The
Diaconate in the Diocese of New Jersey:
Resources
Lifting Up the Servants of God: The Deacon, Servant Ministry, and the Future of the Church, by Thomas Ferguson
Foundations of the Diaconate The concept of diakonia was central to both the vision of Jesus and of his apostles. As such it belongs to all the members of the church, through their baptism, to help bring about God's reign on earth. In Paul's letters we hear of the Spirit who empowers different members of the church, calling some to be teachers, some prophets, some apostles. 'All these are activated by one and the same Spirit' (1 Corinthians 12:11).
We see in the New Testament the development of the orders of bishops and deacons (1 Timothy 3:1-13, Philippians 1:1). Outside of the New Testament, evidence for the development of the orders of ministry is found in the writings of Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, martyred around 112. Ignatius is the earliest example of the three-fold understanding of ordained ministry within the church. He presented unity with the Bishop as a symbol of unity with the one God of the Christians, the presbyters represented the Council of the Apostles, and the deacons as symbols of Christ:
'Everyone must show the deacons respect. They represent Jesus Christ, just as one bishop has the role of the Father, and the presbyters are like God's council and an apostolic band. You cannot have a church without these' (Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Trallians, 3).
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in an ancient mural (click to enlarge) |
The First Deacons Perhaps the best-known description of the development of the diaconate occurs in the Book of Acts. Tension arose between Greek and Jewish converts in Jerusalem. Acts tells us that the Apostles asked the community to "select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task, while we, for our part, will devote ourselves to prayer and to serving the world? (Acts 6:3-4).
The task to which the new deacons were appointed was to be agents of social justice expressed as serving at table. The issue was to ensure a just distribution of the food for the (minority) Greek widows and orphans.
The community chose the Seven, apparently from the Hellenistic or Greek Christians, to serve the community. The apostles laid their hands upon them to set them apart for this ministry of service. Among these was Stephen, called the 'protomartyr' or 'first martyr' for the faith. Stephen did 'great signs and wonders' (Acts 6:8) and, like Jesus, fell afoul of the ruling authorities in Jerusalem on account of his proclamation of the Good News. He was eventually stoned to death.
Next: The Golden Age of Deacons