Continued 👇🏾
The Apostolic Synod – Decisions Sealed by the Spirit
Let us now consider the Apostolic Synod, a model for conciliar decision-making in the Church. The word “synod” comes from the Greek, meaning a gathering or council a holy assembly of shepherds united in the Holy Spirit.
The First Apostolic Synod — Jerusalem, ~50 A.D.
In the city of Jerusalem, the Apostles convened to address a pressing matter: the dispute in Antioch between Jews and Gentiles regarding circumcision and the Mosaic Law. The matter was no small controversy it threatened to divide the fledgling Church.
But the Apostles, led by the Holy Spirit, discerned together and issued this divine declaration:
“It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us…” (Acts 15:28)
This was not merely human judgment it was divine synergy. The decrees of that synod, and others that followed, gave order to:
The doctrine of the Church
The administration of the clergy
The role of the faithful
The discipline and worship of the Church
The Apostolic Synod, therefore, is a continuation of Christ’s teaching through the Spirit-led decisions of His Apostles.
Even today, in apostolic continuity, the Synod of Bishops gathers within the Holy Church, twice each year, to preserve, apply, and proclaim the same doctrine first declared by the Apostles.
Conclusion: The Teaching That Sanctifies
O beloved, let us lift our hearts in gratitude. The faith we hold, the Gospel we proclaim, the sacraments we receive, the worship we offer—they are not inventions of men. They are the legacy of holy men who walked with God, whose hands bore the wounds of persecution, whose lips spoke fire from heaven, and whose teachings continue to breathe life into the Body of Christ.
May we cling, not to the passing winds of novel ideas, but to the unshakable rock of Apostolic Teaching.
May the name of the Holy God be praised forever and ever in every tongue that He has created, today and always.
May the blessings of God's mother, the virgin, and the cross be upon us.
Amen.
© John's Repentance
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