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A '''synod''' is a council of the Christian church. The word comes from the Greek ''synodosσγνοδος'' meaning an ''assembly '', and is synonymous with the word ''council'' that comes from the Latin ''concilium''. The Slavic term ''sobor'' has the same meaning, although it also can apply to a church building, generally major churches and [[cathedral]]s.

In Orthodox practice either word applies to a meeting of a body of the Church to decide issues of doctrine or of administration of the body, both at local as well as higher levels of the churches. An [[ecumenical council]] is a synod of the whole church. The word ''synod '' is frequently applied in the Orthodox church to the standing councils of high -ranking bishops [[bishop]]s of [[autonomy|autonomous]] and [[autocephaly|autocephalous]] churches that oversee the day-to-day administration of the church, usually referred to as ''[[holy synod]]s''.