Editing Synod (section)

===Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox===
[[File:Highest authority of Russian Orthodox Church in 1917.jpg|thumb|250px|Holy Sobor of 1917, following the election of [[Tikhon of Moscow|Saint Tikhon]] as [[Patriarch of Moscow]]]]
{{Anchor|Orthodox}}

In [[Eastern Orthodox]] and [[Oriental Orthodox]] churches, [[Synod of bishops (Orthodox)|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'' ({{langx|cu|съборъ|sŭborŭ|assembly}}) is a formal gathering or [[wikt:council|council]] of [[bishop]]s together with other [[clergy|clerical]] and [[laity|lay]] delegates representing the church to deal with matters of faith, morality, rite, and canonical and cultural life.<ref name="EoU">{{cite web|url=http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/pages/S/O/Sobor.htm |title=Sobor |publisher=Encyclopediaofukraine.com |date=1990-06-06 |accessdate=2023-08-22}}</ref> The synod in the Western churches is similar, but it is distinguished by being usually limited to an assembly of bishops.<ref name="EoU" />

The term is found among those [[Eastern Orthodox Church]]es that use [[Slavic languages]] (the [[Russian Orthodox Church|Russian]], [[Eastern Orthodoxy in Ukraine|Ukrainian]], [[Bulgarian Orthodox Church|Bulgarian]], [[Serbian Orthodox Church|Serbian]] and [[Macedonian Orthodox Church]]es), along with the [[Romanian Orthodox Church]].

==== Assembly ====

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.{{citation needed|date=November 2012}}

[[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 a separate [[Metropolis (religious jurisdiction)|metropoly]] for the church in the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]]n lands.<ref name="EoU"/>

Important sobors in the [[history of the Russian Orthodox Church]] are:
* [[Vladimir's Sobor]] in 1276
* The [[Stoglavy Sobor]] ([[Sobor of a Hundred Chapters]]) in 1551
* The [[Moscow Sobor of 1666–1667]], to deal with disputes surrounding the ecclesiastical reforms of [[Patriarch Nikon]]
* The All-Russian Sobor of 1917, which restored the [[Moscow Patriarchate]] and elected [[Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow|Saint Tikhon]] as the first modern Patriarch of Moscow
* The All-Russian Sobor of 1988, called on the 1000th anniversary of the [[Baptism of Rus']] to guide the church in the wake of [[glasnost]] and the loosening of the Soviet grip over the church

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.{{citation needed|date=November 2012}}