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The aim of the article is to verify the hypothesis that the institutions of diocesan synod in the perspective of the Roman Catholic Church and that of the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in the Republic of Poland are very similar. The method to achieve the aim is the comparable analysis of the legal provisions of the fundamental laws of the Churches which refer to diocesan synod. The general conclusion is that the institutions of diocesan synod seen in the two perspectives are completely incompatible. They are different institutions.

The present article provides an overview of the particular synods that have been conducted since the Second Vatican Council in Germany. It also takes into account those counseling processes that cannot be qualified as canonical synods.

Synods have a long tradition in the ecclesiastical history, though their significance varied in different epochs of the Roman Catholic Church. Within the European area, synods gained in importance after the Second Vatican Council, although they appeared in a new or rather modified form. This also applies to the diocesan synods and the Austrian Synodal Process (1973/1974), which took place after and has been celebrated by the supporters of the Second Vatican Council.

Quod omnes tangit, ab omnibus tractari et approbari debent. (Cardinal Congar) The canonists have been developing the rule of law of Western Europe. After there had been much debate (Acts 15:7), they decided together with the Holy Spirit. The Apostolic Nuncio gave the permission for lay persons (including women) to participate at the Synod. Synod ’72 is a process involving seven synods of local Churches in Switzerland. As an instrument of “processing” Vatican II, Synod ’72 discussed implementation options like Ecclesiastical Offices of the local Church. (LG 33; Paul VI’s Ministeria quaedam; John Paul II’s Christifedles laici; c. 228 CIC 1983). The tradition of shared decision-making of the baptised was been activated.

This article analyses the preparation, process and conclusions of the Plenary Council of the Catholic Church in the Czech Republic held in 1997—2005. The Plenary Council was one of the few manifestations of the collegiality of the Czech Church, because the diocesan synods are not used here as a tool. The Decree on convocation of the Assembly was announced by the Czech and Moravian bishops on 5 July 1997 in Velehrad. The council was also an opportunity for priests and laity in the country to realise their responsibility for the Church and the co-responsibility of the Church for the condition of society. The Council had a preparatory phase (1997—2003), a stage of the 1st Session (July 2003), and a second phase of the Session (July 2005) where the project was completed and followed by the process of post-conciliar steps. Three final messages were the immediate output from the Second Plenary Session: the Message of the Council to the Public; the Message of the Council to the Believers of the Catholic Church and the Message of the Council to Christians in the Czech Republic. The resulting document was published in 2007 under the title The Life and Mission of Christians in the Church and the World. It was a document of a pastoral nature, in no way of a normative nature (no rules were actually adopted despite the work of the commission and the proposals). The Czech situation is described as “post-Christian missionary territory” there and — estimated the course of the conciliar process and of the Council itself — as an introduction of more intensive implementation of synodality in the Czech Church.

Wiosna Kościoła. Odnowa Charyzmatyczna w dokumentach episkopatów i komisji teologicznych różnych krajów świata [Spring of the Church.
Charismatic Renewal in the Documents of the Episcopal Commissions for Theology around the World]. Eds. Salamon, J. A. Liberadzka, M. Sowińska. Cieszyn: Wydawnictwo Zacheusz, 2019, 334 pp. - the review.

Janusz Mariański: Nowa religijność i duchowość — mit czy rzeczywistość?
[New Religiosity and Spirituality — a Myth or Reality?]. Warszawa 2019, 265 pp. - the review.

Spiritual Care in Public Institutions in Europe. Eds. J. R. Tretera, Z. Horák, Z. Horák. Berlin: Berliner Wissenschafts-Verlag, 2019, 140 pp. - the review.

Notes on contributors