome on October 9 and 10, 2021 with each individual diocese and church celebrating the following week on October 17. The synodal process will conclude in 2023.

Pope Francis invites the entire Church to reflect on a theme that is decisive for its life and mission: “It is precisely this path of synodality which God expects of the Church of the third millennium.” This journey, which follows in the wake of the Church’s “renewal” proposed by the Second Vatican Council, is both a gift and a task: by journeying together and reflecting together on the journey that has been made, the Church will be able to learn through Her experience which processes can help Her to live communion, to achieve participation, to open Herself to mission.

For more information on the 2021-2023 Synod on Synodality, click here.