Billy Kennedy: Church of Ireland prepares for its annual general synod

The service will be conducted by the Dean of Belfast the Rev Stephen Forde and the presidential address will be given by the church primate Archbishop John McDowell.

Amongst the congregation, with representatives of other Christian churches and civic leaders, will be 649 synod delegates from the 11 dioceses in Ireland - 216 clerical and 432 lay members.

Following the service, the synod delegates will then move to the nearby Presbyterian Assembly Buildings in Belfast city centre, where the three-day business of the church will be administered.

An Anglican synod conducting its business in the spacious Presbyterian Assembly buildings is unprecedented in Irish church history.

This will be the first in-person general synod since May, 2019 when the church met in Londonderry. The covid pandemic in 2020 and 2021 prevented the general synod meeting in full session.

The general synod first met in 1871 in Dublin following the disestablishment of the Church of Ireland. Over recent years, the synod has located in different cities around Ireland.

The primary purpose of the synod is to enact legislation for the whole Church of Ireland. Bills, which are proposals for legislation, are considered and become acts or statutes if approved.

Less formal proposals are submitted as motions which, if approved, become resolutions.

The synod also receives reports from various committees and boards, which are debated by its members. Synod committees are normally elected for a three-year term of office.

The Church of Ireland operates in two constitutional jurisdictions - Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic, with church headquarters and administration based in Dublin.

Over the three days, the general synod will consider faith, education, health and social matters directly affecting its membership at diocese and parish levels.

l The Church of Ireland is estimated to have a total membership of 375,000, with 249,000 in Northern Ireland parishes, and 126,000 in the Irish Republic. There are 1,100 CoI places of worship in 450 parishes.