synod

noun4

1. •
   An ecclesiastic council or meeting to consult on church matters.

   • Addressing a number of previously taboo topics, this synod could result in several liberalizing reforms, though there is no guarantee that it will produce anything at all. — 2023
2. •
   An assembly or council having civil authority (formal); a legislative body.

   • It hath in solemn synods been decreed. — 1594
3. •
   An administrative division of churches, either the entire denomination, as in the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, or a mid-level division (middle judicatory, district) as in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
4. •
   A conjunction of two or more of the heavenly bodies.