Ecclesiastical Convocations
Convocation is also a synodical assembly of a church.
It is the name of the assemblies of the two Provinces of the Church of England, the Convocations of Canterbury and York, and various other assemblies of other churches. These two bodies of the Church of England were prorogued by Royal Writ in 1717, because of conflict between Whig Bishops and the clergy in the Bangorian controversy. They were revived in the 19th century, Canterbury in 1852 and York in 1861. They have always been exclusively clerical assemblies. However, in 1885 the Convocations agreed to the establishment of parallel Houses of Laity elected by the lay members of the diocesan conferences. These were not part of Convocation; they had no constitutional status and were merely advisory. At the beginning of the twentieth century, joint meetings of both Convocations formed a Representative Council which, having no power or legal authority, was superseded in 1920 by the Church Assembly. The Convocations still exist but legal power now rests with the General Synod set up in the 1970s.
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