In the early days of the church, most of the apostles thought that Jerusalem would be the headquarters of those who believed in Jesus as the Messiah. That was why even Peter did not leave there and stayed on in Jerusalem for a while. But things did not turn out as they had thought. The Jerusalem Council was probably held in the year 49 or 50 CE. Peter was still around. The Church in Jerusalem was almost entirely a church of Jewish believers. Among them also some who were Pharisses. However, the church that emerged in Antioch was mostly a church of Gentiles and Greek Jews. Some who came to Antioch from the church in Jerusalem, the center of Jewish culture, couldn't quite take the way the church was conducting there. Because although all disciples there accepted Jesus as the Christ and were believers, none of them were circumcised or kept the laws of purity in matters of food. They insisted that you cannot become a Christian without doing any of these things. Therefore the local church of Antioch sent Paul, Barnabas, and some others, including Titus, to the Apostles in Jerusalem, seeking for an explanation. It was against this background that the Apostles convened an important meeting known as the Jerusalem Council. It was enough that the Apostles present there to came together and arrived at a decision about the matter. Peter and John, and James, the "brother of the Lord," who was also considered an Apostle and the then head of the Jerusalem Church, were present there. However, they had summoned the elders of the Jerusalem Church (presbyters or the parochial pastors) and the disciples from the Pharisees (some of whom had gone to Antioch and occasioned the situation) to the meeting. Not only that, but the delegation of Paul, Barnabas, Titus, and others sent by the church at Antioch to resolve the doubts was also admitted to the council. Wasn’t it enough that the delegates from the Church of Antioch be allowed to present the issue and then be “led” out of the decision-making? Couldn’t they have just told them to leave?

Here, we see the approach of the early church community, the disciples of Christ. After a heated debate, having arrived at a decision, not only did they lavished encouragement upon Paul and Barnabas, but they also sent a delegation from among them to Antioch and even denounced the acts of some of them as unacceptable. The first Apostolic Council is the model for our time.

It shows that Synods consisting only of bishops is not in the tradition of the Church. When discussing an issue, the spirit of synodality seen in the Jerusalem Synod in the early Christian community, shows us that representatives of those affected - whether it be victims of abuse, ahgrievd women, or the sexual minorities - should also be present in the synods. Otherwise it may not adequately manifest the voice of the Holy Spirit.