Synods ordinary and extraordinary

[billcu1]

What is the Synod of Bishops? Is that the magisterium meeting? Wasn’t there a Synod of Jerusalem before there were ecumenical councils? What’s the difference?
I’ve heard of the magisterium getting together but I didn’t know if it was a Synod or meetings like the USCCB has or what.

 

[MorEphrem]

A synod is a meeting between the hierarchs of a particular Church to decide a matter. It is a Greek word usually applied in the East; I guess the meetings the USCCB has would technically constitute synods - a clearer example is if all Latin bishops assembled to discuss a matter.

Now the qualitative difference between an ecumenical council and a synod is disputed - a Latin will say essentially any synod convened by the Pope is an ecumenical council. Byzantines would probably say an ecumenical council is the convening of a general synod between all Apostolic Churches - hence in many Eastern [read: Byzantine] texts will refer to the Seven Holy Councils (i.e. the councils held between the 4th and 8th centuries). The Oriental Churches, on the other hand, accept the first three councils as ecumenical.

The disagreement of what constitutes ecumenical isn’t a dispute of truth, rather if the council itself is qualitatively a regional synod (i.e. convened to address administrative matters of a locale) or a general synod convened to state a universal, infallible statement. The fact that the Latin Church includes all their local synods in their count of ecumenical councils is amusing, and I’m sure someone will take offense at that statement but I don’t care.

 

[DavidFilmer]

Any conference of Bishops can be considered a synod. It need not be restricted to a particular nation or region. A synod cannot promulgate doctrine, no matter how many Bishops attend, and no matter how many jurisdictions they represent.

An Ecumenical Council is a synod that the Church says is an Ecumenical Council. It does not matter how many Bishops attend, and it does not matter how many jurisdictions they represent. An Ecumenical Council has the authority to promulgate doctrine if the Pope assents.

The title of your post asks about ordinary and extraordinary (which means, “not ordinary”). An Ecumenical Council is an exercise of the Church’s extraordinary teaching authority.