Diaconate History

The Permanent Diaconate has a rich history in the Catholic Church. The first historical threads of the Diaconate are woven through the books of the New Testament.

In Jerusalem, the apostles did not have time to minister to all the needs of the people, especially with the Greek-speaking Christian Jews concerning the care of their widows. The apostles found it difficult to evangelize and be responsible for the social needs of the community.*

Then Peter says it is not proper for the apostles to give up preaching so that they can wait on tables. To help them fulfill the mission of Christ, the apostles ordained deacons to serve the Christian community. This was done after discussion and prayer. They selected seven men to oversee the work of charity to the needy. They “laid hands” on these men who they found to be “filled with the Holy Spirit and wisdom.”**

To reinforce the concept of the Diaconate, St. Paul wrote about the requirements and virtues the Church expected of a deacon. “Church helpers also must have good character and be sincere; they must not drink too much wine or be greedy for money; they should hold to the revealed truth of the faith with a clear conscience. They should be tested first, and then, if they pass the test, they are to serve. Their wives also must be of good character and must not gossip; they must be sober and honest in everything. A church helper must have only one wife, and be able to manage his children and family well.”***

St. Ignatius of Antioch wrote about deacons’ ministry as being an extension of the very ministry of the Lord himself. By the end of the ancient world, the deacon was the bishop’s assistant, serving as his “eyes and ears,” taking care of church property, as well as administrative matters.

In the early 5th century the diaconate became a “transitional” office for those preparing for priestly ordination. Its “permanent” nature disappeared. However, during World War II, priests held in Nazi concentration camps spoke about reinstituting the Permanent Diaconate.  After the war, the discussion continued in articles and theological, as well as liturgical books, especially in Europe.

Pope Pius XII had begun significant groundwork for liturgical changes.  When he spoke at a 1957 meeting to discuss the lay apostolate, he implied that a restoration of the Permanent Diaconate might be a good thing.

It was at the Second Vatican Council that the “permanency” of this order was reaffirmed. Discussion took place during the second session and the Permanent Diaconate was restored as part of Lumen Gentium, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, promulgated in 1964. It was Pope Paul VI who actually implemented this change in the 1967 apostolic letter, Sacrum Diaconatus Ordinem.

Lumen Gentium addressed the character and work of permanent deacons: “At a lower level of the hierarchy are deacons, upon whom hands are imposed ‘not unto the priesthood, but unto a ministry of service.’ For strengthened by sacramental grace, in communion with the bishop and his group of priests they serve in the diaconate of the liturgy, of the Word, and of charity to the people of God. It is the duty of the deacon, according as it shall have been assigned to him by competent authority, to administer baptism solemnly, to be custodian and dispenser of the Eucharist, to assist at and bless marriages in the name of the Church, to bring viaticum to the dying, to read the sacred Scripture to the faithful, to instruct and exhort the people, to preside over the worship and prayer of the faithful, to administer sacramentals, to officiate at funeral and burial services. Dedicated to duties of charity and of administration, let deacons be mindful of the admonition of Blessed Polycarp: ‘Be merciful, diligent, walking according to the truth of the Lord, who became the servant of all.’”

Permanent deacons are involved in numerous areas of ministry, from visiting the sick in hospitals to assisting those less fortunate in our society. For many deacons, the support and involvement of wife and family add an important dimension to their service to the bishop and various ministries.

From the beginning of Christianity, to the Permanent Diaconate in the 21st century, the foundation of the diaconate always has been the same –– service.

For additional history of the Diaconate, please click on links below. For more current information on the Diaconate, use the drop-down menus. 

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04647c.htm

http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/vocations/diaconate/

*  Acts 6:1-7

** Acts 6:2

*** 1 Timothy 3:8-13