| The council of Constance asserted the supremacy of oecumenical synods, and ordered that these be convened at regular intervals. |
| This isn't to say that synods, canon laws and rubrics don't play an important role in our common life. |
| The bishops met in the synods that were convoked from the second century onwards. |
| Financial matters also garnered debate at assemblies, as synods looked at declining budgets and ministry. |
| There are also groups, communities, conferences, assemblies, synods, and councils which deliberate more socially and often officially. |
| In occasional diocesan synods, they harangued their clergy and issued reforming regulations. |
