Synod on Synodality: A New Pentecost in the Church?

  • Rev. Sr Cecilia Agule OLF, PHD
Keywords: Synod, Synodality, Pentecost, collaboration, discernment and coresponsibility

Abstract

The article affirms that Synod is a familiar concept in Codex Iuris Canonici of 1983 as can be seen principally in Chapter II of Book II specifically in canons 342-348 on the Synod of Bishops who are convoked to assist the Pope in matters of faith and morals and in the preservation and strengthening of ecclesiastical discipline. So too is Diocesan Synod (cann. 460-468) at the level of the particular church. It has however thrown its weight on Synod on Synodality the kind of synod proposed by Pope Francis for the entire church considering it as extra-canonical since it does not fit into any of these categories mentioned above. This theme is explored in the context of a new Pentecost in the Church. The theme invites the entire church to journey together in fraternal collaboration and discernment placing the Holy Spirit who is capable of strengthening, renewing, empowering each christian to become coresponsible for the church’s mission at the centre of this journey thus equating the Synod on Synodality with the Pentecost experiennce in the early Church (Acts 2:14-41; 3:11-26; 4:1-21).

Published
2023-08-17