Parliament and the convocations frequently met together, or within short intervals of one another, but there was no fixed rule. From 1559 to 1640, and again from 1661 to 1966, the Canterbury convocation was invariably summoned to meet one day after parliament, and was dissolved at the same time. By a statute (1966, c. 2) which received the royal assent on 24 February 1966, this ancient connexion was formally dissolved. The York convocation normally met and was dissolved a few days later.

The following table gives the dates of all English parliaments from 1272 until 1558, with the opening date of the Canterbury convocation expressed as a number of days before (indicated by a -) or after (indicated by a +) the opening date of parliament.