ABOUT the DIOCESE
Bishop George Councell
Bishop Sylvestre Romero
The vision of the diocese
Structure, committees, staff
History
Archives
Diocesan Convention
Diocese of New Jersey online shop
m
WHAT'S ON
Diocesan calendar
m
FIND a CHURCH
Interactive map of the diocese
Parishes
Trinity Cathedral in Trenton
m
COMMUNICATIONS
Need to know! : the newsletter
Diocesan email lists
News
Parish jobs, supplies
m
For LAITY, CLERGY, and CHURCHES
The Ministry Institute: courses,
events, activities, and seminars
Resources of all kinds
Forms
Prayer resources
Supply Clergy
Discernment
  Discerning a call: The diaconate
    >Resources
  Discerning a call: The priesthood
  Contact names & phones
m
For YOUTH
Youth Ministry in the diocese
m
For YOUNG ADULTS
Young adult ministry
On NJ college campuses
m
For MORE
Episcopal Church and the
Visual Arts: NJ
Useful links
m
FIND ANYTHING from A to Z
See the site map to pinpoint
what you want
m
QUESTIONS?
Contact us
m
HOME
 

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

Nicholas Ferrar
Deacon Nicholas Ferrar
(click to enlarge)

The Deacon in the Reformation The English Reformation continued with the ministry of bishops, priests, and deacons (unlike the theology of ministry developed by the Presbyterian and some Lutheran churches), but the diaconate was still a transition to the priesthood. There were some notable deacons in the centuries following the Reformation. Nicholas Ferrar and the community at Little Gidding (UK) is still remembered as offering a 'counter-cultural' model for living the Christian life.

The Recovery of Diakonia In 19th-century Europe, the Lutheran churches on the continent sought to respond to the social upheaval and economic disparities created by the industrial revolution and the breakdown of traditional political systems. Orders of deaconesses and deacons were formed to perform servant ministry in ways that laid the groundwork for a wider 'social gospel.' 

Next: The Deacon in the Twentieth Century


  http://newjersey.anglican.org
  Last updated: 26 November 2008
  ©The Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey