Hello, I’m Fr. Marino Cho. I became a priest in 2012. I am from Daegu Archdiocese in south-Korea. And to serve as a priest here in Anchorage-Juneau Archdiocese, I signed a contract with KMS(Korean Missionary Society). One interesting thing is that I have been in the United States longer than I have been in Korea since I became a priest. I have been in Baltimore, the United States for four and a half years since 2014, and experiences of there have helped me think that it would be nice to serve as a priest in the United States.

I’m not particularly good at anything, and I’m just an ordinary person. However, I think I have been able to live as a priest with the help of many believers so far. The same is true here. I am lacking in many ways, but I live with parishioners of St. Gregory like family. We will try to create a beautiful community in God’s eyes with believers here.

Won’t you join us?

Sunday Reflection from Father Marino

3/27/2022

What is a Catholic?

What is the difference between a Council and a Synod? -1

In the Acts of the Apostles, one of the earliest issues the Church had to confront was the admission of Gentile converts into the Christian faith. There were differing views regarding whether converts needed to abide by the law of Moses and be circumcised first in order to become a Christian. The first bishops of the Church met in Jerusalem to discuss the matter. This meeting of bishops has since been called the ‘Council of Jerusalem’ and was seen as a prototype for all gatherings of bishops where decisions had to be made for the benefit of the Church. But over the centuries there have developed two distinct types of these gatherings of Church leaders, one called a council, and another called a synod. But there is a difference. First, the Council is the assembly of the bishops, and the Synod is the assembly of the delegates. That is why the Synod is called the council of delegations. A Council is a conference in which voting rights are held. However, a Synod is a conference with only proposing.

Council

A council is a conference of bishops, but it is not a regular conference, but a conference when there are important matters to be discussed and decided. Council can be divided into two main types.

Ecumenical council. It is a conference where Catholic bishops from all over the world come together to discuss and decide on the main agenda of the universal Church. The power to convene, proceed, suspend, and dissolve councils' rests with the Pope. All bishops belonging to the episcopate have the right and the duty to attend and vote in universal councils. Decisions made by the council come into force when they are approved by the Pope and promulgated by order of the Pope. A total of 21 ecumenical councils have been held so far, and the last ecumenical council was the Second Vatican Council held in the Vatican from 1962 to 1965.

Local council. Local councils can be further divided into plenary councils and provincial councils. The plenary council is a conference convened when it deems necessary for all the individual churches (dioceses) in the region where the Episcopal Conference is held. Provincial councils may be convened when deemed necessary by a majority of the diocesan bishops of several individual churches in the same province. However, the convening of local councils, whether plenary or provincial, must be approved by the Pope. Also, decisions made by local councils can only be promulgated with the approval of the Pope. In local councils, all the bishops of the local church are present and exercise the right to vote. Non-bishops, such as abbot and diocesan general vicars, can only vote for proposing votes, even if they are present.

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