England is divided into the tvro provinces of Can- terbnry and York, and by the term Convocation is meant the synod or provincial council of those prov- inces. There are, thereforOi two convocations, each independent of the other; bat instances have flre- qnently occurred in which they have acted together by mutual consent. Commissioners have sometimes been sent from York to sit in the Convocation of Can- terbury, with full powers to act on behalf of the north- em Convocation. Since the Reformation, for obvious reasons, the legislation of the Church ofEngland was virtually in the hands of the southern Convocation. That of York seldom originated any important meas- ure, or persisted long in resisting the decisions of Can- terbury. It became at length the faint echo of its more favored sister's voice. The Convocation of Canterbury consists of all the bishops of the province, who constitute the upper house; and of the deans, archdeacons, proctors of chapters, and proctors for the parochial clergy, who compose the lower house. In 1867 the upper house of Canterbury consisted of 21 members, and that of York of 7 members ; while the lower house of Canterbury had 146 (namely, 24 deans, 56 archdeacons, 24 proctors for cathedral chapters, and 24 proctors for the clergy), and that of York 67 mem- bers (6 deans, 16 archdeacons, 7 proctors of the chap- ters, and 29 proctors for the clergy). As president, the archbishop summons the Convocation to meet at the command of the king. Were he to attempt to assemble a synod by his own authority, he would be subject to a praemunire, and the proceedings of such synod would be void. Since the Act of Submission the power to summon the Convocation at the commence- ment of a new Parliament has usual h' been granted, * though fVom the time of George I (1717) until recent- ly no business was transacted. It is also the duty of the archbishop to prorogue and dissolve the Convoca- tion, under tlie direction of the crown. Of late the convocations of Canterbury and York have been re- vived, and the revival of the Irish Convocation has been strenuously urged, especially by the High-Church party. The decisions of Convocation have no legal force in England. '^ As essentially interwoven with the State, the Church possesses no independent action ; its articles, liturgy, organization as to benefices, etc., are all regulated by Parliament ; while its discipline &lls within the scope of the ecclesiastical courts, a class of tribunals apart from the ministering clergy. The Church, therefore, in its distinct capacity, is left little to do in the way of jurisdiction. It is further urged, as a reason for restricting the power of Convo- cation, that, being purely sacerdotal, it migBt be apt to run into excesses, and put forth claims adverse to the prevailing tone of sentiment on religious matters ; that, in short, as things stand, it is safer for the pub- lic to be under the authority of Parliament than to l>e subject to the ordinances of a body of ecclesiastics'* Chambers, Encyclopedia, s. v.). There is an able ar- ticle against the revival of Convocations in the Edinb, Rev. Jan. 1867. For further information as to the his- tory of Convocation, see Collier, Ecdes. Hut. of Great Britain; Wilkins, Concilia Magna Britannia (London, 1787, 4 vols, fol.) ; Wake, State of the Ch. of England, etc. (Lond. 1708, fol., containing a large collection of documents on Convocation) ; Fellows, Conoocation: iU Origin^ Progress, and Authority, LegisUxUve and Judi- cial, with a Scheme for amending its Power and Consti- tution (Lond. 1852 ; proposes to establish one Convoca- tion instead of the three [2 English, 1 Irish] then in existence) ; Lathbury, Hist, of Convocation (Lond. 1853, 8vo, 2d ed.) ; Landon, Manual qf Councils, s. v. Lon- don; Card well, Documentary Annals (Oxf. 1844, 2 vols. 8vo); Marsden, Churches and Sects, p. 808 sq. ; Christ. Remembrancer, Oct. 1854, p. 869 ; Overall, Convocation Bool (Oxfoid, 1844, 8vo) ; Palmer, On the Church.
ConTtQsioxilstB, a term applied to penoos ^mbo were the subjects of fits, of which they were said to be cured by visiting the tomb of the abb6 Paris, a c^e^ brated zealot among the Jansenists. The name w& afterwards given, in France, to thpse whose farmtii^m or imposture caused them to work themselves up i^t the strongest agitations or convulsions, during whidi
, they received wonderfhl revelations, and ab«adonJed themselves to the most extravagant antics that weft
I ever exhibited. They threw themselves into the nost violent contortions of body, rolled about on the greaakd,
I imitated birds and beasts; and, when they had eon- pletely exhausted themselves, went off in a swtwa.
: Pinaidt, an advocate, who belonged to the Convul-
I sionists, maintained that God had sent him a pecslar kind of fits to humble his pride. See Jaissekibm.
Conybeare, John, D.D., a learned divine and
I dbtingtdshed preacher, was bom at Pinboe, Dena-
shire, in 1692, and was educated at Exeter College,
Oxford, of which he became fellow in 1710. In 1714
he became rector of St. Clement's, Oxford, and in 1737
, obtained great celebrity by his visitation sermon tm
I subscription. He was appointed rector of his odk^
. hi 1780, dean of Christ Church two years afla>, and
finally bishop of Bristol in 1760. He died at Bath,