Synode

German

Alternative forms

• Synod, Synodus m (obsolete)

Etymology

15th century, learned borrowing from Latin synodus. The form in -e (18th c.) was influenced by French synode. Displaced Send, from Middle High German sent, senet, itself partially from the same Latin source and partially from senatus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /zyˈnoːdə/

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

Noun

Synode f (genitive Synode, plural Synoden)

1. (Christianity, especially Protestantism) synod (congress of elected representatives who may be clerics or laypeople)
2. (archaic) synonym of Konzil (“congress of bishops that decides bindingly on important issues”)

Usage notes

• Synoden are found mainly in Protestant churches. However, they have also been introduced in the Roman Catholic church, here with a merely consultative function. The word Konzil is now restricted to major episcopal congresses, especially the so-called ecumenical councils, of which Catholics recognize twenty-one, Protestants seven at most. In a word, usage of the two terms is roughly the same in both denominations, though teachings on them are very different.

Declension

Declension of Synode [feminine]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	eine	die	Synode	die	Synoden
genitive	einer	der	Synode	der	Synoden
dative	einer	der	Synode	den	Synoden
accusative	eine	die	Synode	die	Synoden

Further reading

• “Synode” in Duden online
• “Synode”, in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache‎^[1] (in German)