THE DIACONATE IN THE MINISTRY OF THE CHURCH
The diaconate, an institution of great importance in the early church, is again coming to life in the church as a ministry and office, closely related to central aspects of the church’s identity: service, outreach, humility, concern for human needs. This re-invigoration of the diaconate has various roots: liturgical revival, a livelier sense of the church’s mission in the world, and a renewed perception of the rightful diversity in the church’s ministries. These sources have together shaped the many forms of diaconate and diaconal ministry current today or under consideration in our churches.1
We are in the midst of a worldwide recovery and renewal of the ‘permanent’ or ‘distinctive’ or ‘vocational’ diaconate as it is variously known. Christian Churches of many denominations are looking over centuries of tradition as they reflect on development and change within the ordained office of deacon; the context for their discussion is the urgency of finding evermore effective ways to be the Church in our time.
As early Christians discovered what it meant to be Christ’s body in the world, they gathered in communities which were noted for their love of one another and care of those in need. These communities faced pressures from a hostile world and internal controversies; leadership patterns emerged that were based on an interplay of practical realities and theological truths and influenced by leadership patterns such as those practiced in the Jewish synagogue. The early development of various forms of the threefold ministry, including the ministry of deacon, reflects ecclesiastical organisation responding to church need and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
You might have expected this Study Guide to begin with an historical overview of the early church and deacons and indeed many texts do begin just that way. However, it has become clear over the past decade that the renewal of the diaconate has thrown up a number of issues not the least of which relates to understanding the Greek words from which English words such as deacon and diaconate derive.
The Greek words diakonein, diakonia and diakonos are translated in a variety of ways in the New Testament; sometimes they appear to simply mean the practical tasks involved in serving or providing for someone’s needs. Other times they convey theological meaning expressing the nature of relationships: Jesus to people, people to one another. Sometimes people are addressed as ‘deacons’ and in one place we find a list of qualities required for what appears to be a specific role of diakonos, one who serves.2
Olson begins the introduction to her book with the words: “{t}he Church created the office of deacon because of an ongoing need to administer charity”.3 You will find that Olson and many others have focussed on the view of the diaconate as serving people in need or charity since this is how it has been expressed in practice by ministers of the Church over the length of its history.
On the other hand, biblical scholar John N. Collins has begun a challenge to that practice of ministry and indeed our very understanding of the diaconate. Following his research into Greek language and its context , Collins argues that ‘serving the poor’ is inadequate or even misleading as a foundational element of the diaconate.4
He, and those who follow him, look to the linguistic meaning of diakonos and related words in their historical context and argue for a somewhat different understanding of the role of deacon in the early Church, that of someone sent, acting on behalf of another person or persons, an agent. In other words, the designation ‘deacon’ comes not from waiting at table but attendance on a person, and that person is the bishop or community whose ‘agent’ the deacon is … ‘an agent in sacred affairs’. This broader perspective, they argue is important to consider in any renewal of the diaconate for the church of today. Our reading begins with writers who, while not completely opposed in views on the diaconate, do each argue for different weight to be placed on linguistics versus traditional practice.
At this stage note that the words diakonos, diakonia, diaconate and the phrase ’Order of Deacons’ are going to appear frequently in all you read. As you come across them, make a few short notes so that you can be clear about its use and meaning.
Begin with Barnett and note carefully his words on ministry as these reflect a relatively modern understanding based on a renewal in our thinking about the nature of church itself. This renewal in the understanding of church, ministry and ordained ministry has taken place at an ecumenical level with the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches providing a document in 1982 which, it is claimed, is the most broadly supported, widely endorsed and authoritative of all ecumenical texts. In its document, Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry, the diaconate is seen as part of a threefold ordained ministry which is itself set in the context of the ‘ministry of the whole people of God’. The short document is recommended reading for anyone unfamiliar with these recent developments.
READ
Text : Barnett
- Chapter 1. The Nature of the Church
- Chapter 2. Ministry in the New Testament: Sent to Serve.
In his introduction to the book Deacons and the Church (worth reading completely if you can), Collins notes that the prevailing theme of the renewal of the order of deacons across denominations is that of servanthood or service. He argues that the notion of diakonia as ‘service’ is a relatively modern one and furthermore that this understanding of the diaconate can itself lead to problems for its renewal:
“… some people ask awkward questions about deacons, even the ultimate question: does the church need them? Some bishops and synods actually make decisions not to allow deacons in their churches as a result of ambiguities about the identity and role of deacons… If we can come to a clearer understanding of early deacons we ought to be in a better position to decide what we ought to aim for in deacons for churches of our times. The search for a clearer understanding is not a search for an ancient model to which today’s deacons would be expected to conform. Rather, the object of the search would be to clear away misunderstandings of the early deacons so that we would be able to avoid working from unreliable models.”5
The next readings offer you a glimpse into Collins’ argument with which you can compare and contrast a dictionary definition. Are they completely incompatible or are there points of agreement? You may be able to use the internet to explore various definitions and translations of the original Greek.
Suggested Reading
- Collins, John N. Chapter 1, ‘The Diakonia of Modern Deacons’, in Deacons and the Church: Making connections between old and new. Herefordshire England: Gracewing, 2002, pp. 1-13 (abridged)
- The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Vol. 3, Colin Brown ed. Exeter: the Paternoster Press, 1978, pp. 544-549.
The importance of these definitions and interpretations lies in the ideas and questions they raise as a foundation for all that follows. Again, from Collins:
… it would seem that if the new linguistic understanding of diakonia is enough to make students of the modern diaconate pause in the way they have been proceeding, it should also encourage some scouting and probing in other directions. At present the research marks a frontier. Frontiers, however, serve two purposes. They are, firstly, to be a safe barrier against unwelcome intrusions but then, secondly, to be a staging post for exploratory moves forward.6
As often as possible I have suggested writing from people who are deacons in an endeavour to give a voice to those who are living the diaconate today. Ormonde Plater was an archdeacon of the Episcopal Church and widely regarded for his experience and leadership.
Despite its title (Many Servants) Plater’s revised edition of an earlier work does take seriously Collins’ challenge regarding the overuse of the term ‘servant’ with reference to deacons. He notes that all ministry, not just ordained, is headed for “drastic change” and that those who “prefer simple meanings, rigid structures and clear answers will not find them in the diaconate”. 7 Plater writes: “In all churches that have recovered the diaconate, the work has involved efforts to determine the meaning and functions of the order, and its relationship to other orders and forms of ministry, based on its origins, unfolding, and evolution in the early church and its re-emergence in recent times”.8 Plater is one of the few who take account of the Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures) as he discusses origins.
READ
Text: Ormonde Plater
- Chapter 1. ‘Origins’ in Many Servants: An Introduction to Deacons, (rev. ed.) Massachusetts: Cowley Publications, 2004
WORKSHEET 1.
Reminder: these worksheets require 2-3 SHORT answers each as part of an ongoing reflection on the material being read. Answers may be written out (two-three sentences at most ) and posted or preferably sent by email directly to me as soon as they are completed. Answers will not be graded but merit will be accorded upon satisfactory completion of all the worksheets. Please send each one as soon as you complete it.
Please answer as simply as possible:
- diakonos, diakonia, diaconate, Order of Deacons … these are words and phrases that appear often. Briefly describe what you understand each one to refer to from what you have read so far.
- What to you would be one advantage of focussing on the ‘service’ aspect of the diaconate and what would be one advantage of highlighting the notion of ‘sacred agent’.
- The Diaconate as Ecumenical Opportunity: The Hanover Report of the Anglican-Lutheran International Commission, (England: Anglican Communion Publications,1996) 7 [↩]
- See, 1 Timothy 3:8-13 [↩]
- Jeannine E. Olson, Deacons and Deaconesses Through the Centuries, (St Louis: Concordia Publishing House) p.17 [↩]
- John Collins, ‘The Diakonia of Jesus and the Early Church’, in Deacons and the Church: Making connections between old and new, ( Herefordshire England: Gracewing, 2002) p.12. [↩]
- John Collins, ‘The Diakonia of Modern Deacons, in Deacons and the Church, ibid, 2-3 [↩]
- John Collins, The Diakonia of Modern Deacons in Deacons and the Church, ibid, 21. [↩]
- Ormond Plater, Many Servants: An Introduction to Deacons, Rev. Ed., (Massachusetts: Cowley Publications, 2004) , xi. [↩]
- Ormond Plater Many Servants: An Introduction to Deacons, Rev. Ed,. ibid. ix [↩]