In the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

, the endemic synod or () was the permanent standing synod of bishops of the

Patriarchate of Constantinople The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (, ; ; , "Roman Orthodox Patriarchate, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Istanbul") is one of the fifteen to seventeen autocephalous churches that together compose the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is headed ...

that met frequently but irregularly to deal with issues of discipline and dogma. It was convoked and presided over by the

patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Roman Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and ...

. The term was first used to refer to the Council of Constantinople of 448, but the custom of convoking all bishops visiting or living in or near

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

to a synod as needed was already common when it was formalized by the

Council of Chalcedon The Council of Chalcedon (; ) was the fourth ecumenical council of the Christian Church. It was convoked by the Roman emperor Marcian. The council convened in the city of Chalcedon, Bithynia (modern-day Kadıköy, Istanbul, Turkey) from 8 Oct ...

on 451. By the 9th century, the variable structure of the endemic synod had begun to crystallize. Only metropolitan bishops, autocephalous archbishops and the administrative functionaries of the patriarch (of which there were five) were permitted to attend meetings. The synod gathered after the death of a patriarch and proposed three names to the emperor to fill the vacancy, although the emperor was not bound by these. It also proposed three names to the patriarch upon the vacancy of a metropolitanate. The synod could on occasion be called by an emperor against a patriarch, as when Emperor Leo V deposed Patriarch

Nikephoros I Nikephoros I (; 750 – 26 July 811), also known as Nicephorus I, was Byzantine emperor from 802 to 811. He was General Logothete (finance minister) under Empress Irene, but later overthrew her to seize the throne for himself. Prior to becomi ...

in 815. During the 11th-century Byzantine–Seljuq wars, a number of bishops fled to Constantinople and the size of the synod increased. In 1054, Patriarch

Michael Keroularios Michael I of Constantinople (''Cerularius'' or ''Keroularios''; ; 1000 – 21 January 1059) was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1043 to 1059. His disputes with Pope Leo IX over church practices in the 11th century played a ro ...

convoked the synod at the height of the Great Schism. It was also convened to try John Italos for heresy in 1082. Under the Palaiologan emperors, the endemic synod continued to exist but there were frequent extraordinary synods, especially during the controversy over

Palamism Palamism or the Palamite theology comprises the teachings of Gregory Palamas (c. 1296 – 1359), whose writings defended the Eastern Orthodox practice of Hesychasm against the attack of Barlaam. Followers of Palamas are sometimes referred to a ...

. The lasted through the end of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

(1453) and continued under the

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

. In the 18th century, its remit was limited to strictly spiritual affairs and it was renamed the

Holy Synod In several of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Churches and Eastern Catholic Churches, the patriarch or head bishop is elected by a group of bishops called the Holy Synod. For instance, the Holy Synod is a ruling body of the Georgian Orthodox ...

. It was also put on a more permanent footing.E. B. Tellan (2019)
"The Patriarchate of Constantinople and the 'Reform of the Synod' in the 18th-Century Ottoman Context"
''Chronos'' 39: 7–22.

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