The Synod of Queensland or Queensland Synod is a state council of the Uniting Church in Australia .
31-726: Synod also describes the regular meeting (every 1.5 years) of representatives of the state-wide church. These meetings are known as the Synod in Session. The Assembly of the Uniting Church in Australia is the national council of the Uniting Church, headed by the President of the Uniting Church, with a general secretary as chief executive officer. The six geographically based synods are responsible for overall support and resourcing of
62-444: 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;
93-712: A separate metropoly for the church in the Grand Duchy of Lithuanian lands. 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. 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
124-819: 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. 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
155-542: 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. 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
186-643: 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 , Oriental Orthodoxy and Eastern Orthodoxy . In modern usage,
217-623: 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. 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 languages (the Russian , Ukrainian , Bulgarian , Serbian and Macedonian Orthodox Churches ), along with
248-778: Is a residential college for tertiary students. It is co-located at the Uniting Church Centre in Auchenflower , Brisbane with Trinity College Queensland. Grace College is at the St Lucia campus of the University of Queensland and caters only for women. The following individuals have served as the Moderator of the Queensland Synod: Synod A synod ( / ˈ s ɪ n ə d / )
279-573: 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
310-544: Is considered a Synod since there is no national church in the United States. (see establishment principle ) 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,
341-594: The Romanian Orthodox Church . 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
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#1732802387351372-673: The Synod of Homberg . 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
403-606: The Church in a specific geographic area such as the one held November 16 – December 12, 1997, for the Church in America. 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
434-462: 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. 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
465-578: 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
496-532: The Uniting Church in Queensland. The current Moderator is Reverend Andrew Gunton, who was inducted at the 35th Synod on 22 October 2020. The Synod of Queensland contains several presbyteries within its bounds. A presbytery is a council of the Uniting Church which has oversight of congregations, ministries and programs within a region. Ministers of the Word and deacons are responsible to their presbytery, which has
527-459: The church in their area especially in community services, mission planning, theological education and other educational services, administration relating to ministers, and property and financial services. The elected head of each synod is the Moderator, and a general secretary is usually appointed as the chief executive officer. The Moderator is the spiritual head and the main spokesperson for
558-465: 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
589-496: The day-to-day governance of patriarchal and major archiepiscopal Eastern Catholic Churches is entrusted to a permanent synod. 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')
620-499: The duty of caring for them and ensuring their work is carried out faithfully. Presbytery meetings include ordained ministers, lay pastors, and elected lay persons from every congregation. The Synod of Queensland has seven presbyteries. Trinity College Queensland provides theological education for ministers and laypeople. Degree courses are accredited by the Australian College of Theology . Raymont Residential College
651-422: 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
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#1732802387351682-418: 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
713-632: 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: 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
744-460: 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
775-402: The state/provincial or national level are not considered councils. At such levels, there may be no separate executive branch , and the council may effectively represent the entire government . A board of directors might also be denoted as a council. A committee might also be denoted as a council, though a committee is generally a subordinate body composed of members of a larger body, while
806-705: 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) 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
837-473: 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
868-665: 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
899-524: 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. In the Presbyterian system of church governance
930-433: 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,
961-468: 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: Plenary and provincial councils are categorized as particular councils. A particular council