The General Synod acts as the Parliament of the Church, and is composed of all current Bishops of the Church of Light and Shadow.
It is the Church’s legislative and deliberative body. Synod members oversee and direct the work of the Church’s dicasteries.
The General Synod meets once a year to vote on two broad types of motion: firstly on formal changes to Canon Law or internal church policy; and secondly on wider issues of national and international concern.
ECCLESIASTICAL DICASTERIES
There are four administrative departments (church committees) within the Church, which are known as Ecclesiastical Dicasteries. These ecclesiastical dicasteries assist the Archbishop and Synod in their governance of the church.
Permanent standing dicasteries are referred to as Congregations and the chairman is referred to as the Prefect of the Congregation.
Prefects of Congregations must be bishops. Each ecclesiastical dicastery is comprised of members who support and assist the leadership of the dicasteries to which they are attached. Depending on the ecclesiastical dicastery, members may be priests, deacons or lay faithful.
Each member of the Episcopal Synod is an ex officio member of every Ecclesiastical Dicastery.
Congregation for Liturgical Rites is responsible for establishing, editing, and submitting to the Archbishop, the various rites used by the Church, and for publishing these rites after they have been approved by the Archbishop and Synod.
Congregation for Clergy and Religious is the “personnel department” of the Church and is responsible for determining the qualifications of those who wish to be deacons, priests and bishops, and for recommending to the Archbishop and Synod those who should be ordained, incardinated, given titles of honor, or raised to the Holy Episcopacy. In addition, this Congregation recommends to the Archbishop regulations regarding clerical attire and vesture, the use of titles and honorifics, as well as ecclesiastical heraldry.
Congregation for Laity Issues and Relations is responsible for handling communication between the laity of the Church and the Synod. Matters that cannot be resolved with the local clergy may be appealed to this Dicastery, and proposed legislation originating with the laity may be proposed to other dicasteries and/or the Archbishop through this Dicastery.
Congregation for Ecumenical Relations is responsible for establishing “diplomatic relations” with other ecclesiastical jurisdictions, and for recommending to the Archbishop whether or not other ecclesiastical jurisdictions should be in communion with the Church.
