Sobor

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In the Russian Orthodox Church and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, a sobor is a council of bishops together with other clerical and lay delegates representing the church as a whole in matters of importance. The name is derived from the Church Slavonic word for "assembly".

A sobor is distinct from a synod, which is a gathering composed only of bishops. Sobors are held irregularly, only as need arises; whereas a synod meets regularly and deals with the ordinary governance of the church. The presence of clerical and lay delegates is for the purpose of discerning the consensus of the church on important matters; however, the bishops from an upper house of the sobor, and the laity cannot overrule their decisions.

Important sobors in the History of the Russian Orthodox Church are:

The Stoglavy Sobor (Sobor of a Hundred Chapters) in 1551
The Moscow Sobor of 1666—1667, to deal with disputes surrounding the ecclesiastical reforms of Patriarch Nikon
The All-Russian Sobor of 1917, which restored the Moscow Patriarchate and elected Saint Tikhon as the first modern Patriarch of Moscow
The All-Russian Sobor of 1988, called on the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus' to guide the church in the wake of glasnost and the loosening of the Soviet grip over the church

A bishop may also call a sobor for his diocese, which again would have delegates from the clergy, monasteries and parishes of his diocese, to discuss important matters. Such diocesan sobors may be held annually or only occasionally.

Sobor, in this sense, should not be confused with a zemsky sobor, which in 16th and 17th century Russia was a high government council convened by the Tsar.