CONVOCATION (Lat. convocatio, from con vocare, to call together, from corn-, together ± vocarc, to call, from cox, voice). An assembly of the clergy of the Church of England, analo gous in many respects to Parliament. at the same time with which it usually meets. As a factor in the development of English institutions, it is of great interest, being in some shape per haps older than Parliament, into which attempts were made to incorporate it in the reigns of Edward I. and Edward II. Convocation for merly exercised the right of enacting ecclesias tical legislation, and also of voting subsidies to the Crown: but the former right was greatly restricted under Henry VIII. and by later acts of Parliament, while the latter was abandoned in 1664, since which time the clergy have been taxed like other citizens. Certain convocations are of importance in the history of both Church and State in England; in particular that of 1529. which established the royal supremacy: that of 1562. which confirmed the Articles of Religion; that of 1603, which enacted an im portant body of canons; and that of 1661, which completed the revision of the Book of Common Prayer. About the beginning of the eighteenth century a factious spirit prevailed, so that the sittings of the Lower House were distinguished by contention with the bishops. Convocation was prorogued in 1717. and not again assembled until the revival of Church life in the nineteenth century caused a demand for the renewal of its sessions. By the influence of Bishops Wilber force, of Oxford, and Philpotts, of Exeter, the Convocation of Canterbury reassembled in 1S52 and that of York in 1S56, since which time their meetings have been regularly held. Each prov
ince has a convocation of its own. The Upper House is composed of the diocesan bishops; the Lower of bishops suffragan, deans, archdeacons, and certain representatives of the lower clergy, known as proctors; in. the Province of Canter bury they are elected by the beneficed clergy alone, while in that. of York all the clergy have a vote, sending one proctor for each arch deaconry. The Lower House in the southern province numbers about 160 members, in the northern about SO. While Convocation has no legislative functions nowadays, its discussions are of great interest to members of the Church of England. A `House of Laymen' has recently been organized, which, while not constitutionally forming a part of Convocations, discusses similar topics on parallel lines. Consult: Trevor, The Convocations of the Two Provinces: Their Origin, Constitution, and Forms of Proceeding, with a Chapter on Their Revival (Loudon, 1S54) ; Lath bury, .1 History of the Convocation of the Church of England to 1742 (London, 1842) ; Whitehead, Church Law (London, 1872).
In the University of Oxford, the term Convo cation is applied to the assembly composed of all masters of arts, non-resident as as resident, which finally accepts or rejects the statutes which have passed the narrower govern ing bodies, the Hebdomadal Council and Con gregation. See OxFonn UNIVERSITY.