The General Synod is the title of the governing body of some church organizations.

Church of England

In the Church of England, General Synod was instituted in 1970 and is the culmination of a process of rediscovering self-government for the Church of England that had started in the 1850s.

The General Synod is unique in that it is the only body to which Parliament had delegated the power to pass Measures, which become part of English law. The Church Assembly, the predecessor of the General Synod, was in 1919 given the power to pass legislation on any matter to do with the Church of England; if Parliament accepts the Measures, then they become law – if MPs or members of the House of Lords are not happy with a Measure then they can reject it, but not amend it.

General Synod is elected every five years by a system of Single Transferable Vote and officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II.

It is divided into the House of Bishops, the House of Clergy and the House of Laity. All

There are two synodical sessions per year (4-5 days each), one in Church House, Westminster, the other at the University of York.

General Synod deals with three main areas:

• Central church business
• Relations with other churches
• Public issues

The General Synod elects some members to the Archbishops' Council

General Synods of other churches within the Anglican Communion

• Anglican Church of Australia
• Anglican Church of Canada
• Church of Ireland
• Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia
• Scottish Episcopal Church

Episcopal Church of the United States

In the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, the equivalent is General Convention.

Other Churches

The United Church of Christ in the United States also calls their main governing body a General Synod. It meets every two years and consists of over 600 delagates from various congregations and conferences.