The Synod of Worcester was conducted by the Bishop of Worcester

Worcester

The City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...

, England, Walter de Cantilupe

Walter de Cantilupe

Walter de Cantilupe was a medieval Bishop of Worcester.-Life:He came of a family which had risen by devoted service to the crown...

 on July 26, 1240. The diocesan synod

Synod

A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...

 was held in his cathedral. A number of statutes were settled regarding godparents, the life of the clergy and lay people. Among these were that godparent

Godparent

A godparent, in many denominations of Christianity, is someone who sponsors a child's baptism. A male godparent is a godfather, and a female godparent is a godmother...

s must be three in number and that games of religious mockery were prohibited. Also forbidden to clergy was the playing of chess

Chess

Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...

.

These reformations were in keeping with the guidance of the Fourth Lateran Council of 1215.