Deacons

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The namedeacon (diakonos) means only minister or servant, and is employed in this sense both in theSeptuagint (though only in thebook of Esther, e.g.2:2;6:3) and in theNew Testament (e.g.Matthew 20:28;Romans 15:25;Ephesians 3:7; etc.). But in Apostolic times the word began to acquire a more definite and technical meaning. Writing about 63 A.D.St. Paul addresses "all thesaints who are atPhilippi, with thebishops and deacons" (Philippians 1:1). A few years later (1 Timothy 3:8 sq.) he impresses upon Timothy that "deacons must be chaste, not double tongued, not given to much wine, notgreedy of filthy lucre, holding the mystery offaith in a pureconscience." He directs further that they must "first be proved: and so let them minister, having no crime", and he adds that they should be the husbands of one wife: who rule well their children and their own houses. For they that have ministered well shall purchase to themselves a good degree, and much confidence in thefaith which is inChrist Jesus." This passage is worthy of note, not only because it describes the qualities desirable in candidates for the diaconate, but also because it suggests that external administration and the handling of money were likely to form part of their functions.

Origin and early history of the diaconate

According to the constant tradition of theCatholicChurch, the narrative ofActs 6:1-6, which serves to introduce the account of themartyrdom ofSt. Stephen, describes the first institution of the office of deacon. The Apostles, in order to meet the complaints of the HellenisticJews that, "theirwidows were neglected in the daily ministrations" (diakonia), called together

the multitude of the disciples and said: It is not reason that we should leave the word ofGod and serve (diakonein) tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continuously toprayer, and to the ministry of the word (te diakonia tou logou). And the saying was liked by all the multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man full offaith, and of the Holy Ghost

(with six others who are named). These they placed "before the Apostles; and they,praying, imposed hands upon them."

Now, on the ground that the Seven are not expressly called deacons and that some of them (e.g.St. Stephen, and laterPhillip (Acts 21:8) preached and ranked next to the Apostles,Protestant commentators have constantly raised objections against the identification of this choice of the Seven with the institution of the diaconate. But apart from the fact that the tradition among theFathers is both unanimous and early — e.g.St. Irenaeus (Adv. Haer., III, xii, 10 and IV, xv, 1) speaks of St. Stephen as the first deacon — the similarity between the functions of the Seven who served the tables and those of the early deacons is most striking. Compare, for example, both with the passage from the Acts with 1 Timothy 3:8 sq., quoted above, the following sentence fromHermas (Sim., IX, 26):

They that have spots are the deacons that exercised their office ill and plundered the livelihood ofwidows andorphans and made gains for themselves from the ministrations they had received to perform.

Or, again,St. Ignatius (Ep. ii to the Trallians):

Those who are deacons of the mysteries ofJesus Christ must please all men in all ways. For they are not deacons of meats and drinks [only] but servants of thechurch of God.

St. Clement of Rome (about A.D. 95) clearly describes the institution of deacons along with that ofbishops as being the work of the Apostles themselves (Ep. Clem., xlii). Further, it should be noted that ancient tradition limited the number of deacons atRome to seven (Eusebius,Church History VI.43), and that a canon of the council of Neo-Caesarea (325) prescribed the same restriction for all cities, however large, appealing directly to theActs of the Apostles as a precedent. We seem, therefore, thoroughly justified in identifying the functions of the Seven with those of the deacons of whom we hear so much in theApostolic Fathers and the early councils. Established primarily to relieve thebishops andpresbyters of their more secular and invidiousduties, notably in distributing thealms of thefaithful, we need not do more than recall the large place occupied by theagapae, orlove feasts, in the early worship of theChurch, to understand how readily theduty of serving at tables may have passed into the privilege of serving at the altar. They became the natural intermediaries between the celebrant and the people. Inside theChurch they made public announcements, marshaled the congregation, preserved order, and the like. Outside of it they were thebishop's deputies in secular matters, and especially in the relief of the poor. Their subordination and generalduties of service seem to have been indicated by their standing during the public assemblies of theChurch, while thebishops andpriests were seated. It should be noticed that along with these functions probably went a large share in the instruction ofcatechumens and preparation of the altar services. Even in theActs of the Apostles (8:38) theSacrament of Baptism is administered by the deacon Phillip.

An attempt has recently been made, though regarded by many as somewhat fanciful, to trace the origin of the diaconate to the organization of those primitive HellenisticChristian communities, which in the earliest age of theChurch had all things in common, being supported by thealms of thefaithful. For these it is contended that some steward (oeconomus) must have been appointed to administer their temporal affairs. (See Leder, Die Diakonen der Bischöfe und Presbyter, 1905). The full presentment of the subject is somewhat too intricate and confused to find place here. We must content ourselves with noting that less difficulty attends the same writer's theory of the derivation of the judicial and administrative functions of thearchdeacon from theduties imposed upon one selected member of the diaconal college, who was called thebishop's deacon (diaconus episcopi) because to him was committed the temporal administration of funds and charities for which thebishop was primarily responsible. This led in time to a certain judicial and legal position and to the surveillance of the subordinateclergy. But for all this seeA.

Duties of deacons

1. That some, if not all, members of the diaconal college were everywhere stewards of theChurch funds and of thealms collected forwidows andorphans is beyond dispute. We findSt. Cyprian speaking of Nicostratus as having defraudedwidows andorphans as well as robbed theChurch (Cypr., Ep. xlix, ad cornelium). Such speculation was all the easier because the offerings passed through their hands, at any rate to a large degree. Those gifts which the people brought and which were not made directly to thebishop were presented to him through them (Apost. Const., II, xxvii) and on the other hand they were to distribute the oblations (eulogias) which remained over after the Liturgy had been celebrated among the different orders of theclergy according to certain fixed proportions. It was no doubt that from such functions as these thatSt. Jerome calls the deaconmensarum et viduarum minister (Hieron. Ep. Ad. Evang.). They sought out the sick and thepoor, reporting to thebishop upon their needs and following his direction in all things (Apost. Const., III, xix, and xxxi, xxxii). They were also to invite agedwomen and probably others as well, to the agapae. Then with regard to thebishop they were to relieve him of his more laborious and less important functions and in this way they came to exercise a certain measure ofjurisdiction in the simpler cases which were submitted to his decision. Similarly, they sought out and reproved offenders as his deputies. In fine, as the Apostolic Constitutions declare (II, xliv) they were to be his "ears and eyes and mouth and heart", or, as it is laid down elsewhere, "hissoul and his senses." (psyche kai aisthesis) (Apost., Const., III, xix).

2. Again, as the Apostolic Constitutions further explain in some detail, the deacons were the guardians of order in the church. They saw that the faithful occupied their proper places, that none gossiped or slept. They were to welcome the poor and aged and to take care that they were not at a disadvantage as to their position in church. They were to stand at the men's gate as janitors to see that during the Liturgy none came in or went out, and asSt. Chrysostom says in general terms: "if anyone misbehave let the deacon be summoned" (Hom. xxiv, in Act. Apost.). Besides this they were largely employed in the direct ministry of the altar, preparing thesacred vessels and bringing water for the ablutions, etc., though in later times many of theseduties devolved uponclerics of an inferior grade. Most especially were they conspicuous by their marshaling and directing the congregation during the service. Even to the present day, as will be remembered, such announcements asIte, missa est, Flectamus genua, Procedamus in pace, are always made by the deacon; though this function was more pronounced in the early ages. The following from the newly discovered "Testament of Our Lord", a document of the end of the fourth century, may be quoted as an interesting example of a proclamation such as was made by the deacon just before theAnaphora:

Let us arise; let eachknow his own place. Let thecatechumens depart. See that no unclean, no carelessperson is here. Lift up the eyes of your hearts.Angels look upon us. See, let him who is withoutfaith depart. Let no adulterer, no angry man be here. If anyone be a slave ofsin let him depart. See, let us supplicate as children of the light. Let us supplicate our Lord andGod and Savior,Jesus Christ.

3. The specialduty of the deacon to read the Gospel seems to have been recognized from an early period, but it does not at first appear to have been so distinctive as it has become in theWestern Church.Sozomen says of the church of Alexandria that the Gospel might only be read by thearchdeacon, but elsewhere ordinary deacons performed that office, while in other churches, again it devolved upon thepriests. It may be this relation to the Gospel which led to the direction in the Apostolic Constitutions (VIII, iv), that the deacons should hold the book of the Gospels open over the head of abishop elect during theceremony of hisconsecration. With the reading of the Gospel should also probably be connected the occasional, though rare, appearance of the deacon in the office of preacher. The second Council ofVaison (529) declared that apriest might preach in his ownparish, but that when he was ill a deacon should read ahomily by one of theFathers of the Church, urging that deacons, being held worthy to read the Gospel were a fortiori worthy of reading a work of human authorship. Actual preaching by a deacon, however, despite the precedent of the deacon Philip, was at all periods rare, and theArianbishop of Antioch, Leontius, was censured for letting his deacon Aëtius preach. (Philostorgias, III, xvii). On the other hand, the greatest preacher of the East Syrian Church,Ephraem Syrus, is said by all the early authorities to have been only a deacon, though a phase in his own writings (Opp. Syr., III, 467, d) throws somedoubt upon the fact. But the statement attributed to Hilarius Diaconus,nunc neque diaconi in popolo praedicant (nor do the deacons now preach to the people), undoubtedly represents the ordinary rule, both in the fourth century and later.

4. With regard to the great action of the Liturgy it seems clear that the deacon held at all times, both in East and West, a very special relation to thesacred vessels and to the host andchalice both before and afterconsecration. The Council ofLaodicea (can, xxi) forbade the inferior orders of theclergy to enter thediaconicum or touch thesacred vessels, and a canon of the first Council of Toledo pronounces that deacons who have been subjected to public penance must in future remain with thesubdeacons and thus be withdrawn from the handling of these vessels. On the other hand, though thesubdeacon afterward invaded their functions, it was originally the deacons alone who

A question arose as to whether deacons might give communion topriests but the practice was forbidden as unseemly by the first Council of Nicaea (Hefele-LeClercq, I, 610-614). In these functions which we may trace back to the time ofJustin Martyr (First Apology 65-67; cf.Tertullian, De Spectac., xxv, andCyprian,De Lapsis 25) it was repeatedly insisted, in restraint of certain pretensions, that the deacon's office was entirely subordinate to that of the celebrant, whetherbishop orpriest (Apost. Const., VIII, xxviii, xlvi; and Hefele-LeClercq, I, 291 and 612). Although certain deacons seem locally to have usurped the power of offering theHoly Sacrifice (offerre), this abuse was severely repressed in theCouncil of Arles (314), and there is nothing to support theidea that the deacon was in any proper sense was held toconsecrate thechalice, as even Onslow (in Dict. Christ., Ant., I, 530) fully allows, though a rather rhetorical phrase ofSt. Ambrose (De Offic., Min., I, xli) has suggested the contrary. Still the care of thechalice has remained the deacon's special province down to modern times. Even now in a high Mass therubrics direct that when thechalice is offered, the deacon is to support the foot of thechalice or the arm of thepriest and to repeat with him the words:Offerimus tibi, Domine, calicem salutris, etc. As a careful study of the first "Ordo Romanus" shows, thearchdeacon of thepapal Mass seems in a sense to preside over thechalice, and it is he and his fellow-deacons who, after the people have communicated under the form of bread, present to them thecalicem ministerialem with the Precious Blood.

5. The deacons were also intimately associated with the administration of theSacrament of Baptism. They were not, indeed, as a rule allowed themselves tobaptize apart from grave necessity (Apost. Const., VII, xlvi expressly rejects any inference that might be drawn from Philip'sbaptism of the eunuch), but inquiries about the candidates, their instruction and preparation, the custody of thechrism — which the deacons were to fetch whenconsecrated — and occasionally the actual administration of the Sacrament as thebishop's deputies, seem to have formed part of their recognized functions. Thus,St. Jerome writes: "sine chrismate et episcopi jussione neque presbyteri neque diaconi jus habiant baptizandi." (Withoutchrism and the command of thebishop neitherpresbyters nor deacons have the right ofbaptizing. — "Dial. c. Luciferum", iv) Analogous to this charge was their position in the penitential system. As a rule their action was only intermediary and preparative, and it is interesting to note how prominent is the part played by thearchdeacon as intercessor in the form for the reconciliation of penitents onMaundy Thursday still printed in the Roman Pontifical. But certain phrases in early documents suggest that in cases of necessity the deacons sometimes absolved. ThusSt. Cyprian writes (Ep., xviii, 1) that if "nopriest can be found and death seems imminent, sufferers can also make the confession of theirsins to a deacon, that by laying his hand upon them in penance they may come to the Lord in peace" (ut mano eis in poenitetiam imposita veniant ad dominum cum pace). Whether in this and similar cases there can have been a question of sacramentalabsolution is much debated, but certainCatholictheologians have not hesitated about returning an affirmative answer. (See, e.g. Rauschen, Eucharistie und Buss-Sakrament, 1908, p. 132) There can be nodoubt that in theMiddle Ages confession in case of necessity was often made to the deacon; but then it was equally made to alayman, and, in the impossibility ofHoly Viaticum, even grass was devoutly eaten as a sort of spiritual communion.

To sum up, the various functions discharged by the deacons are thus concisely stated bySt. Isidore of Seville, in the seventh century, in his epistle to Leudefredus: "To the deacons it belongs to assist thepriests and to serve [ministrare] in all that is done in the Sacraments ofChrist, inbaptism, to wit, in theholy chrism, in thepaten andchalice, to bring the oblation to the altar and to arrange them, to lay the table of the Lord and to drape it, to carry the cross, to declaim [proedicare] the Gospel and Epistle, for as the charge is given tolectors to declaim theOld Testament, so it is given to deacons to declaim the New. To him also pertains the office ofprayers [officium precum] and the recital of the names. It is he who gives warning to open our ears to the Lord, it is he who exhorts with his cry, it is he also who announces peace." (Migne., P.L., LXXXII, 895) In the early period, as many extantChristian epitaphs testify, the possession of a good voice was a qualification expected in candidates for the diaconate.Dulcea nectareo promebat mella canore was written of the deacon Redemptus in the time ofPope Damasus, and the same epitaphs make it clear that the deacon then had much to do with the chanting, not only of the Epistle and Gospel, but also of the psalms as a solo. Thus of thearchdeacon Deusdedit in the fifth century it was written:

Hic levitarum primus, in ordine vivens
Davidici cantor carminis iste fuit.

ButPope Gregory the Great in the council of 595 abolished the privileges of the deacons in regard to the chanting of Psalms (Duchesne, Christian Worship, vi) and regular cantors succeeded to their functions. However, even as it is, some of the most beautiful chants in theChurch's Liturgy are confided to the deacon, notably, theproeconium paschale, better known as the Exultet, the consecratoryprayer by which thepaschal candle is blessed onHoly Saturday. This has often been praised as the most perfect piece ofGregorian music, and it is sung throughout by the deacon.

Dress and number of deacons

The early developments ofecclesiastical costume are very obscure and are complicated by the difficulty of identifying securely the objects indicated merely by a name. It iscertain, however, that in both East and West a stole, ororarium (orarion) which seems to have been in substance identical with what we now understand by the term, has been from an early period the distinctive attire of the deacon. Both in East and West also, it has been worn by the deacon over the left shoulder, and not round the neck, like that of apriest. Deacons, according to the fourth Council of Toledo (633), were to wear a plain stole (orarium — orarium quia orat, id est, proedicat) on the left shoulder, the right being left free to typify the expedition with which they were to discharge their sacred functions. It is interesting to note as a curious survival of an ancient tradition that the deacon during aLenten high Mass in theMiddle Ages took off hischasuble, rolled it up, and placed it over his left shoulder to leave his right arm free. At the present day he still takes off hischasuble during the central part of the Mass and replaces it with a broad stole. In the East, the Council ofLaodicea, in the fourth century, forbidssubdeacons to wear thestole (orarion), and a passage inSt. John Chrysostom (Hom. in Fil. Prod.) refers to the light fluttering draperies over the left shoulder of those ministering at the altar, evidently describing thestoles of the deacons. The deacon still wears his stole over the left shoulder, only, although, except in the Ambrosian Rite atMilan, he now wears itunder hisdalmatic. Thedalmatic itself, which is now regarded as distinctive of the deacon, was originally confined to the deacons ofRome, and to wear such a vestment outside ofRome was conceded by earlypopes as a special privilege. Such a grant was apparently made, for example, byPope Stephen II (752-757) of Abbot Fulrad of St-Denis, allowing six deacons to array themselves in thestola dalmaticae decoris (sic) when discharging their sacred functions (Braun, die liturgische Gewandung, p. 251) According to the"Liber Pontificalis",Pope St. Sylvester (314-335)constituit ut diaconi dalmaticis in ecclesia uterentur (ordained that deacons should usedalmatics in church), but this statement is quite unreliable. On the other hand it is practically certain thatdalmatics were worn inRome both by thepope and by his deacons in the latter half of the fourth century (Braun, op. cit., p. 249). As to the manner of wearing, after the tenth century it was only inMilan and southernItaly that deacons carried thestole over thedalmatic, but at an earlier date, this had been common in many parts of the West.

As regards the number of deacons, much variation existed. In more considerable cities there were normally seven, according to the type of theChurch ofJerusalem inActs 6:1-6. InRome there were seven in the time ofPope Cornelius, and this remained the rule until the eleventh century, when the number of deacons was increased from seven to fourteen. This was in accord with canon xv of the Council of Neo-Caesarea incorporated in the "Corpus Juris". The "Testament of Our Lord" (I, 34) speaks of twelvepriests, seven deacons, foursubdeacons, and threewidows with precedence. Still, this rule did not remain constant. In Alexandria, for example, even as early as the fourth century, there must apparently been more than seven deacons, for we are told that nine took the part ofArius. Other regulations seem to suggest three as a common number. In theMiddle Ages nearly every use had its own customs as to the number of deacons andsubdeacons that might assist at apontifical Mass. The number of seven deacons and sevensubdeacons was not infrequent in manydioceses on days of great solemnity. But the great distinction between the diaconate in the early ages and that of the present day lay probably in this, that in primitive times the diaconate was commonly regarded, possibly on account of theknowledge of music which it demanded, as a state that was permanent and final. A man remained a simple deacon all his life. nowadays, except in the rarest cases (thecardinal-deacons sometimes continue permanently as mere deacons), the diaconate is simply a stage on the road to thepriesthood. [Note: The permanent diaconate was restored in theLatin Rite after the SecondVatican Council.]

Sacramental character of the diaconate

Although certaintheologians such as Cajetan and Durandus, have ventured todoubt whether the Sacrament of Order is received by deacons, it may be said that the decrees of theCouncil of Trent are now generally held to have decided the point against them. The council not only lays down that order is truly and properly a sacrament but it forbids underanathema (Sess. XXIII, can. ii) that anyone should deny "that there are in the Church other orders both greater and minor as which as by certain steps advance is made to the priesthood", and it insists that the ordainingbishop does not vainly say "receive ye the Holy Ghost", but by that a character is imprinted by the rite ofordination. Now, not only do we find in theActs of the Apostles, as noticed above, bothprayer and thelaying on of hands in the initiation of the Seven, but the samesacramental character suggestive of the imparting of the Holy Spirit is conspicuous in theordination rite as practiced in the early Church and at the present day. In the Apostolic Constitutions we read:

A deacon thou shalt appoint, O Bishop, laying thy hands upon him, with all the presbytery and the deacons standing by thee; andpraying over him thou shalt say:Almighty God. . . .let our supplication come unto Thy ears and make Thy face to shine upon this Thy servant who is appointed unto the office of deacon [eis diakonian] and fill him with the Spirit and with power, as Thou didst fill Stephen, themartyr and follower of the sufferings of Thy Christ.

The ritual of theordination of deacons at the present day is as follows: Thebishop first asks thearchdeacon if those who are to be promoted to the diaconate are worthy of the office and then he invites theclergy and people to propose any objections which they may have. After a short pause thebishop explains to theordinandi theduties and the privileges of a deacon, they remaining the while upon their knees. When he has finished his discourse they prostrate themselves, and thebishop and theclergy recite thelitanies of the Saints, in the course of which thebishop thrice imparts his benediction. After certain otherprayers in which thebishop continues to invoke thegrace of God upon the candidates, he sings a short preface, which expresses thejoy of theChurch to see the multiplication of herministers. Then comes the more essential part of theceremony. Thebishop puts out his right hand and puts it upon the head of each of theordinandi, saying, "Receive the Holy Ghost for strength, and to resist thedevil and histemptations, in the name of the Lord". Then stretching out his hand over all the candidates together he says: Send down upon them, we beseech Thee, O Lord, the Holy Ghost by which they may be strengthened in the faithful discharge of the work of Thy ministry, through the bestowal of Thy sevenfold grace". After this thebishop delivers to the deacons the insignia of the order which they have received, to wit, thestole and thedalmatic, accompanying them with the formulae which express their special significance. Finally, he makes all the candidates touch the book of the Gospels, saying to them: "Receive the power of reading the Gospel in theChurch of God, both for the living and for the dead, in the name of the Lord." Although the actual form of words which accompanies the laying on of thebishop's hands,Accipe Spiritum Sanctum ad robur, etc., cannot be traced back further than the twelfth century, the whole spirit of the ritual is ancient, and some of the elements, notably the conferring of thestole and theprayer which follows the delivery of the book of the Gospels, are of much older date. It is noteworthy that in the "Decretum pro Armenis" ofPope Eugene IV the delivery of the Gospels is spoken of as the "matter" of the diaconate,Diaconatus vero per libri evangeliorum dationem (traditur).

In the Russian Church the candidate, after having been led three times around the altar andkissed each corner, kneels before thebishop. Thebishop lays the end of hisomophorion upon his neck and marks thesign of the cross three times upon his head. Then he lays his hand upon the candidate's head and says twoprayers of some length which speak of the conferring of the Holy Ghost and of strength bestowed upon theministers of the altar and recall the words of Christ that "he who would be first among you must become as a servant" (diakonos): then there are delivered to the deacon the insignia of his office, which, besides thestole, include theliturgical fan, and as each of these is given thebishop calls aloud,axios, "worthy", in a tone increasing in strength with each repetition (see Maltzew, Die Sacramente der orthodox-katholische Kirche, 318-333).

In later times the diaconate was so entirely regarded as a stage of preparation for thepriesthood that interest no longer attached to its preciseduties and privileges. A deacon's functions were practically reduced to the ministration at high Mass and to exposing theBlessed Sacrament at Benediction. But he could, as the deputy of theparishpriest, distribute the Communion in case of need. Of the condition ofcelibacy, see the article,CELIBACY OF THE CLERGY.

Deacons outside the Catholic Church

It is only in theChurch of England and in the Episcopal communions ofScotland and North America that a deacon receivesordination by theimposition of hands of abishop. In consequence of suchordination, however, he is considered empowered to perform any sacred office except that of consecrating the elements and pronouncingabsolution, and he habitually preaches and assists in the communion-service. Among theLutherans, however, inGermany, the worddeacon is generally applied to assistant, though fullyordained,ministers who aid the minister in charge of a particular cure orparish. However, it is also used in certain localities for lay helpers who take part in the work of instruction, finance, district visiting, and relieving distress. This last is also the use of the word which is common in many nonconformist communions ofEngland and America.

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