See also:

• DEACON (Gr. S&& ovos, minister, servant)

DEACON (Gr. S&& ovos, See also:

• MINISTER (Lat. minister, servant)

minister, servant)  , the name given to a particular See also:

• MINISTER (Lat. minister, servant)

minister or officer of the See also:

• CHRISTIAN
• CHRISTIAN, WILLIAM (1608-1663)

Christian See also:

• CHURCH
• CHURCH (according to most authorities derived from the Gr. Kvpcaxov [&wµa], " the Lord's [house]," and common to many Teutonic, Slavonic and other languages under various forms—Scottish kirk, Ger. Kirche, Swed. kirka, Dan. kirke, Russ. tserkov, Buig. cerk
• CHURCH, FREDERICK EDWIN (1826-1900)
• CHURCH, GEORGE EARL (1835–1910)
• CHURCH, RICHARD WILLIAM (1815–189o)
• CHURCH, SIR RICHARD (1784–1873)

Church . The status and functions of the See also:

• OFFICE (from Lat. officium, " duty," " service," a shortened form of opifacium, from facere, " to do," and either the stem of opes, " wealth," " aid," or opus, " work ")

office have varied in different ages and in different branches of Christendom . (a) The See also:

• ANCIENT
• ANCIENT (also spelt ANTIENT; derived, through the Fr. ancien, old, from the late Lat. antianum, from ante, before)

Ancient Church.—The office of See also:

• DEACON (Gr. S&& ovos, minister, servant)

deacon is almost as old as See also:

• CHRISTIANITY

Christianity itself, though it is impossible to See also:

• FIX, THEODORE (180o-1846)

fix the moment at which it came into existence . Tradition connects its origin with the See also:

• APPOINTMENT, POWER OF

appointment of " the Seven " recorded in Acts vi . This connexion, however, is questioned by a large and increasing number of See also:

• MODERN

modern scholars, on the ground that " the Seven " are not called deacons in the New Testament and do not seem to have been identified with them till the See also:

• TIME (0. Eng. Lima, cf. Icel. timi, Swed. timme, hour, Dan. time; from the root also seen in " tide," properly the time of between the flow and ebb of the sea, cf. O. Eng. getidan, to happen, " even-tide," &c.; it is not directly related to Lat. tempus)
• TIME, MEASUREMENT OF
• TIME, STANDARD

time of See also:

• IRENAEUS

Irenaeus (A.D . 18o) . The first definite reference to the diaconate occurs in St See also:

• PAUL
• PAUL (PAULUS)

Paul's See also:

• EPISTLE

Epistle to the See also:

• PHILIPPIANS, EPISTLE TO THE

Philippians (i . 1), where the See also:

• OFFICERS

officers of the Church are described as " bishops and deacons "—though it is not unlikely that earlier allusions are to be found in 1 See also:

• COR

Cor. xii . 28 and See also:

• ROMANS
• ROMANS, EPISTLE TO THE

Romans xii . 7 . In the See also:

• PASTORAL (from Lat. pastor, a shepherd)

pastoral epistles the office seems to have become a permanent institution of the Church, and See also:

• SPECIAL

special qualifications are laid down for those who hold it (1 Tim. iii . 8) .

By the time of See also:

• IGNATIUS ('Iyvfrior)

Ignatius (A.D . 110) the " three orders " of the See also:

• MINISTRY

ministry were definitely established, the deacon being the lowest of the three and subordinate to the See also:

• BISHOP (A.S. bisceop, from Lat. episcopus, Gr. irio-Korros, " overlooker " or " overseer ")
• BISHOP, ISABELLA (1832-1904)
• BISHOP, SIR HENRY ROWLEY (1786-1855)

bishop and the presbyters . The inclusion of deacons in the " three orders " which were regarded as essential to the existence of a true Church sharply distinguished them from the See also:

• LOWER

lower ranks of the ministry, and gave them a status and position of importance in the ancient Church . The functions attaching to the office varied at different times . In the apostolic See also:

• AGE (Fr. age, through late Lat. aetaticum, from aetas)

age the duties of deacons were naturally vague and undefined . They were " helpers " or " servants " of the Church in a See also:

• GENERAL
• GENERAL (Lat. generalis, of or relating to a genus, kind or class)

general way and served in any capacity that was required of them . With the growth of the episcopate, however, the deacons became the immediate ministers of the bishop . Their duties included the supervision of Church See also:

• PROPERTY

property, the management of Church finances, the visitation of the sick, the See also:

• DISTRIBUTION (Lat. distribuere, to deal out)

distribution of See also:

• ALMS

alms and the care of widows and orphans . They were also required to See also:

• WATCH (in O. Eng. wcecce, a keeping guard or watching, from wacian, to guard, watch, wacan, to wake)

watch over the souls of the See also:

• FLOCK

flock and See also:

• REPORT (O.Fr. report or raport, modern rapport, from O.Fr. reporter, mod. rap porter, Lat. reportare, to bring back, in poetical use only, of bringing back an account, news, &c.)

report to the bishop the cases of those who had sinned or were in need of spiritual help . " You deacons," says the See also:

• APOSTOLICAL

Apostolical Constitutions (4th See also:

• CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century), " ought to keep watch over all who need watching or are in See also:

• DISTRESS

distress, and let the bishop know." With the growth of hospitals and other charitable institutions, however, the functions of deacons became considerably curtailed . The social See also:

• WORK

work of the Church was transferred to others, and little by little the deacons sank in importance until at last they came to be regarded merely as subordinate officers of public See also:

• WORSHIP (i.e. " worth-ship," O. Eng. weor8scipe)

worship, a position which they hold in the See also:

• ROMAN

Roman Church to-See also:

• DAY (O. Eng. dreg, Ger. Tag; according to the New English Dictionary, " in no way related to the Lat. dies")
• DAY, JOHN (1574-1640?)
• DAY, THOMAS (1748-1789)

day, where their duties are confined to such acts as the following:--censing the officiating See also:

• PRIEST (Ger. Priester, Fr. pretre)

priest and the See also:

• CHOIR (0. Fr. cuer from Lat. chorus; pronounced quire, and until the end of the 17th century so spelt, the spelling being altered to agree with the Fr. chceur)

choir, laying the See also:

• CORPORAL

corporal on the See also:

• ALTAR (Lat. altare, from alias, high; some ancient etymological guesses are recorded by St Isidore of Seville in Etymologiae xv. 4)

altar, handing the See also:

• PATEN (through the Fr. from Lat. patina or paten, Gr. aaravq, a flat dish)

paten or See also:

• CUP (in O.E. cuppe; generally taken to be from Late Lat. cuppa, a variant of Lat. cupa, a cask, cf. Gr. KuaeXXov)

cup to the priest, receiving from him the See also:

• PYX (Gr. iruVir, a box or chest)

pyx and giving it to the subdeacon, putting the See also:

• MITRE (Lat. mitra, from Gr. j4rpa, a band, head-band, head-dress)

mitre on the See also:

• ARCHBISHOP (Lat. archiepiscopus, from Gr. apxceatorcoros)

archbishop's See also:

• HEAD (in 0. Eng. heafad; the word is common to Teutonic languages; cf. Dutch hoofd, Ger. Haupt, generally taken to be in origin connected with Lat. caput, Gr. KerbOvi7)
• HEAD, SIR EDMUND WALKER, BART
• HEAD, SIR FRANCIS BOND, BART

head (when he is See also:

• PRESENT

present) and laying his See also:

• PALL

pall upon the altar . (b) The Church of See also:

• ENGLAND
• ENGLAND, THE CHURCH OF

England.—The traditionary position of the diaconate as one of the " three orders " is here maintained .

Deacons may conduct any of the See also:

• ORDINARY (med. Lat. ordinarius, Fr. ordinaire)

ordinary services in the church, but are not permitted to pronounce the See also:

• ABSOLUTION (Lat. absolutio from absolvo, loosen, acquit)

absolution or consecrate the elements for the See also:

• EUCHARIST (Gr. evXapurria, thanksgiving)

Eucharist . In practice the office has become a stepping-See also:

• STONE
• STONE (0. Eng. shin; the word is common to Teutonic languages, cf. Ger. Stein, Du. steen, Dan. and Swed. sten; the root is also seen in Gr. aria, pebble)
• STONE, CHARLES POMEROY (1824-1887)
• STONE, EDWARD JAMES (1831-1897)
• STONE, FRANK (1800-1859)
• STONE, GEORGE (1708—1764)
• STONE, LUCY [BLACKWELL] (1818-1893)
• STONE, MARCUS (184o— )
• STONE, NICHOLAS (1586-1647)

stone to the priesthood, the deacon corresponding to the licentiate in the Presbyterian Church . Candidates for the office must have attained the age of twenty-three and must satisfy the bishop with regard to their intellectual, moral and spiritual fitness . The functions of the office are defined in the Ordinal—" to assist the priest in divine service and specially when he ministereth the See also:

• HOLY

Holy Communion, to read Holy Scriptures and Homilies in the church, to instruct the youth in the See also:

• CATECHISM (from Gr. Karnxeiv, teach by word of mouth)

catechism, to baptize in the See also:

• ABSENCE (Lat. absentia)

absence of the priest, to preach if he be admitted thereto by the bishop, and furthermore to See also:

• SEARCH, or VISIT AND SEARCH

search 878 for the sick, poor and impotent See also:

• PEOPLE

people and intimate their estates and names to the See also:

• CURATE (from the Lat. curare, to take care of)

curate." (c) Churches of the Congregational See also:

• ORDER
• ORDER (through Fr. ordre, for earlier ordene, from Lat. ordo, ordinis, rank, service, arrangement; the ultimate source is generally taken to be the root seen in Lat. oriri, rise, arise, begin; cf. " origin ")
• ORDER, HOLY

Order.—In these (which of course include See also:

• BAPTISTS

Baptists) the diaconate is a See also:

• BODY

body of laymen appointed by the members of the church to See also:

• ACT (Lat. actus, actum)

act as a management See also:

• COMMITTEE (from commute, an Anglo-Fr. past participle of commettre, Lat. committere, to entrust; the modern Fr. equivalent comite is derived from the Eng.)

committee and to assist the minister in the work of the church . There is no general See also:

• RULE

rule as to the number of deacons, though the traditionary number of seven is often kept, nor as to the frequency of See also:

• ELECTION
• ELECTION (from Lat. eligere, to pick out)

election, each church making its own arrangements in this respect . The deacons superintend the See also:

• FINANCIAL

financial affairs of the church, co-operate with the minister in the various branches of his work, assist in the visitation of the sick, attend to the church property and generally supervise the activities of the church . See Thomassinus, Vetus ac nova disciplina, pars i. See also:

• LIB

lib. i. c . 51 f. and lib. ii. c . 29 f . (Lugdunum, 1706) ; J . N . See also:

• SEIDL, ANTON (1850-1898)

Seidl, Der Diakonat in der katholischen Kirche (See also:

• REGENSBURG (RATISBON)

Regensburg, 1884); R .

Sohm, Kirchenrecht, i . 121-137 (See also:

• LEIPZIG

Leipzig, 1892) ; F . J . A . See also:

• HORT, FENTON JOHN ANTHONY (1828–1892)

Hort, The Christian See also:

• ECCLESIA (Gr. EKKX ria, from Lc, out, and Ka)teiv, to call)

Ecclesia (See also:

• LONDON

London, 1897) .