SG Heritage Dictionary

Convocation [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1828

1. The act of calling or assembling by summons.

2. An assembly.

3. In the first day there shall be a holy convocation Exodus 12:16 .

4. In England, an assembly of the clergy, by their representatives, to consult on ecclesiastical affairs. It is held during the session of parliament, and consists of an upper and lower house. In the upper house sit the archbishops and bishops; in the lower house sit the inferior clergy, represented by their proctors, consisting of all the deans and arch-deacons, of one proctor for every chapter, and two for the clergy of every diocese, in all one hundred and forty-three divines, vix. Twenty-two deans, fifty-three arch-deacons, twenty-four prebendaries, and forty-four proctors of the diocesan clergy.

5. An academical assembly, in which the business of the university is transacted.

Convocation [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1913

1. The act of calling or assembling by summons.

2. An assembly or meeting.

3. An assembly of the clergy, by their representatives, to consult on ecclesiastical affairs.

4. An academical assembly, in which the business of the university is transacted.

Convocation Encyclopedia Britannica

CONVOCATION, an assembly of the spirituality of the realm of England, which is summoned by the metropolitan archbishops of Canterbury and of York respectively, within their ecclesiastical provinces, pursuant to a royal writ, whenever the Parliament of the realm is summoned, and which is also continued or discharged, as the case may be, whenever the Parliament is prorogued or dissolved. This assembly of the spirituality, which is at present summoned only in pursuance of a writ from the Crown, differs in its constitution and in the purport for which it is summoned from an ordinary provincial council, such as the two metropolitan archbishops of England have also been in the habit of summoning from time to time; for whereas the ordinary provincial councils of the metropolitans have comprised only the bishops of their respective provinces, with whom, however, the deans and the abbots and other governing dignitaries of the church have been on occasions associated, the Convocations of the two provinces have always comprised a definite number of representatives of the clergy of the chapters and of the beneficed cbrgy of the several dioceses. Further, whereas the purport of an ordinary provincial council is to consult on matters which concern the faith or the peace of the church as a religious body, the Convocations are called together to treat of matters which concern the Crown, and the security and defence of the Church of England, and the tranquillity, public good, and defence of the realm itself. All these subjects are specified as probable matters for deliberation in the royal writs, under which the archbishops are commanded to call together their respective Convocations. These assemblies would thus appear to be integral parts of the body politic of the realm of England; ...

The form of the royal writ, which it is customary to issue in the present day to the metropolitan of each province, is identical in its purport with the writ issued by the Crown in 1283 to the metropolitan of the province of Canterbury, after the clergy of that province had refused to meet at Northampton in the previous year, because they had not been summoned in lawful manner; whilst the mandates issued by the metropolitans in pursuance of the royal writs, and the citations issued by the bishops in pursuance of the mandates of their respective metropolitans, are identical in their purport and form with those used in summoning the Convocation of 1283, which met at the New Temple in the city of London, and voted a “benevolence” to the Crown, as having been convoked in lawful manner. The existing constitution of the convocation of the province of Canterbury—and the same observation will apply to that of the province of York—in respect of its comprising representatives of the chapters and of the beneficed clergy, in addition to the bishops and other dignitaries of the church, would thus appear to be of even more ancient date than the existing constitution of the Parliament of the realm; for the council of the realm, to which representatives of the counties and of the boroughs were for the first time summoned to the same place with the barons, to meet the king at Shrewsbury in the same year (1283) in which the Convocation of the province of Canterbury was summoned to the New Temple, differed in several important particulars from the Parliament of the realm, as at present constituted, although it is sometimes styled the Parliament of Shrewsbury, or of Acton Burnell. It was, in fact, an extraordinary council, to which the prelates, who were a constituent part of the Commune Concilium of the realm, were not. summoned, its object being to try David, the brother of Llewelyn, prince of Wales, who had surrendered himself a prisoner, on a charge of high treason against the Crown of England. The barons alone appear to have tried and condemned the prisoner, as far as may be inferred from the language of the annalists, although the commons may have been allowed a consultative voice. At all events the commons agreed with the barons in voting an “aid” of a thirtieth to support the king’s expedition into Wales, and the issuing of the ordinance known as the “Statutum de Mercatoribus” concluded the business for which the council was summoned. The settled constitution of Parliament as it exists in the present day was not completed until 1295 (23 Edward I.), when the representatives of the commons were summoned to the same place with the barons, and the clergy as a body were also convened with the laity, under a novel clause known as the “praemunientes” clause, which was inserted in the writs issued by the Crown directly to the bishops.

From this period down to the eleventh year of the reign of Edward III. there were continual contests between the spirituality of the realm and the Crown,—the spirituality contending for their constitutional right to vote their subsidies in their provincial Convocations; the Crown, on the other hand, insisting on the immediate attendance of the clergy in Parliament. The resistance of the clergy to the innovation of the “praemunientes” clause had so far prevailed in the reign of Edward II. that the Crown consented to summon the clergy to Parliament through their metropolitans, and a special form of provincial writ was for that purpose framed; but the clergy protested against this writ, and the struggle was maintained between the spirituality and the Crown until 1337 (11 Edward III.), when the Crown reverted to the ancient practice of commanding the metropolitans to call together their clergy in their provincial assemblies, where their subsidies were voted in the manner as accustomed before the “praemunientes” clause was introduced. The “praemunientes” clause, however, was continued in the Parliamentary writs issued to the several bishops of both provinces, whilst the bishops were permitted to neglect at their pleasure the execution of the writs. It is a moot question, in which of the two Houses of Parliament the representatives of the chapters and of the beneficed clergy sat, when summoned to Parliament, and whether they had a deliberative vote, or only a consultative voice. According to the “Modus tenendi Parliamentum” the proctors of the clergy sat and voted in the Lower House of Parliament. ’ But the authority of that treatise has been impugned by many writers, because the introductory paragraph announces it to be a description of the manner of holding a Parliament in the time of King Edward, the son of Ethelred, and of William the Conqueror and his successors. The treatise itself, however, is not a mere imposture, as Dr Hody has contended in his History of English Councils and Convocations. It is found in several MSS. of the 14th century, and the Parliamentary writs and records of the reign of Edward II. warrant us in regarding it as a treatise framed after the actual constitution of Parliament in the reign of that king. This treatise contains a chapter entitled “De Auxilio Regi,” in which it is explicitly stated that the proctors of the clergy sat in the Lower House, and voted as members of the Commons on all questions which required the consent of Parliament. " Ideo oportet, quod omnia quae affirmari vel infirmari, concedi vel negari, vel fieri debent per Parliamentum, per communitatem Parliamenti concedi debent, quae est ex tribus gradibus sive generibus Parliamenti, scflicet ex procuratoribus cleri, militibus comitatuum, civibus et burgensibus, qui repraesentant totam communitatem; et non de magnatibus, quia quilibet eorum est pro sua propria persona ad Parliamentum, et pro nulla alia.” This view is borne out by the language of the petition of the Lower House itself in the Convocation of 1547 (1 Edward VI.), that “according to the ancient custom of this realm and the tenor of the king’s writs for the summoning of the Parliament, which be now, and ever have been, directed to the bishops of every diocese, the clergy of the Lower House of Convocation may be adjoined and associated with the Lower House of Parliament” (Cardwell’s Synodalia, p. 421). The weight of evidence would thus seem to be in favour of the view that the proctors of the clergy, when summoned to Parliament under the “praemunientes” clause, sat and voted in the Lower House of Parliament, which is not altogether irreconcilable with the statement in Lord Coke’s Fourth Institute, that the proctors of the clergy never had a voice in Parliament, “because they were no lords of Parliament.” The reason alleged in this passage of the Fourth Institute is clearly inadequate as regards the Lower House, inasmuch as the magnates were excluded from it; but if the compiler of the Fourth Institute had in view the Upper House he is justified in saying that the proctors of the clergy did not vote in that House.

It has been matter of controversy between divines’and lawyers, whether the Convocations of the two provinces are properly to be regarded as high courts of the spirituality of the realm of England, or as ecclesiastical councils of their respective metropolitans. The divines prefer to regard them as provincial councils, although perhaps in so doing they unconsciously depreciate them. It may be admitted that there is nothing in the constitution of either Convocation which is inconsistent with its being a provincial council sui generis, as the constituent elements of provincial councils vary indefinitely according to the custom of different national churches,—for instance the parochial clergy, whose presence by their representatives is a remarkable feature of the Convocation of the two provinces, have been allowed to appear by their representatives in more than one provincial council of the ancient Gallican Church; but the Convocations of the province of Canterbury and of York, as summoned in pursuance of a royal writ, are assuredly something more than ecclesiastical councils of their respective metropolitans. There is the high authority of Lord Coke for regarding the Convocations of the two provinces as courts of the spirituality, and the Upper House of Convocation is by statute (24 Henry VIII. ch. 12) constituted the high court of appeal in matters in which the Crown is a party in any cause before an ecclesiastical court. Perhaps the true solution of the controversy will be found in distinguishing' the Upper House of Convocation from the Lower House, and just as the Upper House of Parliament is the High Court of Parliament which exercises the judicial functions of the Parliament, so the Upper House of Convocation is the High Court of Convocation^ the Lower House having the right to make presentments to the Upper House in like manner as the Lower House of Parliament has the right to prefer impeachments before the Upper House of Parliament, but not to take part in adjudicating upon them. There is, indeed, an instance on record of a kind of cumulative vote of the Lower House of Convocation in 1640, when it added its voice to that oi the Upper House in suspending a member of the Upper House (the bishop of Gloucester) from his office and benefice; but this was rather a question touching the privileges of the two Houses in a business which they considered to have brought scandal on the proceedings of the Convocation, the bishop of Gloucester having refused to conform himself to a resolution of both Houses in a matter of subscription to certain new canons. This, however, is not a precedent of a safe period. There is, indeed, another point of view from which the Convocation appears to have all the attributes of a high court of the metropolitan, inasmuch as the metropolitan, when he presides, or his commissary in the absence of the metropolitan, has the coercive power of an ecclesiastical judge in respect of the members of the Convocation: he directs absolutely the course of business; he may pronounce the members contumacious and punish their contumacy by suspension from office, or by sequestration of benefice, and at his pleasure may remit the penalties, and upon submission absolve the offender. He may further suspend the sittings of Convocation when he sees fit, and may continue them to such times as he thinks proper; and a schedule, or written sentence of continuation and prorogation at the termination of each session, is signed by the archbishop or his commissary, in which he is described as “judicially sitting.” A curious argument has been raised in modern times upon the wording of certain ancient schedules in which it is recited that the archbishop has continued and prorogued the Convocation to acertain day “cum consensu confratrum suorum.” It has been contended that these recitals are not consistent with the claim of the metropolitan to prorogue the Convocation at his pleasure. But this argument is founded on a total misconception of the object of these recitals, which was to save the legal right of the metropolitan to pronounce the bishops and clergy contumacious, if they should not attend on the day to which the Convocation was continued. Of strict right the members of Convocation were not liable to be pronounced in contempt, unless they had been cited in lawful manner to attend upon the archbishop on a given day; but if they were consenting parties to the continuation of the sittings of the Convocation to a future day, and their consent was recorded in the instrument of continuation, which is read aloud before it is signed by the metropolitan, they would thereby be perempted of all excuse for non-attendance on the plea that they had not been duly cited. Such we conceive to be the true meaning of this clause, which is rarely found in the older schedules, but occurs frequently in the schedules of the most turbulent period of the history of Convocation, namely, during the reign of Queen Anne. It was probably inserted in those schedules, ex majori cautela, after an ancient precedent with which the registrar of the Convocation was familiar. This much, however, is certain, that the phrase does not occur in any schedule of prorogation, which is not also a schedule of continuation of the sittings of Convocation to a further day.

The history of the Convocation of the province of Canterbury, as at present constituted, is full of stirring incidents, and it resolves itself readily into five periods. The first period, by which is meant the first period which dates from an epoch of authentic history, is the period of its greatest freedom, but not of its greatest activity. It extends from the reign of Edward I. (1283) to that of Henry VIII. The second period is the period of its greatest activity and of its greatest usefulness, and it extends from the twenty-fifth year of the reign of Henry VIII. to the reign of Charles II. The third period extends from the fifteenth year of the reign of Charles II. (1664) to the reign of George I. This was a .period of turbulent activity and little usefulness, and the anarchy of the Lower House of Convocation during this period has created a strong prejudice against the revival of Convocation in the mind of the laity. The fourth period extends from the third year of the reign of George I. (1716) to the fifteenth year of the reign of Queen Victoria. This was a period of torpid inactivity, during which it was customary for Convocation to be summoned and to meet pro forma, and to be continued and prorogued indefinitely. The fifth period may be considered to have commenced in the fifteenth year of the reign of Queen Victoria (1852), and it would be premature to pronounce an opinion upon its character. It has not hitherto had to pass through any severe ordeal of political strife.

During the first of the five periods above mentioned, it would appear from the records preserved aí Lambeth and at York that the metropolitans frequently convened congregations (so-called) of their clergy without the authority of a royal writ, which were constituted precisely as the Convocations were constituted, when the metropolitans were commanded to call their clergy together pursuant to a writ from the Crown. As soon, however, as King Henry VIII. had obtained from the clergy their acknowledgment of the supremacy of the Crown in all ecclesiastical causes, he constrained the spirituality to declare, by what has been termed the Act of Submission on behalf of the clergy, that the Convocation “is, always has been, and ought to be summoned by authority of a royal writ;” and this declaration was embodied in a statute of the realm (25 Henry VIII, c. 19), which further enacted that the Convocation “should thenceforth make no provincial canons, constitutions, or ordinances without the royal assent and licence.” The spirituality was thus more closely incorporated than heretofore in the body politic of the realm, seeing that no deliberations on its part can take place unless the Crown has previously granted its licence for such deliberations. It had been already provided during this period by 8 Henry VI. c. 1, that the prelates and other clergy, with their servants and attendants, when called to the Convocation pursuant to the king’s writ, should enjoy the same liberty and defence in coming, tarrying, and returning as the magnates and the commons of the realm enjoy when summoned to the king’s Parliament.

The second period, which dates from 1533 to 1664, has been distinguished by four important assemblies of the spirituality of the realm in pursuance of a royal writ—the two first of which occurred in the reign of Edward VI., the third in the reign of Qαeen Elizabeth, and the fourth in the reign of Charles II. The two earliest of these Convocations were summoned to complete the work of the reformation of the Church of England, which had been commenced by Henry VIII.; the third was called together to reconstruct that work, which had been marred on the accession of Mary, the consort of Philip II. of Spain; whilst the fourth was summoned to re-establish the Church of England, the framework of which had been demolished during the great rebellion. On all of these occasions the Convocations worked hand in hand with the Parliament of the realm under a licence and with the assent of the Crown. Meanwhile the Convocation of 1603 had framed a body of canons for the governance of the clergy. Another Convocation requires a passing notice, in which certain canons were drawn up in 1640, but by reason of an irregularity in the proceedings of this Convocation (chiefly, on the ground that its sessions were continued for some time after the Parliament of the realm had been dissolved), its canons are not held to have any binding obligation on the clergy. The Convocations had up to this time maintained their liberty of voting the subsidies of the clergy in the form of “benevolences,” separate and apart from the “aids” granted by the laity in Parliament, and one of the objections taken to the proceedings of the Convocation of 1640 was that it had continued to sit and to vote its subsidies to the Crown after the Parliament itself had been dissolved. It is not, therefore, surprising on the restoration cf the monarchy in 1661 that the spirituality was not anxious...

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Convocational [Adjective] Webster's Dictionary 1913

Of or pertaining to a convocation.

Convocationist [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1913

An advocate or defender of convocation.

King James Bible KJV Bible

Berean Standard Bible BSB Bible

18 KJV and 1 BSB verses contain “convocation”

Exodus 12:16

And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you.

On the first day you are to hold a sacred assembly, and another on the seventh day. You must not do any work on those days, except to prepare the meals—that is all you may do.

Leviticus 23:2

Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts.

“Speak to the Israelites and say to them, ‘These are My appointed feasts, the feasts of the LORD that you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies.

Leviticus 23:3

Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.

For six days work may be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, a day of sacred assembly. You must not do any work; wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to the LORD.

Leviticus 23:4

These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons.

These are the LORD’s appointed feasts, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times.

Leviticus 23:7

In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.

On the first day you are to hold a sacred assembly; you are not to do any regular work.

Leviticus 23:8

But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD seven days: in the seventh day is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.

For seven days you are to present an offering made by fire to the LORD. On the seventh day there shall be a sacred assembly; you must not do any regular work.’”

Leviticus 23:21

And ye shall proclaim on the selfsame day, that it may be an holy convocation unto you: ye shall do no servile work therein: it shall be a statute for ever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.

On that same day you are to proclaim a sacred assembly, and you must not do any regular work. This is to be a permanent statute wherever you live for the generations to come.

Leviticus 23:24

Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation.

“Speak to the Israelites and say, ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of rest, a sacred assembly announced by trumpet blasts.

Leviticus 23:27

Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD.

“The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. You shall hold a sacred assembly and humble yourselves, and present an offering made by fire to the LORD.

Leviticus 23:35

On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.

On the first day there shall be a sacred assembly. You must not do any regular work.

Leviticus 23:36

Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein.

For seven days you are to present an offering made by fire to the LORD. On the eighth day you are to hold a sacred assembly and present an offering made by fire to the LORD. It is a solemn assembly; you must not do any regular work.

Leviticus 23:37

These are the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD, a burnt offering, and a meat offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, every thing upon his day:

These are the LORD’s appointed feasts, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies for presenting offerings by fire to the LORD—burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, each on its designated day.

Numbers 28:18

In the first day shall be an holy convocation; ye shall do no manner of servile work therein:

On the first day there is to be a sacred assembly; you must not do any regular work.

Numbers 28:25

And on the seventh day ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work.

On the seventh day you shall hold a sacred assembly; you must not do any regular work.

Numbers 28:26

Also in the day of the firstfruits, when ye bring a new meat offering unto the LORD, after your weeks be out, ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work:

On the day of firstfruits, when you present an offering of new grain to the LORD during the Feast of Weeks, you are to hold a sacred assembly; you must not do any regular work.

Numbers 29:1

And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work: it is a day of blowing the trumpets unto you.

“On the first day of the seventh month, you are to hold a sacred assembly, and you must not do any regular work. This will be a day for you to sound the trumpets.

Numbers 29:7

And ye shall have on the tenth day of this seventh month an holy convocation; and ye shall afflict your souls: ye shall not do any work therein:

On the tenth day of this seventh month, you are to hold a sacred assembly, and you shall humble yourselves; you must not do any work.

Numbers 29:12

And on the fifteenth day of the seventh month ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work, and ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days:

On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, you are to hold a sacred assembly; you must not do any regular work, and you shall observe a feast to the LORD for seven days.

Isaiah 1:13

Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.

Bring your worthless offerings no more; your incense is detestable to Me— your New Moons, Sabbaths, and convocations. I cannot endure iniquity in a solemn assembly.