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WATCH: Bishop Koenig opens synod with Mass at Cathedral of St. Peter in Diocese of Wilmington

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“Examples of how the early Church journeyed together are seen in the Acts of the Apostles where we read how the first Apostles gathered together to choose someone to replace Judas who had betrayed Jesus. Or we see in Acts how Peter and Paul were “welcomed by the church, as well as by the apostles and presbyters” to discuss and discern together how Jewish religious practices fit into Christianity. In the centuries following the time of the Apostles and the first Christians, we read how local Churches gathered with their bishops to discuss matters related to their specific circumstances and how this grew to occasions when the gatherings were regional and eventually universal. With the close of the Second Vatican Council in 1965, St. Pope Paul VI, out of a desire to ensure that the collaboration between bishops, theologians, religious and lay faithful would continue, created the modern structure of the Synod of Bishops. And from Paul VI’s vision, the Church has held, since 1967, a Synod of Bishops every two to three years to examine an issue affecting the Church.”

Click here to read the entire homily from Bishop Koenig.