Holy Synod - Eastern Catholic Churches

Eastern Catholic Churches

The Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches distinguishes between a patriarchal church's standing synod and a synod of its bishops. The standing synod consists of the patriarch and four bishops appointed for a five-year term. Of these four, three are elected by the patriarchal church's synod of bishops and one is appointed by the patriarch, while another four are designated in the same way to replace any member who is impeded. A synod of all the church's ordained bishops is called when a decision is required on a question that only it is authorized to decide, or when the patriarch, with the agreement of the standing synod, judges it to be necessary, or when at least one third of the bishops request that it be held to consider some specific matter. In addition, the canon law of some patriarchal churches requires that it be convoked at predetermined intervals. Similar rules govern Eastern Catholic Churches headed not by a patriarch but by a major archbishop.