Cultivating a Robust Ministry of Deacons
As Anglicans, we have inherited a rich and robust theology of the diaconal office. We believe that deacons are essential and necessary for a healthy Church. Despite this, our stewardship of the office has not always yielded an equally rich and robust diaconal ministry. Why do we have such a disconnect between theology and practice? And how can we cultivate a more robust diaconal ministry in our parishes?
The Diaconate: A Full and Equal Office
The reasons for our theological and practical disconnect are many. However, we can trace the decline of the diaconate to the Middle Ages and the adoption of the Roman Empire’s cursus honorum (trans. ladder of offices). The cursus honorum was a way for politicians to “work their way up” to more honorable places of governance. This adoption devalued the diaconate by making it an inferior office open only to those who would later be ordained to the priesthood.[1]
Sponsored
The Roman Catholic Church maintained this structure until Pope Paul VI’s Lumen gentium (trans. Light of the Nations) in 1962. He noted that the diaconate is essential to the Church. The pope remarked that reinstating a “permanent” diaconate would be difficult but should be considered regionally.[2] It wasn’t until the 1968 Lambeth Conference—four years after Lumen Gentium—that Anglicans formally recommended that all Prayer Books retaining the language of the diaconate being an “inferior office” be removed.
There is a hierarchy of authority within episcopal holy orders, with bishops being given spiritual jurisdiction over their dioceses. It is a mistake, however, to totalize the hierarchy of authority into a hierarchy of value. The authority granted to bishops is fitting to fulfill their sacred charge of overseeing all parishes given to their care. However, the bishopric remains a priestly ministry, differing in kind but equal in value to both the diaconate and priesthood.
Defining Full and Equal
To course-correct the cursus honorum, Anglicans have spoken of the diaconate as a “full and equal office.” By “full,” we mean that the diaconate exists as its own, perpetual ordained office. It is not merely a “stepping-stone” to a greater office. God calls many to serve in the Sacred Order of Deacons for the remainder of their lives.
By “equal,” we mean that a perpetual diaconate is just as essential for the life and health of the Church as the priesthood and bishopric. The diaconate is not “less than” these offices but equal, differing only in ministerial responsibilities and focus.
Practical Ideas for Cultivating a Robust Diaconal Ministry
How, then, can we cultivate both a high honor for and a robust expression of diaconal ministry in our parishes? I offer here four practical ideas to do that. Before we get to them, however, I want to acknowledge some caveats.
First, this article is not “four steps to a better diaconate!”. Implementing these ideas does not guarantee robust ministry—and they are far from a “quick fix.” Like cultivating a garden, this article takes a long view of God’s work in people and parishes.
Second, where you find these ideas scripturally agreeable, their implementation by each parish must be “translated and locally adapted” to that parish’s ministry context.
1. (Re-)Consider Our Diaconal Language
We frequently refer to deacons as either “permanent” or “transitional.” Transitional deacons are ordained deacons before being ordained to the priesthood, while permanent deacons are those called to perpetual diaconal service. These categories may be descriptive, but are they beneficial?
Because all priests are first ordained to the diaconate, we often say, “Once a deacon, always a deacon.” But if this is true, then the “transitional” category is problematic; all ordained ministers are permanent deacons. Furthermore, these categories are rooted in the cursus honorum. If we use such categories out of convenience, we must take extra steps to ensure the diaconal office is not “less than” other offices.
I suggest that there is better language we can employ that still honors all deacons. Indeed, we need not over-engineer the solution. Deacons are deacons, full stop. Some of these deacons are also deacons discerning the priesthood.
2. Pray for Robust Diaconal Ministry in Your Parish
While it may seem obvious—indeed, so obvious we often forget—robust diaconal ministry begins with prayer. As a bonus, integrate prayer for diaconal ministry into your public services.
Among the things you can pray, I suggest praying specifically that God would raise up a plurality of faithful, mature deacons from within your parish[3]. Why a plurality? First, because a plurality of deacons and presbyters is the scriptural pattern.[4] Second, because human beings are finite creatures, the ministerial burden is more than we can bear individually. Third, a plurality of ministers enriches the Church by ensuring it expresses ministry through diverse ministerial gifts, personalities, and life experiences.
3. Equip, Encourage, and Empower a Robust Ministry of the Laity
How will God raise up these future deacons? And how can our parishes discern the Holy Spirit’s work as he does? Through a robust ministry of the laity—the “priesthood of all believers.”
One of the most important ministries to which God calls ordained clergy is to equip, empower, and encourage the laity to do ministry work. St. Paul makes this clear in Ephesians 4:11-13:
The gifts [Christ] gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry [, and] for building up the body of Christ until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.
The ministry of the Church—and therefore the laity—is a ministry to both the Church and the world. Deacons embody this two-fold ministry par excellence according to their ordination vows. It’s no surprise, then, that a robust diaconal ministry flows from a robust lay ministry.
Discerning Future Deacons
As people serve according to their gifts and vocations, there will be two ways in which future deacons will be identified. First, some of the laity who serve will begin to sense a calling to ordained ministry (an “internal calling,” cf. 1 Timothy 3:1). They will need to know the pathways to approach church leadership to begin their discernment. Second, the discerning eye of the Church herself may recognize the potential calling to ordained ministry for those serving. This may even be before they themselves start to sense a call!
Neither clergy nor laity should worry about approaching others with an invitation to consider beginning the discernment process. While some may already feel an internal calling to ordained ministry, it may be birthed in others through invitation.
Discernment is a communal process. This process is structured to help clarify and evaluate whether someone is called to ministry. A robust ministry of the laity helps this process by first asking, “Who in our parish is already deaconing?”
4. Let Deacons Deacon
Once the Church has identified, affirmed, and ordained deacons, it should release them to minister as deacons while continuing their diaconal formation. This should be every deacon’s focus regardless of if they are further discerning the priesthood.
No matter an ordinand’s future ministry, the bishop gives the charism and charges particular to the diaconal office in their ordination to the diaconate. He petitions God to “make this servant a Deacon in your Church.” God answers when the ordaining bishop then says, “Receive the Holy Spirit for the Office and work of a Deacon in the Church of God, now committed to you by the imposition of my hands.” By emphasizing a concrete, present-tense ministry, these words guard the deacon against being so future-minded as to be no present good. God has entrusted real, flesh-and-blood parishioners to their care.
Diaconal Ministry Contexts
There are three contexts of diaconal ministry: the parish (internally-focused pastoral ministry), the community (externally-focused pastoral ministry and evangelism), and the liturgical (public to a mixture of people in worship). Of these three, parish and community ministry comprise 166 to 167 hours of a 168-hour week! In fact, the deacon’s liturgical ministry during the Holy Eucharist embodies the other two contexts within the liturgy. In other words, the deacon’s liturgical functions flow out of their parish and community ministry.
To those called to the diaconal office in perpetuity, focusing on their diaconal ministry to the parish, the community, and the liturgy is the launching of a robust ministry. To those discerning the priesthood, it is the same with the additional benefit of launching their priestly formation. Release them both to do the ministry with which God has presently called and gifted them. Have them minister to the parish, in their communities, and according to the rubrics. God has entrusted these things to them both in this moment and perpetually.
Conclusion
A flourishing, robust Diaconate is essential for the life and health of the Church. Not only do our parishes suffer in the decline of diaconal ministry, but so too do our communities—our neighborhoods, our towns or cities, and our world. Deacons are God’s good gift to all people, and we should see the office in that light. When we view the diaconate merely as a stepping-stone to the priesthood, or deacons discerning the priesthood neglect their present vows and see themselves as proto-priests, everyone suffers.
Thanks be to God, we have a way forward. It begins, with all good and lasting work in the Church, with prayer.
Footnotes
[1] I’d further argue that this began the conflation of the diaconal and priestly office, where deacons take on priestly duties and functions (such as regular preaching and teaching in the Church, a qualification only given to bishops and priests in 1 Timothy 3) with only the exclusion of certain sacramental functions. This isn’t to say deacons shouldn’t preach or teach—or at least those so gifted. However, it is vocationally the priest’s regular function to protect, preserve, and preach the doctrine and faith passed down to all the saints. As the bishop proclaims in the priestly ordination, “You are to teach, to warn, to feed, and to provide for the Lord’s family.” This, however, is really the subject of its own article and beyond the scope of this one!
[2] “Since these duties [of the Diaconate], so very necessary to the life of the Church, can be fulfilled only with difficulty in many regions in accordance with the discipline of the Latin Church as it exists today, the diaconate can in the future be restored as a proper and permanent rank of the hierarchy.” Pope Paul VI, Lumen Gentium, 1962.
[3] By way of analogy, creation flourishes when there is great biodiversity. Inversely, as the variety of species and kinds dwindles, creation becomes less healthy. So, too, the Church suffers when ministry lacks a diversity of giftings and personalities.
[4] Acts 6:1-7, 20:17 (“elders” here, plural, refer to the presbyters of the Church), Philippians 1:1, 1 Timothy 5:17, 1 Peter 5:1.
Photo: Deacon Praying by Catherine Leblanc for Getty Images, courtesy of Canva.
YouTube Apologetics with Anglican Aesthetics
Technology changes the way we communicate, and new forms of communication cultivate new audiences with novel expectations for how best to consume and engage with information, including the information that “Christ died for thee” and why he came to do so. Following our explorations of compelling new voices advocating for orthodox Anglican Christianity online, such…
Ministry Spotlight: Online Apologist Jeremiah Short
Following his own path of convergence with this cohort of dedicated online apologists, Jeremiah Short, known widely as “The Black Doctor,” has risen as a significant figure. His young but impactful ministry has had a particular focus on reaching those unfamiliar with the Gospel, including individuals coming from Islam and other faith traditions.
