About General Synod
General Synod is many things. It is first of all the incorporated body of the national Anglican Church in Canada. It came into being on 13 September 1893 when the dioceses of that day voted to come together into a national union to work more effectively together. General Synod is the governing body of the Anglican Church of Canada and the Primate is the President of General Synod.
General Synod is also a meeting. The word synod is from the Greek 'synodos' and means "a meeting" or "coming together". General Synod is a meeting of the bishops and elected clergy and lay delegates from dioceses and certain other Anglican bodies e.g. the Religious orders, that meets regularly (now every three years) to transact the business of Synod.
As former Archbishop Desmond Tutu has famously said the glue that keeps us together in the Anglican Communion is that we meet. At every General Synod meeting Anglicans come together -- to meet, to worship, to debate and to transact the business of Synod. In addition to elected delegates, General Synod always includes invited partners and guests from Canada, Anglican partners from elsewhere in the Communion and Canadian ecumenical partners.
General Synod 2007 will be held in Winnipeg from June 19th to June 25th.
Links:
- Links of interest
- General Synod Planning Commitee
- In Plenary - General Synod 2007 essays
- Video notes
- Prayers for General Synod