Deacons Then and Now

The deacon’s ministry is always a ministry of service (Gk. diakonia). The first deacons (cf. Acts 6:1-6) were specifically called to minister to the Greek-speaking widows in the Christian community, who were being left out of the common distribution. The scope of diaconal service is hardly limited to “serving at table,” however. In fact one of the first deacons, St. Stephen, was a bold teacher and preacher who became thereby the first martyr. However, the heart of the diaconate remains in the solicitude of service by which the deacon is the “eyes and ears of the bishop” in identifying those who are in need or being marginalized. For example, St. Lawrence, deacon, was martyred because when secular authority demanded that he turn over the treasure of the Church, he brought to the authorities all the poor, sick and suffering in the city. Civil authority was thus brought face-to-face with their shortcomings in serving the people; the Church had been serving these people all along and indeed counted them as her “treasure.”

The deacon’s ministry is often described as three legs of a stool: if any one leg is missing the stool cannot stand. The deacon should always be seen in one of these three-fold ministries:

• Ministry of Charity and Justice — Deacon as Witness and Guide
  At the very heart of the diaconate is his calling to be a servant of the mysteries of Christ, and of our brothers and sisters. For this reason, each deacon must be involved in one or more ministries in the community as a direct response to Christ’s call for each of us to feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked and visit the sick and those in prison (Matthew 25:35-36). Since the ministry of service is every baptized Catholic’s responsibility, the deacon often encourages and leads others to participate in these ministries as a witness and guide.
• Ministry of the Word — Deacon as Evangelizer and Teacher
  The deacon as an evangelizer and teacher calls others to live a life of true Christian discipleship as he calls others to be the best person that Christ has called them to be. He proclaims the Word of God in such a way that he first witnesses its empowerment in his own life.
• Ministry of Liturgy — Deacon as Sanctifier
  The ministry of the deacon is a visible grace-filled sign of the integral connection between sharing of the Lord’s Eucharistic table and serving the many hungers felt so keenly by all God’s children. This means he is to be in love with all of God’s people and to serve each of them with joy. He is called to be a Holy person who encourages others to be holy by his life.

Sometimes the deacon is perceived as a helper for his pastor, simply picking up ministerial roles which there aren’t enough priests these days to perform. This view does not reflect the fullest nature of the deacon, who is called to be the Sacramental sign of the servant as Christ is the servant to all. As the Sacramental sign, the deacon’s ministry is always present — in his home, at his parish and where he works in the secular world.

The story of the diaconate is recorded in Scripture, when the Apostles were informed of the need in the community to correct an injustice within the community: some Greek-speaking widows were being left out of the common distribution. (cf. Acts 6:1-6). The Apostles suggested that the community select qualified men from among them; they selected seven. The Apostles laid hands on them (sacrament of holy orders) and commissioned them to serve all those in need.

This they did, but also much more: teaching, proclaiming the word, and doing works of mercy were all hallmarks of the deacon consecrated to service. St. Stephen, among those first seven, became the first martyr because of the efficacy of his bold preaching.

By about 110-130 AD, St. Ignatius of Antioch wrote, instructing all Church members to revere the fundamental Church hierarchy of deacon, priest and bishop. From this time until about the time of the Restoration the deacon was a principal representative of the Church in her mission of mercy. Then, in the centuries leading up to the Council of Trent (1545-1563), the roles of the priest increasingly encompassed the duties of the deacon, and the diaconal ordination became a step on the way to priestly ordination. With the Council the notion of a permanent diaconate was put aside.

The renewal of an order of deacons as a permanent presence arose from the experience of World War II, specifically from within the Dachau concentration camp and even more specifically in the notorious cellblock 26 in which clergy were incarcerated. There, the Catholic clergy discussions included whether it were possible that had the Church had permanent deacons — with deep presence in both Church and lay worlds — the effects of National Socialism might not have been prevented, or at least lessened. Fr. Wilhelm Schamoni kept notes of these conversations and published them as a monograph in German in 1953. It was republished in English in London in 1955 under the title Married Men as Deacons.

The idea began to take root in Germany, with a “diaconate circle” of inspired and dedicated laymen formed in 1951. Fertile ground was being prepared for the topic to be taken up at the Second Vatican Council. The permanent diaconate was restored on November 21, 1964 as part of the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium (29).

Subsequently the various nations of the world have embraced the restored permanent diaconate as a great gift of the Holy Spirit. In the United States there are over 18,000 permanent deacons as of 2015. The Archdiocese of Portland ordained its first deacon in 1974, but a formation program for deacons was not really begun until the early 1990s. Our archdiocese has nearly 70 active permanent deacons serving in 2016, with a number of older deacons still active as well.