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EDITORIAL2 Ashley Beck and Tony Schmitz

DIACONAL SPIRITUALITY4 The Character of Diaconal Formation

James Keating

DIACONIA OF WORD11 Jesus of Nazareth – Holy Week: from the entrance

into Jerusalem to the Resurrection – Pope Benedict XVI Paul Watson

15 Diakonia in the New TestamentProsper Grech OSA

19 A Pearl of Great Price – The Riches of Pope Benedict’sPost Synodal Exhortation – Verbum DominiPaul Watson

23 Reviewed... Words and the Word Tony Schmitz

25 Reviewed... A Cross-Shattered Church;Cuttle Fish, Clones and Cluster BombsAshley Beck

26 Reviewed... The Gospel of Matthew: Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture Tony Schmitz

DIACONIA OF ALTAR27 Reviewed... Deacons: Ministers of Christ and

of God’s MysteriesJustin Harkin

DIACONIA OF CARITAS30 Alphons Ariëns, priest and social pioneer

Here Hub Crijns & Paul Wennekes33 Reviewed... Christian Perspectives on the

Financial CrashAshley Beck

36 Reviewed... Work for God’s SakeAshley Beck

THEOLOGY AND HISTORY OF DIACONATE38 Women Deacons and Sacramental Symbolism

Sara Butler50 Reviewed... Diaconia, Diaconiae, Diaconto

Tony SchmitzDIACONAL FLORAMATION52 Reviewed... Servants of All

Justin Harkin

DOCUMENTATION / RETRIEVING THE TRADITION55 The Disappearance of the Permanent Diaconate

Tony Schmitz

Issue 6 May 2011

If you have enjoyedout first five issuesand have not yetrenewed yoursubscription, pleaseremember to do soon our website:www.idc-nec.org

The second article onDeacons and the Eurowill appear in issue 7November 2011

‘preferential option for the poor’, his sup-port for the working rights of women, hisdefence of Sunday as a day of rest, and histireless witness against war. Deacons, mostof whom are married, will also be attunedto Blessed John Paul’s teaching about mar-riage, family life and sex, drawing on hislong experience as a teacher and a pastorbefore he became pope. So all of us will joinin the cry ‘Subito Santo!’ which was heardat his funeral Mass in 2005: those to whomwe minister in the world have so much tolearn from his teaching. We also look atcurrent issues in social teaching throughreviews of various books – covering collec-tions of sermons and the question of howfar financial systems should be regulated.

A Second Spring forExegesis?Are we, in this second decade of the thirdmillennium, witnessing a Second Spring inhermeneutics? If so, the two volumes of PopeBenedict’s crystallineJesus of Nazareth aswell as Verbum Dominiwill come to be seen tohave played a key role.In this sixth issue of ourjournal we look at bothpublications and wealso reproduce a paperby the Augustinian scholar Prosper Grechgiven at the Patristics conference in Rometwo years ago which was devoted to the dia-conate. (The complete Proceedings of thissignificant conference came to hand just intime to give only a Short Notice of thisimportant collection of research papers inthis issue. We hope to translate and publishthe more important ones in future issues.)

Women Deacons: Yes or No?This is a question that has been debated inthe course of both pontificates and we can-not shirk tackling it. In what many consid-er the best book on the subject, TheCatholic Priesthood and Women: A Guideto the Teaching of the Church, Professor

Sara Butler, Chester and Margaret PaluchProfessor of Theology at the University ofSt. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary,the major seminary of the Archdiocese ofChicago and since 2004 a member of theInternational Theological Commission,deliberately excluded consideration of thediaconate. Accordingly we commissionedher six months ago to consider explicitlythe question of women deacons. We arepleased to publish what we are sure will beconsidered a landmark essay, a model ofthe development of doctrine within ahermeneutic of continuity, exemplifyingthe reform, renewal and rediscovery calledfor by the Second Vatican Council.

Joint National Assemblyand InternationalConferenceThis issue of our journal is published justover a month before the first NorthernEuropean Circle – IDC Study Conference,which is also the fifth national Assembly ofDeacons in England and Wales, takingplace in Twickenham at the end of June.This will be an event of great importanceand there will be reports about this jour-nal, the fruit of cooperation within the dia-conal world in northern Europe, and wehope that many readers will have thechance to meet the editors of this journaland our editorial board. We are gratefulthat our publisher and partner journals,The Tablet and The Pastoral Review havekindly agreed to sponsor the conference.

Readers and SubscribersFinally, a plea to our readers: If you havebeen receiving a free copy of this journal,please take out a subscription. If you havealready done this, please make sure it isrenewed. For any young journal financesare always delicate, particularly at a time offinancial austerity all over Europe, and ourfuture depends on you, and on a securefinancial base. The most convenient wayto do so is by paying online in all main cur-rencies at our website: www.idc-nec.org �

Subito Santo!In the autumn of 1993 the permanent dia-conate was the subject of Pope John PaulII’s Wednesday catechesis. Some of thoseaddresses are quoted in the Basic Norms forthe Formation of Permanent Deacons andthe Directory of the Life and Ministry ofPermanent Deacons which are the basis ofthe life and formation ofdeacons. The long pontifi-cate of John Paul II from1978 to 2005 encom-passed the real growth tomaturity of the perma-nent diaconate, and thiswas nurtured – as theaddresses show – by hisown vision and teaching. For this reasonalone deacons all over the world, and othersengaged in diaconal work, will rejoice at thebeatification of John Paul II which has justhappened as this issue of our journal reach-es you. Blessed John Paul’s ministry andteachings were so deep and wide-rangingthat every Catholic can find something fruit-ful from which to draw some inspiration –deacons as much as others.

In his catechesis at the general audiences in1993 he said: ‘A particularly felt need behindthe decision to restore the permanent dia-conate was that of a greater and more directpresence of sacred ministers in areas suchas the family, work, schools etc. as well as inthe various ecclesial structures.’

The great celebration in Rome of his beati-fication gives deacons and those who sup-port deacons the opportunity to renew ourministry and grow in understanding ofBlessed John Paul’s teaching, as has beendone through conferences and collectionsof essays. One of his most important lega-cies was in the area of social teaching, ofwhich deacons are expected to have a spe-cialist knowledge – as shown in his earlyencyclical on human work (LaboremExercens), his teaching about the virtue ofsolidarity, his adoption of the notion of the

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Website www.idc-nec.orgBoard of the IDC–NEC

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Ashley Beck and Tony Schmitz

New Diaconal Review Issue 6 3New Diaconal Review Issue 62

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Subito Santo ... a second Spring?

mystery coincide at the Eucharist, where-in Christ offers His body and blood in sac-rifice and also “gives example” of whatcommunion with this sacrifice can do toimpel self-effacing service (John 13:12ff).Guy Mansini OSB notes the followingabout this diaconal character of service:

The deacon disappears into the action heundertakes at Mass. His service is morepurely instrumental, more purely a serv-ing, and if he is an icon of anything, he isan icon of precisely that, self-effacing ser-vice. The deacon’s function is to keep thecircle of charitable receiving and givingturning, both sacramentally and withincommunity.3

To become permanently available to Christis an objective reality imparted upon ordi-

nation, but it needs to be ever-personallyappropriated anew so its grace “flowersagain and again in the same measure inwhich it is received … in faith.”4 A further

virtuality. It flowers again and again in thesame measure in which it is received andaccepted again and again in faith… . TheChurch further teaches that: By a specialsacramental gift, Holy Order confers onthe deacon a particular participation in theconsecration and mission of Him whobecame servant of the Father for theredemption of mankind, and inserts himin a new and specific way in the mystery ofChrist, of his Church and the salvation ofall mankind.1

The character received at ordination hasbeen likened to a brand or wound that signi-fies “ownership.” Then-Cardinal Ratzingernoted that this wound or brand “calls out to itsowner.”2 In this way, the cleric stands in rela-tionship to the one who has placed his markupon him. “From now on, let no one maketroubles for me; for I bear the marks of Jesuson my body” (Gal 6:17). A further scripturalunderstanding of character might besummed up in this Pauline teaching: “Yet Ilive, no longer I, but Christ lives in me” (Gal2:20). Here, Scripture underscores the interi-or self-surrender of the cleric. He is the onewho eagerly hosts the mystery of Christ’s pub-lic service of charity as his own, as his newlife. One man, called to be priest, makes him-self permanently available to the sacrificialmystery of Christ; and another man, called tobe deacon, makes himself permanently avail-able to the servant mystery of Christ.

This servant mystery and this sacrificial

1 Congregation for Clergy, Directory for the Ministry and Life of Permanent Deacons (VaticanCity: Libraria Editrice Vaticane, 1998), nos. 7 and 46.

2 See David Toups, Reclaiming our Priestly Character (Omaha: IPF Publications, 2008), 82.3 Father Guy Mansini OSB, private correspondence with author, June 2010.4 Ibid.

For such a “simple” station in theChurch’s hierarchy, the vocation of the

deacon is complex. The complexity arisesfrom the net of relationships in which thedeacon finds himself upon ordination, anet that is not to be escaped but embraced.Unfortunately, the intricacy of the rela-tionships of the diaconate can tempt aman to despair as he makes efforts toplease all of his constituencies: wife, chil-dren, bishop, pastor, employer, parish-ioners, diocesan officials, fellow deacons,and more. Along with these relationshipsand the various calls they carry, the dea-con also feels pressed to “perform” well inhis ministries, which can be various andoften emotionally consuming; however,looking at the vocation of deacon from theperspective of what Christ is sharing withhim, the deacon can receive clarity on avital truth: it is not the quantity of acts ofservice that matter to Christ but simplyone’s fidelity to the character of ordina-tion. Excessive activity and neurotic hand-wringing about whether “I am doingenough to help others” gives birth only tostress, not holiness. Most deacons of theWestern world will go to purgatory becausethey were too busy exerting themselves,not because their ministry was measured.Jesus will meet them at Purgatory’s gatewith one question: “Why did you try to doso much?”

The key to living the diaconate in a simpleyet effective way is found within one’sfidelity to the character received at ordina-tion. The reception of this character allowsthe deacon to minister in a profound way

by letting Christ do the work. As one med-itates upon the meaning of diaconal char-acter, one realizes that Holy Orders medi-ates a gift to be received and not simplytasks to accomplish. If a deacon receivesthis gift subjectively, the various and com-plex relationships that make up his life willbecome a support to him in his ministryand will no longer be rivals for his time andemotional capital.

What Is this gift, thecharacter of Holy Orders?Insofar as it is a grade of holy orders [sic],the diaconate imprints a character andcommunicates a specific sacramentalgrace. The diaconal character is the con-figurative and distinguishing sign, indeliblyimpressed in the soul, that configures theone ordained to Christ, who made himself

the deacon – the servant – of all. It bringswith it a specific sacramental grace: a giftfor living the new reality wrought by thesacrament. With regard to deacons,“strengthened by sacramental grace theyare dedicated to the People of God, in con-junction with the bishop and his body ofpriests, in the service (diakonia) of theliturgy, of the Gospel and of works of char-ity.” Just as in all sacraments whichimprint character, grace has a permanent

James Keating

New Diaconal Review Issue 6 5New Diaconal Review Issue 64

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... it is not the quantity of acts of service thatmatter to Christ butsimply one’s fidelity tothe character ofordination

The deacon’s function is to keep the circle ofcharitable receiving andgiving turning, bothsacramentally andwithin community

Deacon James Keating isthe Director of Theological

Formation at the Institute of PriestlyFormation at Creighton University,Omaha, Nebraska, and from next monthwill also become the Director of theArchdiocese of Omaha PermanentDiaconate Programme

The Character of Diaconal Formation

laity (their love, suffering, and hardships)and gives it to the priest. The priest, in turn,then offers it to the Father, in and with thesacrifice of Christ. All of this service by thedeacon is accomplished in obedience to thepastoral vision of the bishop.5 When minis-tering, the deacon embodies the spiritual dis-cernment of the bishop, who has identifiedor confirmed the needs of the Church andthe appropriate response his deacons shouldtake to serve these needs.

Diaconal life that flowsfrom this characterReceiving the gift of Holy Orders, which is incommunion with Christ’s own pastoral char-ity, establishes the deacon in freedom. It isnot the deacon’s “job” to do a lot of “work.” Itis the deacon’s call to stay in a posture ofreceptivity to the gift Christ gives, in this case,communion with His own servant-love.Specifically, Christ is inviting the deacon to beavailable in Him to the needs of the diocese,to incarnate the eternal availability of Christ’sown heart to the poor (Luke 22:27). Whatthe Lord asks of the deacon is clear: Will yousay “yes” to My sharing My availability in youuntil you die? Will you let Me act in you,through you, so that I might call many to the“banquet” (Luke 14:15–24)?6 The deacon’scall is to be faithful to the character receivedat ordination so that the people he serves canrecognize and come to know Christ. Thisfidelity is expressed through the unceasingprayer of the deacon within his heart, a con-

versation that continually places the deaconin a posture of surrender, since he knows thatChrist can do more through grace than he,the deacon, can do through action. Christ isthe love that bears all things – the deaconmust let Him!7

The diaconal ministry involves activity, ofcourse, but the key to living in Holy Orders isfor the deacon to let the holy order him. Inbeing so ordered, the deacon lets Christ usehis natural and acquired gifts as doorways forgrace to enter and increase the spiritualpotency of his presence to those whom heserves. When he allows the holy to orderhim, the deacon allows for an effective min-istry but not one that depends upon any “bag

of tricks” that might have been used in busi-ness or in a secular career. Here is wheresome deacons run afoul and become emo-tionally exhausted or suffer a form of insecu-rity or self-doubt. They may ask themselves:“Why aren’t people responding to me? I’m asuccessful businessman, a professional. I’meffective at my job; why not at my ministry?”

New Diaconal Review Issue 6 7

The Character of Diaconal Formation – James Keating

witness to this diaconal character inScripture is the following: “Let the great-est among you be as the youngest, and theleader as the servant… . I am among youas the one who serves” (Luke 22:26–27).This service, however, does not simplyoriginate in a man’s feelings of empathytoward those in need. Ordained “service”flows from communion with Christ, partic-ularly as it relates to Christ’s capacity to lis-ten to His Father. As Psalm 40 notes,“Sacrifice and offering you do not want;but ears open to obedience you gave me”(vs. 6).

Obedience is the virtue/gift that orders aman to raptly listen to God out of love. Oneway to better understand obedience wouldbe to meditate upon the story of Mary’sattentiveness to Christ in Luke 10:38-42. Itis an attentiveness that carries the desire togive the self. It is a listening unto surrender.The Martha figure in the story is a kind andhospitable woman who is serving, but she,unlike Mary, has not chosen the better part.“The better part” indicates a depth of com-munion with Christ that readies one to giveand serve out of that precise communion.The deacon’s subjective appropriation to livein communion with Christ is his fullresponse to the objective action of Christwithin him that happened at ordination. Thedeacon is called not to the priesthood, not tooffer sacrifice, but to diakonia, service. Toserve faithfully, the deacon needs to hearwhat God desires. This listening or obedi-ence is, of course, one of the most powerfulelements, if not the most powerful element,of Jesus’ own ministry. “I cannot do anythingon my own; … I do not seek my own will butthe will of the one who sent me” (John 5:30).When Christ inflicts the “wound” of dia-conal ordination upon a man, it is to makehim vulnerable to the mystery of this obedi-ent service. The desire to serve the Father’swill defines the heart of Christ. Is the deaconaware that Christ is now speaking to himabout this desire, about the love of the FatherHe wishes to dispense upon His Church?

Did the deacon allow the wound of ordina-tion to open the ears of his heart so that hecould hear the movement of Christ’s ownSpirit? Does the deacon wish to obey theSpirit so that he does not work in vain (Ps127:1)?

There are few virtues more necessary to adeacon than the capacity to listen to Christin prayer, within the context of listening bothto the bishop and to the needs of the diocese.Listening for the needs of the people andthen discerning with God what needs can beserved by his ministry is a prayer emblemat-ic of the deacon. He, with the bishop, iscalled to prayerfully imagine approaches toservice that do not yet exist in the diocese orapproaches that can be better equipped.

The diaconal sacramental character can besummarized in this way: It is a grace thatpermanently orders a man toward participa-tion in Christ’s own simple self-giving, as onewho came to serve and not be served. This isthe crux of the character: the deacon hasbecome permanently open, unceasinglyavailable to the mystery of this charitable

service as it flows from the life, death, andresurrection of Christ. This participation inthe mystery of Christ’s own service estab-lishes the deacon, by right, to facilitate thecirculation of Christ’s own charity in theChurch and beyond. The deacon is an envoyof the Paschal Mystery to the laity, in thehope of serving them in their mission totransform culture for Christ. In this way, thedeacon takes what grace he receives whenassisting at the altar and gives it to the laity,and then takes what he receives from the

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... prayerfully imagineapproaches to service thatdo not yet exist in thediocese or approaches thatcan be better equipped

5 Richard Gaillardetz’s emphasis on the deacon’s relationship to the bishop is crucial here. In practice, many have placed too much of an emphasis upon the parish work of the deaconand thus, his relationship to a pastor. Once ordained to the diaconate, a man is sent forth byChrist in a permanent relationship to the one who oversees the Church. This deacon is calledto serve him, the bishop, in his ministry of oversight. Richard Gaillardetz, “On the TheologicalIntegrity of the Diaconate,” in O. Cummings et al., ed., Theology of the Diaconate (NewJersey: Paulist Press, 2005), 87ff. I would add that at its spiritual core, ordination establishesa man in an unbreakable openness to the mysteries of Christ in a public way – i.e., as onesent from the bishop.

6 This Scripture story throws much light on the dynamism of the diaconal character, especiallyhis moving freely in Christ from altar to evangelize the culture and back again to the altar.See my A Deacon’s Retreat (New Jersey: Paulist Press, 2009).

7 See Hans Urs von Balthasar, Love Alone is Credible (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2004), 116.

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When ministering, thedeacon embodies thespiritual discernment of thebishop, who has identifiedor confirmed the needs ofthe Church

this spiritual wound is to remain open so thatthe deacon can receive from there the lovethat Christ is pouring into his soul. By desir-ing for Christ to configure him to a life of self-emptying, the deacon supports and servesthe laity in their call to transform culturealong the lines of the Eucharistic Mystery –that is, to give witness to the love-infusedBody of Christ in public.

If it is true that the deacon “presides at theLiturgy of Charity”9 and the priest at theLiturgy of the Eucharist, then it is also truethat the deacon gives Christ the freedom toplace oil and wine (i.e., divine charity, Luke10:34) into the needs of the Church as Shelabours to give witness to the love of Christ inpublic. In his ministry to the laity, he emptieshimself of social standing so that Christ canact in him to encourage the Church to givewitness. The deacon makes himself availableto Christ so that He can configure himself tothe suffering of those who feel the cost ofstanding up for the Gospel in public. Thedeacon remains empty with them, depend-ing solely on the power of grace. This empti-ness is full because it flows from the sacra-mental character that defines the deaconand from the mutual participation of deaconand the laity at the altar.

If the deacon is faithful to his call in all its

complexity, he will be able to encourage thelaity to give rise to their greatest gift in this orany age: to become the Church in public.This witness flows from the altar, from thesacrificial service of Christ, a reality theChurch consumes in love at the Eucharist.Fidelity to Holy Orders flows from a commu-nion with Christ that is expressed in two dif-ferent but complementary directions: priest-ly sacrifice (priesthood) and service to thosewho suffer (diaconate), so that in the end,Christ will be all in all (the mission of thelaity). Christ brings us all to His Mystery soHe can accomplish it in us.10 Having com-munion with the sacrifice will compel us toservice, not by force but by the singular beau-ty of the One who has come and loved us to

the end. The deacon’s sacramental charac-ter, if he stays open to its transforming grace,communicates to him a reality that enlivensand purifies his own conscience and willredound to the benefit of the Church.

9 See Keating, A Deacon’s Retreat, 66–67: “We deacons do not preside at the Eucharisticliturgy; rather, we intone, in its dismissal rite, the initiation of the liturgy of charity, chargingall to ‘go in the peace of Christ to love and serve the Lord.’ This presidency is not a juridicalone, but rather one of moral and spiritual collaboration with the mission of the laity. Unlikethe priest, our words do not bring about the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. In fact,the deacon utters no words in the ‘liturgy’ he presides over, except in the silence of his heartas it communes with the mystery that has claimed his life, ‘[I] came not to be served but toserve’ (Mt 20:28). At the dismissal rite, the Eucharist ‘processes’ out of the church in thehearts of parishioners not as an inert memory … but as a living call from Christ to go andtransform culture. We preside by distributing the fruit of the Mass – the divine life within us.This service is our form of being in persona Christi: Christ acting in us. We do not share inthe priesthood. Since we share in Orders, however, we receive a portion of the mystery ofChrist’s own actions. The priest shares in Christ’s sacrificial self-offering in priestlythanksgiving “as head” – whereas we who are deacons receive that portion of Christ’s ownaction which insures that the love of many will not grow cold (Mt 24:12).”

10 Jean Corbon, The Wellspring of Worship (San Francisco: Ignatius, 2005), 151.



The transition that needs to be made is onethat takes a man from relying on his pool ofnatural talents and years of professionalexperience to becoming a man who relies onthe depth of his communion with Christ, onewho relies on his permanent availability tothe servant identity of Jesus. How does a mancome to rely on this depth of communion?How, in other words, does one live the char-acter of his ordination?

Participation in the actionsof Christ the servantFirst, this communion is secured by the veryactions of the deacon in the course of his min-istry of the Word. The deacon is given theprivilege and right to proclaim the Gospel. Byvirtue of his ordination, only he and the priestcan utter the very words of Christ in themidst of liturgy. Here, we have a wellspring ofintimacy for the deacon and Christ. As thedeacon meditates upon the Gospel, Christdraws him into His heart. There, in theheart, Christ speaks to the deacon about Hisown servant heart, sharing with the deaconJesus’ own will for him regarding ministryand service. The Gospel becomes a point ofsecuring communion with Christ so thatministry flows from an interior place for thegood of the people served. Ministry beginsand ends in communion with Christ.

Second, the simple service around the altarthat assists the priest and keeps the move-ments of liturgical prayer flowing smoothlybecomes a point of secured communionwith Christ for the deacon. These move-ments are so modest that they becomeeffortless over time, thus freeing the heart tobe with Christ in the everydayness ofNazareth. Here in the “hidden” simplicity ofwhat are common or ordinary duties –arranging vessels, placing books, pouringwine, reading petitions – the deacon inter-cedes for the people of the diocese, who may

find it hard to discover Christ in ordinarydaily circumstances, where love may be voidand only duty and suffering are present.

Third, communion with Christ is secured inand through the specific diocesan ministryof each deacon. Here, in the myriad waysdeacons witness to the Paschal Mystery inthe secular world, the altar is brought to theculture by the grace of Holy Orders. In away, the deacon continues his ministry atthe altar by “enthroning the Word of God” inthe matrix of culture.8 Hopefully, throughhis diaconal formation, the deacon learnedhow not only to minister Christ to the peoplebut also to carry Him in prayerful con-sciousness within the depths of his ownheart right in the midst of ministering.

Through these three foundational realities inthe deacon’s life, he remains available to the“owner” who branded him. Christ calls out tothe deacon from within the brand mark,from within the wound that divine loveimparted upon him on his ordination day.There is no separation between the mysteriesof the altar at which the deacon assists and

the effect these mysteries have upon his willand conscience as he embeds himself withinculture to serve the laity. This service flowsfrom the deacon’s intimacy with the servantlove of Christ. This intimacy is the result ofChrist’s actions upon the deacon and thedeacon’s subjective openness to Christ at thepoint of the wound. Unlike a physical wound,



8 Pope Benedict XVI, Meeting with the Clergy of the Diocese of Rome, “The Importance of the Permanent Diaconate” (February 7, 2008),http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=26825.

The transition ... takes aman from relying on his poolof natural talents ... tobecoming a man who relieson the depth of hiscommunion with Christ

By desiring for Christ toconfigure him to a life of self-emptying, the deacon supportsand serves the laity ... to givewitness to the love-infusedBody of Christ in public D

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This reality is clear: among the membersof the Church is a rank of clergy living a laylife so as to give witness to the servant mys-tery of Christ. This mystery is united toand flows from the altar but also reachesinto the very fabric of ordinary life. Thisreach, by virtue of Holy Orders, touches

the culture by way of the gift of a man whoremains permanently open at the point ofone of Christ’s greatest mysteries: thedivine is ordered toward self-forgetfulness,

service, self-emptying, and self-effacingcharity. It is the deacon who is charged tokeep this facet of the mystery before theChurch’s eyes and heart so that the laitymay know by way of his ministry how closeChrist is to them in their courageous wit-ness to the Gospel, and so that priests mayknow that their sacrifices for the Gospelare not without fruit. It is a fruit so tangi-ble that he can see it before his eyes everySunday as the laity process forward to thealtar with the gifts of bread and wine, sym-bols of the transformed culture for whichthey labor in Christ. And ready to receivethese gifts from the laity in order to givethem to the priest is the deacon, the onewho facilitates charity, who, in the Spirit,circulates the divine self-giving by his min-istry. May this divine self-giving, thiswound upon the heart of the deacon, thisbrand mark of love always be the site ofdeepest intimacy between the deacon andthe Lord. �



he finds himself at odds with what theyare saying. The criteria he uses are theprinciples of faith rather than presuppo-sitions that can arise from ideological orphilosophical positions that fail to fullyappreciate the biblical worldview andJesus’ self-understanding.

Using the methodology of identifying theOld Testament references within the NewTestament verses, namely Zech. 9:9, 2Kings 9:13 and Psalm 118:26, the Popeshows, in his first chapter, that the entry ofJesus into Jerusalem is a consciousannouncement by Jesus of his DavidMessianic role. As the Messiah, son ofDavid, Jesus is proclaiming the definitivepresence of the Kingdom of God, and atthe same time excluding any notion ofpolitical zealotry. As we shall see in laterchapters, what Jesus has come to bringand to reveal is something that goesbeyond typical human categories. God’skingdom is not founded on power, violenceor might, but rather on poverty and small-ness, humility and gentleness. The fullmeaning of this will become clearer andclearer through the following events ofHoly Week. The acclamation given toJesus in this role is itself an anticipation ofthe praise and worship given to Jesus inour liturgy today.

The Holy Father makes very interestingdistinctions with regard to the variouscrowds who gather at various points in thewhole passion narrative. Initially, thecrowds who acclaim Jesus are those whohave accompanied him from Galilee andthe towns and villages on route toJerusalem. The people of the city of

The reality has exceeded the anticipa-tion. For those particularly engaged in

engaging with and proclaiming the Wordof God in the Liturgy and other contexts,Pope Benedict’s second volume is a rarefeast. In the Introduction, which is shorterthan the Foreword to the first volume, thePope briefly expresses his hope that hisbook will be a significant step in the direc-tion of re-mastering a methodology ofinterpreting Scripture, which is once againa theological discipline, yet not losing itshistorical character.

With regard to this methodology we cannote principally:

His emphasis is on the unity betweenthe four Gospels, Less significance isgiven to the differences between them.He typically arrives at a sense of theoverwhelming unity and consistency ofthe presentation of the person of Jesus.

The most notable feature is the constantreferences throughout the book to theOld Testament. It is only in the light ofthe Old Testament revelation that theperson of Jesus can be understood. Itwas Jesus who first understood Himselfin relation to the revelation of HisFather. He saw Himself as the fulfill-ment and centre of all that the Fatherhad revealed in the Old Testament andin the history of Israel.

We should also note the way in whichthe Pope engages with exegetical viewsand opinions. While he commentsfavourably upon the views of a numberof exegetes, there are also times when


Paul Watson

Mgr Paul Watson, Director of MaryvaleInstitute and regular contributor to theNew Diaconal Review, points up thehighlights in the already widelyacclaimed second volume of thePope’s Jesus of Nazareth.

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Jesus of Nazareth – Holy Week:from the entrance intoJerusalem to the Resurrection –Pope Benedict XVI

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May this divine self-giving,this wound upon the heartof the deacon, this brandmark of love always be thesite of deepest intimacybetween the deacon and the Lord

hard to overestimate the significance ofthis Pauline insight. For him it was a com-pletely new understanding of the OldTestament and its central realities. He nowsaw these realities as mere shadows com-pared with the true reality of the Cross ofJesus – where the Name (the mystery) ofGod is definitely revealed, and where thecovenant between God and Man is defini-tively sealed. This new understanding byPaul is really the heart of his conversionand represents also the early Church’srealisation of the unity of the Old and NewTestaments brought about in Jesus.

The second of Benedict’s analyses is to dowith the place of the Church – under theheading of “The time of the Gentiles” andthe need for the Gospel to be preached to

all nations. Countering the common view(among a number of exegetes) that Jesusonly preached the Kingdom of God, whileit was his disciples who preached “TheChurch”, the Pope shows that the time ofthe Gentiles and the mission of theChurch was an essential element of Jesus’message. In describing this as the time ofthe Gentiles, he also indicates that theJews clearly still have their part in God’sultimate purpose, not least of being, bytheir continued sufferings, a witness and areminder to the Church of Lord’s suffer-ings, but also because God has an appoint-ed time for them, for their restoration; atime for which the Church can confident-ly hope and in the meantime continue inthe mission to the Gentiles.

The next three chapters are concernedwith the narrative describing the LastSupper of Jesus and his disciples. Chapter3 and 4 deal with John’s account, whichfocus on the Washing of the Feet andJesus’ High-Priestly Prayer, while Chapter5 analyses the Synoptics’ account of themeal itself. A very interesting point is thePope’s conclusion that it is more likely thatthe Last Supper took place on the eveningbefore the Jewish Passover, even thoughJesus saw the Supper as a new kind ofPassover. This suggests that the crucifixionactually took place at the time that the sac-rifices were being made in the Temple inpreparation before the Passover meal.Jesus’ death thus becomes strikingly pre-sented as the new reality, and indeed thenew liturgy, of reconciliation with God.

Chapters 6, 7,and 8 treat, consecutively,Gethsemane, the Trial of Jesus, and theDeath and Burial of Jesus. There is notspace here even to summarise the wealthof riches to be found in these chapters.Suffice it to say that they contain a deeperunfolding of the themes already suggestedin the earlier chapters of the book, in whichthe face and the person of Jesus emergewith unfolding clarity and heart-piercinginsight. Again it is the rereading of the OldTestament – from a variety of passages –that serve to enlighten the face of Christand also enable us to engage personallywith Him in the reality of our presentmoment. Principal among the OldTestament passages is the SufferingServant Song of Isaiah 53 and the textsrelating to the Day of Atonement and thesacrifice of the lamb during the passover inEgypt (Exodus 12). While being complete-ly rooted in both history and tradition (thatof the Old Testament and the tradition ofthe Church), Christ emerges from thePope’s analyses, not merely as an historicalfigure of the past, but as the living personwho engages us today, inviting us to be bothmoved and to respond to Him in faith andlove as well as to His invitation to partici-


Jesus of Nazareth – Holy Week: from the entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection –Pope Benedict XVI – Paul Watson

Jerusalem, on the other hand, have barelyregistered Jesus and at this point do notknow what to make of Him. A climax pointin the narrative is the rejection of Jesus bythe crowds before the judgment seat ofPilate. Here, the Pope argues, it is notJerusalem or the Jews in general, butrather the Temple aristocracy and a mob,probably largely made up of Barabbas’ sup-porters, who have turned out to furthertheir own political agendas. It is withinsuch analyses that the Holy Father isemphasising that there is no justificationin the texts for any accusations against theJewish people for the crime of deicide.Perhaps most consoling to us all is hisinterpretation of the text Matt 27:25 “hisblood be on us and on our children”. In thecontext of the gospels, this text, whichappears to be calling down a curse, is actu-ally a prophetic word about the power ofJesus’ sacrifice on the Cross to bring heal-ing and forgiveness, to those who shoutedfor His condemnation and ultimately, tothe whole human race, because of whosesin the Father willed the reconciling sacri-fice of His Son.

In his discussion of the cleansing of theTemple, the key Old Testament texts thistime are Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11,revealing, in the first place, the universali-ty of the future worship of God (of whichthe court of the Gentiles in the Temple wasa shadowy anticipation), and secondly, thatit is precisely the rejection and the suffer-ing of Jeremiah and of Jesus – in their zealfor God’s house – that indicate the reasonfor the end of the Temple and its sacrifices,and at the same time show that the ulti-mate place of contact and of reconciliationwith God will be in the Cross and theResurrection of Christ.

In Chapter 2 – “Jesus’ EschatologicalDiscourse” – Pope Benedict describesthese verses from the Gospels (i.e. Mark 13and the corresponding verses in the otherGospels) as the most difficult verses of the

Gospels. He sets the interpretation of theseverses both within the historical contextand the theological. The physical destruc-tion of the Temple came at the climax ofthe Jewish Wars in 70 A.D., which were asmuch a civil war among Jewish factions asa struggle with the Romans.Notwithstanding these historical facts, thewords of Jesus are not to be understood interms of one seeing into the future. Ratherthey are rooted in the language of theprophets – Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel andDaniel and the apocalyptic visions theycontain. All of these show that there wouldcome a time when the Temple and its litur-gy would be over, when God would desertHis house. This came to pass long beforethe physical destruction of the Temple.Christians came more and more fully tounderstand that Jesus Himself was and is

the Temple’s replacement. Something rad-ically new has taken place. In Jesus there isa new and universal accessibility to God.

This chapter is the place that Benedict haschosen to introduce two key analyses,which are fundamental to the whole book.One is the treatment of the understandingof St Paul of the real meaning of the Crossof Christ through a rereading of the OldTestament liturgy of the Day of Atonement.A key text here is Romans 3:23-25 in whichJesus is described as “expiation” – which,in the OT liturgy, was the seat over the Arkof the Covenant in innermost sanctuary ofthe Temple, and which was the place overwhich God’s name was solemnly pro-nounced by the High Priest once a year,and was also the place where the blood of abull was sprinkled before sprinkling thepeople – thus renewing the Covenant. It is



Jews clearly still have theirpart in God’s ultimatepurpose, ... because God hasan appointed time for them,for their restoration; a timefor which the Church canconfidently hope ...

Christians came more andmore fully to understandthat Jesus Himself was andis the Temple’s replacement

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In this introduction I want to present abrief philological study of the New

Testament to help make your study of thediaconate in the Church Fathers deeperand more interesting.

The verb diakoneo and its derivativesdiakonos and diakonia are part of asemantic group of synonyms, often inter-changeable, with their own meanings.These are the nouns doulos, therapon,oiketes, hyperetes and the verb latreuo.Before we start our main subject weshould be aware of the excellent explana-tion of these terms in the classic book byRichard Trench, Synonyms of the NewTestament, published in 1876. This bookstill has significant value, as the authorwas an important philologist.

Doulos has the opposite meaning toeleutheros, a free citizen, and to an owner,the despotes to whom he is linked for all

his life; perhaps he is despised or he giveshis services unwillingly. In the NT the rela-tionship is personal (ad personam), but itcan have a moral sense too: Paul glorieshimself as a doulos of Jesus Christ (Rm1:1), but we can be douloi of sin. The dou-los of God above all is Christ, an image ofslave opposed to the words to Adam ‘youwill be like God’ (Phil 2:7).

Pais, like the word ragazzo in Italian, canbe a son, a servant or a slave. The word

therapon is used only once in the NT, inHeb 3:5 (cf. Num 12:7): Moses was a ther-apon in God’s house, while Christ is sonand heir. The servant can be slave or freeand offer his services voluntarily, even withpassion. His relationship with his master ismore free than that of a slave.

The oiketes can be a slave who had beenfreed (cf. 1 Peter 2:18), a member of theoike of the paterfamilias. The hyperetes(cf. eresso, row) originally was someone,usually a war slave, forced to row in gal-leys, which was a very hard and tiring job.At a later stage its meaning was an officialwhose intent was to follow his superior’scommands. Often and simply a guard, butin Acts 13:5 Mark became known as thehyperetes of Paul and Barnabas. In hisgospel Luke calls hyperetai tou logou wit-nesses of the works of Jesus and those whoare commissioned to pass on his words (Lk1:2). A leitourgos is a member of the pub-lic services, profane and sacred, and in theNT in relation to Christ, to the communi-ty or missions.

Let us now examine the group of wordsdiakoneo, diakonos and diakonia. The ety-mology is not certain: some suggest theyare related to the Latin conari, to sweat.Generally we can say that the diakonos,unlike the doulos, is related to a service orto a ministry, not to a person, even if such


Prosper Grech OSA

pate with Him in His continuing mission.

We should not however, conclude withoutdrawing particular attention to the amaz-ing final chapter on Jesus’ Resurrectionfrom the Dead.

The heart of the treatment of theResurrection consists of two separateanalyses of the Gospel texts divided into a)the Confessional Tradition – and b) theNarrative Tradition. There were no cate-gories with which to fully grasp this newreality, other than the experience of thereality of the risen Christ Himself. It was,Pope Benedict tantalisingly suggests, an“evolutionary leap” or an “ontologicalleap”. Because the Resurrection has noprecedents in the history of humanity,there is a sense in which it is almost out-side human history. It is trans-historicalalso in its universal significance. The

whole of humanity has received a newpotential. At the same time, Pope Benedicttries to resolve the debates about the his-torical, or otherwise, nature of theResurrection by proposing that “Jesus’Resurrection points beyond history but hasleft a footprint within history. Therefore itcan be attested by witnesses as an event ofan entirely new kind.” (p. 275).

Since there was no precedent for thesenew realities the Church had to go back tosearch the Scriptures (the Old Testament)to see how a rereading of them mightthrow light on these new events that theyhad encountered. The original encounterinvolved only a few, but the living stream ofwitness, not least through the Gospelsthemselves and the liturgy of the Church,and indeed the Pope’s book, is sufficient toput us in touch with this new reality – theliving face of Christ! �



Diakonia in the NewTestament

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Luke calls ‘hyperetai toulogou’ witnesses of theworks of Jesus and thosewho are commissioned topass on his words

Two years ago in this journal weadvertised the Thirty-Eighth Meeting ofScholars of Ancient Christianity at theAugustinianum in Rome: this Patristicsconference was dedicated to thediaconate. To give a flavour of theconference we print here one of theintroductory papers given at theconference on 7 May 2009. Fr Grech isProfessor at the Augustinianum and theBiblicum in Rome. We hope to publishother papers from the Proceedings of thissignificant conference in future issues.

Inviting AuthorsNew Diaconal Review welcomes readers tosubmit articles with a view to publication

� They should be in keeping with the journal's aims, andmindful of pastoral implications. Ideas or topics for articlescan be emailed to the editors...

Tony [email protected]

or Ashley [email protected] are happy to commenton their suitability andadvise about word length.

� Guidelines for house-style can be found at The PastoralReview website, www.thepastoralreview.org under'Contact us'.

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praising his duties and consistency; cer-tainly, more than his material duties ‘at thetable’.

The term is applied more precisely to thebringing of aid to the churches ofJerusalem in Rm 15:25 and 2 Co 8:4. Thecollection would have been the one whichPaul had pledged to collect, to help thepoor of the mother church. Thus, thekoinonia of the property in that communi-ty will be extended to the communion ofchurches through the collection, to revealthe unity between pagan converts and theoriginal church in Judaea.

The specific use of diakonia is in refer-ence to the preaching of the Gospel, dutiesin the name of God and of kerygma. In theaccount of the choosing of the deaconsdescribed in Acts 6, the verb refers to theduties of table where the noun refers tothe duties of the Word on the part of theApostles (Acts 6:1-4), but then Stephenand Philip extend their work to the serviceof preaching. Even Judas himself, had henot betrayed Our Lord, was responsible for

the same diakonia as the other Apostles.On the other hand, the diakonia of Moses,even though he was surrounded by glory(2 Co 3:7), served the dead, because heproclaimed that the law cannot give life,whereas the glory of the ministry of theSpirit and of justice exercised by Paul infi-nitely surpasses that of Moses (2 Co 3:7-8).

In the list of gifts in Rom 12 and 1 Co 12diakonia is listed as one of the specificgifts for the service of the community.Diakonia is not limited to human beings,according to Heb 1:14 – even the angelsare spirits sent to carry out work for a min-istry, invited to service.

From diakonia let us now go on todiakonos (29 times in the NT). Apart fromthe usual meaning which we found fordiakoneo and diakonia, – table service (Mt22:13), service in general (Mt 20:26) andsimply helper (Col 4:7) – Paul qualifies asa servant of the new covenant (2 Co 3:6),of righteousness (2 Co 11:15), of Christ (2Co 11:23), of God (2 Co 6:4), of the Gospel(Eph 3:7), and of the Church (Col 1:25).Sometimes the term is replaced by hyper-etes (Lk 1:2; 1 Co 4:1). Even Christ hasbecome ‘diakonos of the circumcised infavour of the truthfulness of God’, (Rm15:8). The emperor himself is the servantof God in the correct use of his power (Rm13:4). Even the devil has his ministersdressed as diakonoi of justice (2 Co11:15). Diakonoi are also men armed inthe service of a powerful man (Jn 18:3; Mt5:25).

The deacon in the technical sense of theword as part of the Church’s ministry, isattested to in the initial greeting to thechurch of Philippi by the bishop and dea-con of the church (Phil 1:1), while in 1Tim 3:8 – 13 the qualities are specifiedwhich those who aspire to the diaconatemust have, although we are told very littleof their specific ministry. The example ofPhoebe, diakonos of the church ofCenchreae, one of the ports of Corinth, inRm 16:1-2, will be examined later byProfessor Penna1. As we have already men-tioned, the beginning of Acts 6:1 describesthe diaconate as having its own develop-ment in the course of Luke’s narrative


a meaning is not excluded. In the OldTestament we do not find the verb: thenoun indicates service at court. Amongthe Essenes, according to Josephus, ser-vice was offered to one another, that is tothe sick; in Qumran it includes service attable (1QSa 2.17ff.). While Josephus doesnot use diakonia, the verb diakoneo isoften found.

In the New Testament, we will now look athow the verb and the noun are used inturn. First, diakoneo. More frequently itrelates to service at table: Peter’s mother-in- law, just cured, got up and served Jesusat table. Mary, the sister of Lazarus, didthe same thing during the lunch to cele-brate the resuscitation of her brother (Jn12:2). The Apostles thought their serviceat the table in Jerusalem’s community wasa waste of their time and chose to leave itto the deacons in order to have more timeto preach the word. They passed, that is,from a service in relation to materialthings to that of proclamation (Acts 6:2).

The serving is not limited to the table. InMt 25:44, the reprobate asks the Son ofMan:‘Lord, when did we see you hungry orthirsty, a stranger or lacking clothes, sick orin prison, and did not come to your help?’In Mt 27:55 the women who served Jesusduring his life remained to observe theprecise place where his body lay.

If now we focus on the Christian signifi-cance of the verb in 1 Tim 3:10 we see thatit refers to the specific service of deacons,while Paul is called to service because hewants a collection taken from the Gentilesfor the community in Jerusalem (Rom15:25: 2 Co 8:19); this aims to expand thekoinonia of property, described in full inActs 2 and 4. But in the vocabulary of theapostles ‘to serve’ also meant serving thecommunity through the ministry of theword and sacrament. 2 Co 3:3 is a classicpassage: ‘It is plain that you are a letterfrom Christ, entrusted to us (diakonethe-

sia), written not with ink but with the liv-ing Spirit of God; not on stone tablets, buton the tablets of human hearts’. TheApostle himself glories in the spirit ofdiakonia, not the letter. According to Peter,even the ancient prophets served theChurch by feeding the mouths of thepreachers of the Gospel with marvelswhich the angels would have wanted tocontemplate. (1 Pt 1:12).

Serving Jesus means to follow him:‘Whoever serves me, must follow me, andmy servant will be with me wherever I am.If anyone serves me, my Father will hon-our him.’(Jn 12:25-26)

We now go from the verb to the noundiakonia which is found 24 times in theNT. The immediate reference to it is at theservice of the table, which is evident in thestory of Mary and Martha in Lk 10:40.Martha laments that Mary leaves her onher own during her diakonia. But also inthe account of the choice of Greek-speak-ing deacons in Acts 6:1 – the originalintention was to relieve the Apostles of the

‘service of the table’, but as we shall see,the service of these deacons was not limit-ed exclusively to this material function.

But the meaning of diakonia immediatelytakes on a wider meaning, that of carryingout a duty in general. In 1 Co 16:15, forexample, Paul speaks of Stephen’s family, apaterfamilias who dedicated their servicestogether with their household (oikia) andthe faithful. Even the author of theApocalypse refers to the angel of Thyateira


Diakonia in the New Testament – Prosper Grech OSA Diakonia in the New Testament – Prosper Grech OSA

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1 This is a reference to another paper given at the conference, ‘Phoebe, deacon of the churchof Cenchreae’, given on 9 May. (Ed.).

‘Whoever serves me, mustfollow me, and my servantwill be with me wherever Iam. If anyone serves me,my Father will honour him.’

... the verb refers to theduties of table where thenoun refers to the dutiesof the Word on the partof the Apostles ...

The Synod of Bishops in October 2008was the first Synod over which Pope

Benedict presided from beginning to end.That he chose the theme of the Word ofGod in the life and mission of the Churchis no surprise. The proper interpretation ofSacred Scripture has been a major interestand concern of Joseph Ratzinger for manyyears. As Prefect of the Congregation ofthe Doctrine of the Faith, he was also theChair of the International TheologyCommission and of the Pontifical BiblicalCommission. He has been a significantarchitect of a number of key documentsregarding the interpretation of Scripture,which bear the marks of his influence.

The Post-Synodal Exhortation – VerbumDomini – has taken two years to produceand is a substantial document, not onlywith regard to its length (124 sections),but also with regard to its content. Thisarticle is one brief attempt to highlightsome of the key features of the documentand perhaps to indicate some of the chal-lenges it offers, especially to those involvedin the ministry of preaching the Word aswell as all responsible for catechesis andtheological formation. One thing is cer-tain, a single reading of the document willnot be sufficient for appreciating its sub-stance. It calls for significant pondering inthe context of prayer, allowing the HolySpirit to bring forth its fullest riches.

Initial observationsAs with all Magisterial documents, it isimportant to learn how to read this docu-ment. There are certain keys that enablethe reader to unlock the content – flagsthat serve to highlight the main elements.They provide a sense of the terrain, a

method of mapping the whole forest insuch a way that we can understand thesignificance of the individual trees. LikeScripture itself, there is a hermeneuticinvolved in reading such documents. Firstof all, we need to pay attention to the title,the overall structure of the document, thecontext and genre in which it is writtenand the Introductory section, which setsout the basic goal and objective.

The titleThe title, Verbum Domini, is a consciouslinking back to the Constitution on DivineRevelation (Dei Verbum), one of the fun-damental documents of the SecondVatican Council. Along with the formerpost-synodal exhortation on “TheEucharist: the Source and Summit of theChurch’s Life and Mission”, this docu-ment is dealing with the very heart of theChristian life. At the same time, it propos-es to be a very concrete document, makingknown to the Church at large the reflec-tions, recommendations and proposalsthat emerged from the Synod.

There are two things in particular to noticeabout the title. In the first place, althoughit clearly recalls the Constitution on DivineRevelation, there has been an inversion ofthe two words in the title and also a shift inone of the words. Placing “Verbum” firstrather than “Dei” indicates the more prac-tical nature of the document, focussingnot so much on the source of revelation(God) as the revelation itself (the Word)and its presence and transmission today inthe life of the Church. Secondly, It is sig-nificant also to note that the expression“Verbum Domini” is taken from theLiturgy. It is the proclamation made at


Paul Watson

Verbum Domini has already beenacclaimed as the most significantdocument on the word of God sincethe Second Vatican Council. Here MgrPaul Watson flags up some majorpoints of that significance

A Pearl of Great Price – The Riches of Pope Benedict’s Post Synodal Exhortation – Verbum Domini

when the author presents Stephen andPhilip preaching and in dispute with theJews. The classic text is in Mk 10:43-45.Because the Son of man came not to beserved but to serve and give his life formany, the greatest among the disciplesmust be diakonos for all. The washing ofthe feet in Jn 13:10-15 is a good illustrationof this service of Jesus. Indeed the LastJudgement of the Son of Man will have asits central theme works of charity whichare nothing more than service of Jesushimself. Ultimately the service provided toChrist is to build his mystical body for glory,taking its origin from the same God.

Finally let us look at Lampe’s PatristicGreek Lexicon (Oxford 1961) to see wherethe patristic use is different from that ofthe NT. The list that follows will be helpfulfor your programme of papers at this con-ference.

First, the verb diakoneo. It is found inmonastic usage – one who serves in themonastery and particularly one whoattends to an elderly monk. The angels

serve Christ, the Bishop serves the Churchand the deaconesses serve the poor.

Diakonia is the service of the Levites ofthe Old Testament and the priests; the ser-vice of angels, and the liturgical service ofthe bishops and the aid of the poor. Theterm also indicates the body of deaconscollectively. Diakonikos is a vestry, a chapelor a sanctuary.

The deaconesses are called he diakonos, infemale terms, or diakonikousa; it is usedespecially for those who assisted with thebaptism of females. There is evidence thatthey were ordained by the imposition ofthe hands of the bishop, but also evidenceto the contrary. They taught the women orevangelized them. Their age was some-times at sixty, other times forty. A churchcould not have more than 60 deaconesses.

As far as male deacons are concerned(except that the noun is related to theLevites in the Old Testament), theChristian deacon was ordained only by thebishop; he was inferior to the priest, andwas an icon of Christ himself and couldserve both as prophet and as a teacher. Hecarried the bishop’s letters, attendedcouncils with the bishop and sometimesrepresented him; he served the sick andtook care of the sinners; he could alsocarry out exorcism. The deacon baptized,but sometimes was actually forbidden toadminister baptism. He acted as a guard atthe doors of the church and prepared thealtar for the ceremonies. He read scrip-ture, taught the catechism and distributedcommunion. The deacon accompaniedthose who were possessed for the prayersof exorcism in church. Aged between sev-enteen and twenty-five years old, the dea-con was required to tell the bishopwhether or not he intended to marry.Normally he could be promoted to a high-er order, but if he acted immorally hecould be dismissed. In theological termsthe term deacon can refer to Christ andthe Holy Spirit.

Translated by Massimo Velaridi, PatriziaVelardi and Ashley Beck �


Diakonia in the New Testament – Prosper Grech OSA

... the Last Judgement of the Son of Man willhave as its central themeworks of charity whichare nothing more thanservice of Jesus himself

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writings and reveal some-thing of his heart. They are atestimony to the fundamen-tal belief that the living Wordof God has the power totouch the heart. We arereminded of the disciples onthe road to Emmaus whodeclared: “Did not our heartsburn within us as heexplained the Scriptures tous on the road”.

Finally, we should note in § 5 the referenceto the Prologue of John’s Gospel. This textwill provide the key to understanding thewhole document as well as the individualparts. The three parts lead with versesfrom the Prologue – Part One: John 1:1,14); Part Two: John 1:12; Part Three: John1:18. These texts provide the fundamentaltheological basis for all of the practical rec-ommendations and proposals. Praying andmeditating on this text should be an essen-tial accompaniment to our study of thisdocument.

It remains for us to take a brief look at thecontent of the three parts of theExhortation.

Part One – Verbum Dei – The Godwho speaks (John 1:1, 14)As we indicated earlier, this first partinvolves an entering into the mystery ofthe Trinity. As verses 1 and 14 of John’sGospel reveal, there is a dialogue of love, acommunication between persons, withinthe Trinity itself. This dialogue has becomeavailable to us, and is an invitation to us, inthe fact of the Incarnation. The Word ofGod, therefore, primarily refers to the eter-nal Word, the Son, through whom God iseternally expressing Himself, and throughwhom all of creation has its being and exis-tence. The mystery of Trinitarian life isfurther explored by means of catechesis onthe Word, through the concept of the anal-ogous meanings of the Word of God, and

encompasses the theme ofCreation and humanity asexpressions of the Word ofGod; also salvation history andthe paschal mystery of theCross, all of which have theirprofound unity in the personof Christ – He in whom theWord became “abbreviated”as the Fathers were fond ofsaying. Christ is, as it were,the solo theme in the whole

symphony of creation through which Godexpresses Himself. He it is who givesmeaning to the entire work and its author.There is such a richness in this teachingthat it can only be assimilated in prayerand in the Holy Spirit, whose role it is to“take everything that is mine and make itknown to you”. (John 16:14-15)

It is in the Church that the mystery of theWord of God is both made present and isalso received and understood. From thewomb of the Church, where the Word hasbeen received, there comes forth theSacred Scriptures and the living Traditionof the Church so that the Word of God cancontinue to be made present and commu-nicated to every age. § 18 highlights a veryimportant flag within the document whenit says: “We see clearly, then, how impor-tant it is for the People of God to be prop-erly taught and trained to approach theSacred Scriptures in relation to theChurch’s living Tradition and to recognisein them the very word of God. Fosteringsuch an approach in the faithful is veryimportant from the standpoint of the spir-itual life.” Only if Scripture and the livingTradition are combined can the Word beexperienced as the living Word today; onlythen, can there be a genuine response anda true communion with the living God.

§§ 29-49 provide a brilliant exposition ofthe Church’s way of interpretingScripture. This section perhaps representsthe Pope’s understanding of the funda-


A Pearl of Great Price – The Riches of Pope Benedict’s Post Synodal Exhortation – Verbum Domini – Paul Watson

every Mass after the reading of the Gospel.This choice of a liturgical expression willbe of major importance in the documentitself, because the Liturgy is the place, parexcellence, where the Word of the Lord isto be experienced as the life-giving Wordaddressing us today. Liturgy is the placewhere the Word is welcomed and received.Ultimately, the Word can only be under-stood in the context of the Church and inprayer. The choice of the word “Domini”rather than “Dei” reveals also that the doc-ument is essentially Christological. TheWord is first and foremost Christ Himself,the revelation of the Father. SacredScripture and the living Tradition of theChurch, under the guidance of theMagisterium, are the “means” by whichChrist is communicated and known.

StructureThe document is divided, after theIntroductory sections, into three parts:Part One: Verbum Dei – The God whoSpeaks; Part Two: Verbum in Ecclesia –The Word of God and the Church; PartThree: Verbum Mundo – The Church’sMission: To Proclaim the Word of God tothe World.

It is important to understand correctly therelationship between these three parts.The division is primarily theological. Wemight recall the fact that a number of theencyclicals of Pope John Paul II, especiallythose devoted to the different states of lifewithin the Church (Laity – ChristifidelesLaici; Priesthood – Pastores Dabo Vobis;and Consecrated Life – Vita Consecrata),were divided according to the theologicalstructure ofMystery–Communion–Mission. These ele-ments profoundly reflect the theology andecclesiology of the Second VaticanCouncil. Mystery speaks of the fundamen-tal participation of the whole Church inthe life of the Trinity. Communion speaksof the consequent union among the mem-bers of the Church. Mission reflects the

Church’s participation in the saving mis-sion of Christ. As Paul VI remarked inEvangelii Nuntiandi (Evangelisation inthe Modern World, 1974), “the Churchexists to evangelise”. This same structurecan be seen in our present document. TheWord is the communication of theTrinitarian Life (Part One). The Word is tobe received in the Church in such a way asto be fruitful – bringing about real com-munion with God and one another (PartTwo). When received, and only if received,the Word must be communicated to theworld (Part Three).

IntroductionIn the introductory paragraphs, PopeBenedict explains the context and purposeof the exhortation and, significantly,declares himself to be a “witness” givingtestimony to the profound experience,indeed, the immense beauty, of “encoun-tering the Word of God in the communionof the Church” that occurred during theSynod itself. The exhortation has the pur-pose of making known the “rich fruits” ofthe Synod as well as the recommendationsand specific proposals of the Bishops. PopeBenedict adds “I wish to point out certainfundamental approaches to a rediscoveryof God’s word in the life of the Church asa wellspring of constant renewal. At thesame time I express my hope that theword will be ever more fully at the heart ofevery ecclesial activity.”(§ 1). Here wetouch one of those important flags forhelping us to read the text. We need to bealert, in our reading of the document, toidentifying those “fundamental approach-es” and also to the challenge of “rediscov-ery”, which perhaps suggests a certain lossthat has been occurring.

It is not without significance for our read-ing and our expectation that we note theoccurrence of such words as “beauty”,“pleasure” and “joy” in these introductoryparagraphs. These words, especially“beauty”, are a feature of Pope Benedict’s



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Words and the Word: The Use ofLiterature as a Practical Aid toPreaching

Author: Bill AndersonISBN 9780852447451Date: 2010Price: £12.99Publisher: Gracewing,LeominsterPages: 240

Here we have a singularresource for deacons and allother preachers and homilists.This book is every bit as exhilarating a read as I hadexpected it to be. I say expected, because I have todeclare an interest instantly.Bill Anderson has been acherished friend, personaland family, for almost twenty-five years – ever since thosehalcyon days when he arrivedat Elphinstone House to serve as theCatholic Chaplain to the University ofAberdeen in 1986 whereupon homilies atMass became something one looked for-ward to and was nourished by, Sundayafter Sunday. The risk of even the tiniesttad of tedium was utterly banished duringhis tenure: Mala si mandata loqueris, autdormitabo aut ridebo, lines from Horacethat could, very loosely, be rendered: It bet-ter be good – else I’ll snooze or I’ll snigger,which the author once mischievously jest-ed might be placed as a notice at the footof every pulpit. Especially with a congrega-tion consisting predominantly of studentsand their teachers, one might add.

There is no danger of either sniggeringor snoozing for the reader of this text.Instead, even the most casual of readers –and few of us will be half as widely read asthe author – will find here nothing butencouragement and enjoyment, rich nour-ishment and warm recognition, and notwithout many an ironic chuckle. At theoutset it should be emphasised thatalthough the principal aim of the writing of

this book is the hope “that there may be asharpening of the homiletics appetite”amongst its readers, these should not beconfined to homilists, be they deacons,priests or bishops. Rather, all will find inthese pages a feast. It is a work of Christianhumanism, in its traditional sense, at its

finest. The glowing introduc-tion by Abbot Hugh GilbertOSB of Pluscarden Abbey,himself another fine preach-er, is by no means overstated.

The book divides into two.Part One has six chapterssetting out from the idea thatsecular literature may serveas the prolegomena toSacred Scriptures. “As ahomilist,” Canon Bill avers ofhimself, “I have always feltwith passion, and still do,that the appropriate accom-paniment of secular litera-

ture (in particular, poetry)” can help tomake the sacred text of Scripture accessi-ble. A first chapter entitled Analogues ofRevelation bristles with apt quotationsfrom Professor Nicholas Boyle, Fellow ofMagdalene College, Cambridge andauthor of Sacred and Secular Scriptures: ACatholic Approach to Literature, whosedefinition of literature is “language freefrom instrumental purpose ... [that] seeksto tell the truth” as well as citations from asmall cloud of mainly Dominican witness-es, all of which shed light upon theauthor’s view not only of the legitimacy ofliterature as a handmaiden of Scripturebut also upon the author’s claim that at itsbest it can be viewed as an analogue of rev-elation that “is seen to sustain the momen-tum of God’s word”. This claim is well andconvincingly made: it is the glory of poetryand of secular literature generally, “thatout of such slight material as the pleasureto be had from the weaving together ofwords, it can make analogues of revelationthat can illumine and affect the whole ofour life.” Snippets from Shakespeare to


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mental approach to rediscovering God’sword in the life of the Church and a well-spring for its constant renewal. He leadsus into an appreciation of the relationshipbetween the literal and spiritual and spiri-tual senses of Scripture and the need to“transcend the letter”. This is a key ele-ment of the “rediscovery” of God’s Wordand is an essential element of the imple-mentation of the Second Vatican Council’sDei Verbum that still remains to beachieved.

Part Two Verbum in Ecclesia – The Word of God and the Church(John 1:12)This part of the document examines howthe Word can be welcomed in a living fash-ion in the Church in such a way as to pro-duce its fruit. As John 1:12 indicates, it isthose who receive Him who are givenpower to become children of God. TheChurch is thereby defined by acceptanceof the Word of God. This is not simply areality of the past – describing the way thatthe Church came to exist – it is also adescription of the life of the Church and itsmembers today. Once again, a key flag ishighlighted: “This is an approach thatevery Christian must understand andapply to himself or herself: only those whofirst place themselves in an attitude of lis-tening to the word can go on to become itsheralds.”(§ 51)

§§ 52-89 contain a very practical sectionon welcoming the Word of God. Thebiggest part of this is devoted to the Liturgyas the privileged setting for the Word forhere the Word of God “is always a livingand effective word through the power ofthe Holy Spirit … in the liturgical actionthe word of God is accompanied by theinterior working of the Holy Spirit whomakes it effective in the hearts of the faith-ful” (§ 52). Deacons (and priests and bish-ops) will find much to reflect on in thiswhole section and especially § 59, whichspeaks of the importance of the homily. We

will also find powerful treatments of thebiblical dimensions of pastoral activity, cat-echesis, vocations, training for the priest-hood, the consecrated life, lay life andmarriage and the family – § 81 has a spe-cial mention of the diaconate. In the finalparagraphs, the Pope gives some practicaladvice on a method of lectio divina (§86-87).

Part Three Verbum Mondo – The Church’s Mission: To Proclaim the Word of God to the World (John 1:18)John 1:18 declares that “No one has everseen God. It is God the only Son, who isclose to the Father’s heart, who has madehim known”. God can only be made knownby the Son, who knows His heart. For theChurch to have a mission to proclaim theWord, it must itself be conformed and con-figured to Christ. Becoming conformed toChrist is the fruit, in the Spirit, of welcom-ing and receiving the Word. Thus con-formed, it becomes the responsibility of usall that we share in Christ’s mission ofmaking the Father known. We share in itby first of all making Christ known. It is ofthe essence of our Christian lives that webe committed to this mission – mention ismade of a variety of areas in which thiscommitment needs to be implemented (§§99-108), leading into a consideration ofculture and cultures today and their rela-tionship with the word of God, and finally,of the word of God and inter-religious dia-logue.

We should end with a reminder of the joy,beauty and hope that are enshrined in thisgreat document. It has the potential tolead us all more deeply into a transformingencounter with Christ. �



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A Cross-Shattered Church:Reclaiming the Theological Heartof Preaching

Author: Stanley HauerwasISBN: 978-0-232-52785-8Date: 2010Price: £12.95Publisher: Darton, Longman &Todd, LondonPages: 160

Cuttle Fish, Clones and Cluster Bombs

Author: Michael S. NorthcottISBN: 978-0-232-52788-9Date: 2010Price: £14.99Publisher: Darton, Longman &Todd, LondonPages: 240

Not many preachers speak from a com-plete written text these days, so it is usefulwhen those who do this well publish theirsermons. Two excellent collections of ser-mons have been published on topics relat-ing to Christianity and social justice, fromScotland and the United States, one by apriest of the Scottish Episcopal Churchand the other by a Methodist layman.

Stanley Hauerwas is one of the toweringfigures of the tradition of ‘political theolo-gy,’ famous for many books such asCharacter and the Christian Life and ThePeaceable Kingdom. He has beendescribed as ‘a public provocateur, a rav-enous reader, a restless wrestler with thetruth’ (Charles F. Pinches, UnsettlingArguments, a recent Festschrift) and thesequalities are very evident in this collectionof sermons. Hauerwas is a prolific writer,and yet he claims that this collection,together with another collection of ser-mons (Cross-Shattered Christ, on OurLord’s last words) and two other books, arehis most important works: ‘..If you canonly read a little Hauerwas, read one ofthese books. They are what I most careabout.’ This reflects the need for preach-ing to come from the preacher’s heart, togo to the roots of his being. This collection

is of sermons preached at the localEpiscopalian church and the School ofDivinity at Duke University. Some are spe-cific occasions in the Church’s year, someare for special college events and somewere preached at sacramental celebra-tions such as baptisms. These words fromthe Introduction give a flavour of his atti-tude: ‘..When a sermon is thought to be nomore than a speech by the minster to pro-vide advice to help us negotiate life, thecontent of sermons usually are exemplifi-cations of the superficial and sentimentalpieties of a liberal culture. Then we won-der why the mainstream church isdying....God knows we all want to be liked.We want to preach sermons that the con-gregation will “like”. Moreover it is hard topreach the truth to those one has come tolove. But the truth of the gospel is a harshand dreadful truth. It is a truth throughwhich we come to recognise that when allis said and done we are sinners who wouldprefer to live as if God does not exist.’Hauerwas’ work is important because hechallenges us on every level, and defiesneat categorisation, and what is valuableabout his sermons is that his theology is sointegrated into his easy preaching style.

For example, a sermon Hauerwas preach-es for the dedication of a new processionalcross in the college chapel turns what mightseem to be a rather simple event for manyof us (if we were ever to be asked to preachat such a ceremony) into a profound butaccessible exposition of St Thomas Aquinas’explanation of the symbolic meanings of theCross – it was necessary that Christ shoulddie on the Cross because of what thatreveals about God’s love. Or again, the beau-tiful sermon, ‘The appeal of Judas’ builds onthe words of the Lord to Judas ‘You willalways have the poor with you’ to help usunderstand that ‘Christianity is determina-tively the faith of the poor’, drawing on thedeacon St Lawrence gathering the poor ofRome together as the ‘precious possessionsof Christ.’ Hauerwas is a convinced pacifist,and among the closing essays in this book is


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Seamus Heaney are mustered in support.Such as Hamlet’s advice to the players:“The purpose of playing, whose end bothat the first and now, was and is to hold, as`twere, the mirror up to nature.” Andthese lines from Heaney are judiciouslychosen: “We go to poetry, we go to litera-ture in general, to be forwarded withinourselves. The best it can do is to give usan experience that is like foreknowledge ofcertain things which we seem to beremembering.” Other writers, not cited byour author, speak of a recovery of the realor of the re-enchantment of a disenchant-ed world.

The following chapters are both acade-mic and autobiographical showing how lit-erature may be used as a practical aid topreaching. The author does so with aneasy humorous touch in the light of hispersonal experience as spiritual director ofthe Scots College in Rome when he had“the happy duty of preparing and traininggifted students for the ministry of preach-ing”. I keep bumping into priests and bish-ops in Scotland who have happy memoriesof those times. I am also delighted toreport that Canon Anderson still offers mehis invaluable help at our annual homilet-ics weekend as part of our national pro-gramme of formation for the diaconal can-didates for all eight Scottish dioceses. Theauthor also recounts his earlier experiencefrom 1969 to 1977 as a producer of reli-gious programmes with the BBC. (I won-der if interviewing panels at the BBC stillask questions like: ‘How would you assessthe difference between the television view-ers of today and the experience of thoseviewing the images in the cave of Plato’sRepublic?’) He also tells us: “The propor-tion of well-read clergy was high, so theuse of ‘secular scripture’ was generally nei-ther precious nor obtrusive.”

The fourth chapter is on the praxis ofpreaching and is the heart of the book.Here we encounter not only the quid ofwhat the Church expects of the preacher,leading us into the presence of the Lord

and the mystery being celebrated, but alsoessentially the qualis of the preacher,beyond the quomodo of his delivery.

The readers of this journal might havewished to have read a supporting citationor two from his Lectures on Literature andLetters and Christianity by the greatBlessed John Henry Newman whose takeon literature is not too far from that ofBoyle. But this small omission is more thancompensated for by the very fine and richpreachment on Newman’s hymn Lead,Kindly Light, “arguably the most poeticalpiece in the hymn book”, first delivered ata Sunday morning service at King’s CollegeChapel, Aberdeen, in 1990, and includedas the first of the ‘occasional’ sermons anda ‘scattering of sermonettes’ that form PartTwo of this small volume. Happily includedis the notable sermon delivered inSouthwark Anglican Cathedral at thePreacher of the Year final event in 1966,sponsored jointly by the College ofPreachers and The Times, for which com-petition some of his chaplaincy congrega-tion had entered and attended him, notfully anticipating the albatross round hisneck his being the first Catholic cleric towin the award became. (Modesty preventshim from mentioning this accolade.) Butthen, I reflect, would this slim and delight-ful volume ever have seen the light of daywithout the spur of that out of the ordinaryand probably out of character occasion?Missing alas, by their very nature becausenot written out, are the Sunday or weekdayhomilies, delivered ex corde and note-less.I cannot think of a better Pentecost gift topresent, tactfully of course, to your fellowdeacon or spouse, parish priest or bishop,or even to yourself. Aptly, the book coverhas a stunning reproduction of FraAngelico’s Sermon on the Mount from awall in what must surely be the most beau-tifully decorated friary in the world, SanMarco in Florence. �

Tony Schmitz, Director of Studies,Diaconate Commission, Bishops’

Conference of Scotland


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earlier and well-received The Gospel ofMark by Mary Healy in the same newseries, the Catholic Commentary onSacred Scripture that aims to serve theministry of the Word of God in the life andmission of the Church, precisely by apply-ing well the aforementioned principles. Itcomes highly commended by AlbertCardinal Vanhoye SJ, erstwhile Secretaryof the Pontifical Biblical Commission,Donald Senior, the president of theCatholic Theological Union, CormacCardinal Murphy-O’Connor, and ProfessorLouis Wilken of the University of Virginia.

This is a commentary that is up-to-date,historically informed without taking up a

sceptical stance vis-à-vis the claims madein Matthews’ narrative, uniting history andtheology, Scripture and Tradition, theJewish roots of the Old Testament with thenewness of the Christian faith in the New.The Jesus who is present and whom weencounter at work as Risen Lord in theLiturgy is the same living, breathing firstcentury rabbi depicted by Matthew,Emmanuel, God with us. It needs to be onthe shelf of every preacher, or minster ofGod’s word, be he or she bishop, priest,deacon, catechist or lay believer. �Deacon Tony Schmitz, Director of Studies,

Bishops’ Conference of Scotland’sDiaconate Commission


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a powerful call to America to repent in timeof war, originally published in 2008.

Hauerwas is actually quoted in one ofthe sermons by Michael Northcott, whoteaches Ethics at the University ofEdinburgh and also ministers at St James’Episcopal Church in the city. The collec-tion is grouped thematically around theseasons of the liturgical year, covering anumber of years in the opening decade ofthis century. There is a powerful definitionof the preacher’s role in the introduction:

‘The preacher in the modern world, inthe world after Christendom, stands in theplace of the exilic prophet, seeking thewelfare of the city in which people findthemselves resident but alien.’

This is the core of Northcott’s approach:preaching must never be comfortable or atease with the world. What is so impressiveabout these sermons is the way in whichwell-informed knowledge about both con-temporary problems and cultural life isshown in such depth and springs so natu-rally from the preacher’s deep engagementwith the scriptural text. There is also a bold-ness which one seldom hear from the pul-pit: in one sermon, ‘Poverty, Empire andHistory’, President George Bush’s visit toScotland for the Gleneagles summit in 2005is likened to the arrival of the Queen ofSheba. Bush’s and Tony Blair’s invasion ofIraq is a major target for Northcott, who dis-sects the lies and chicanery of thatescapade: in the Easter sermon ‘Crosses,Crusaders and Peacemakers’, preached justafter the invasion started, he draws skilfullyon the shameful history of the crusades toexpose the folly of what had happened,using also the widespread dominance of StAnselm’s satisfaction theory of theAtonement. In an earlier Epiphany sermon,‘The Return of the King’ (which draws onthe flim of the Tolkien book, on BrunoBettleheim and on the song ‘It’s a MadWorld’) Northcott mocks Bush’s ludicrousobjective to ‘rid the world of evil.’ We did nothear enough preaching like this during theGulf War. Elsewhere (‘Pentecostal Politics’)

he uses Tony Blair’s great mentor JohnMacMurray to indict the former PrimeMinister’s leadership cult ‘and the continu-ing centrist and anti-democratic drift ofpolitical culture in Britain which this culthas sponsored.’ The preacher’s wide rangeof topics also includes Foot and Mouth dis-ease, the farming of salmon, hydro projectsin China, cloning, St Francis, cars with onlyone passenger and the Lord’s Day.

These are both outstanding collectionsand would be a good resource for all preach-ers. One criticism: although Hauerwas’ hasnotes, it is a pity that DLT could not organ-ise an index for either book. �

Ashley Beck

The Gospel of Matthew: CatholicCommentary on Sacred Scripture

Authors: Curtis Mitch & Edward SriISBN: 978-0-8010-3602-6Date: 2010Baker Academic, Grand Rapids£10.99 Pages: 383

Are we, in this second decade of the thirdmillennium, witnessing a Second Springin hermeneutics? If so, the two volumes ofPope Benedict’s crystalline Jesus ofNazareth as well as Verbum Domini willcome to be seen to have played a key role,with their properly developed faith-hermeneutic “appropriate to the text” thatcan be combined with a historicalhermeneutic aware of its limits. Those information and all preachers still need todevelop finely tuned critical faculties intheir use of resources. Fundamentally it isa matter of finally putting into practice themethodological principles formulated forexegesis by the Second Vatican Council(Dei Verbum 12), “a task that has unfortu-nately scarcely been attempted thus far”.

Published just in time for the Year ofMatthew (Year A) this outstandingresource from Baker Academic joins the


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Deacons: Ministers of Christ andof God’s Mysteries

Editor: Gearoid DulleaContributors: + Donal McKeown,Diane Corkery, Gearoid Dullea, Thomas J. Norris, Brendan McConvery CSsR, Padraig J. Corkery, Patrick Jones, William T.Ditewig & Tony SchmitzISBN: 978 1 84730217 5Price: C=10.00Publisher: Dublin, Veritas.Year: 2010Pages: 101

Since the Holy See approved the IrishEpiscopal Conference’s (IEC herein) ThePermanent Diaconate: National Directoryand Norms for Ireland in July 2005, anexcellent introductory catechesis on the per-manent diaconate has been advancing inIreland. This book, which contains nineinsightful, well-crafted, short and easily-readessays, extends this catechesis. It offers con-cise, scholarly and helpful answers to manyof the questions that have arisen in Ireland(and elsewhere) and shares much of thevision, scholarship and theology underpin-ning the current restoration.

A short foreword from Ireland’s NationalDirector of the Permanent Diaconate,Msgr. Dermot Farrell, sets the scene. Hebegins by noting that one of the key fruits ofthe Second Vatican Council (1962-65) wasthe recovery of the role of all the baptisedwithin the Church. The restoration, hesuggests, will support this recovery as it fur-thers a radical re-evaluation of how min-istry is talked about and approached. Withgood reason he welcomes the fact that thisbook “gives an introductory appraisal ofmuch that will be useful to comprehend thediaconate and its implications”.

Bishop Donal McKeown (Down &Connor), a member of the IEC’sCommission for Clergy, Seminaries andPermanent Diaconate takes the reader for-ward by outlining the work of the IEC inrelation to the restoration since 1996. Theessay illustrates the integrity with which theIrish Episcopal Conference haveresearched, discussed, debated and goneabout restoring the diaconate as a perma-nent and stable grade of Holy Orders.

Diane Corkery, Head of the ReligiousStudies Department in St. Patrick’sCollege, Thurles, follows with an essay enti-tled The Scriptural roots of the Diaconate.

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ping assembly. He pro-ceeds by sharing theteaching of various liturgi-cal books, e.g. GeneralInstruction of the RomanMissal, vis-à-vis the dea-con’s liturgical role, notonly during Mass but onother occasions, e.g.Baptism, Marriages andFunerals. The structure ofthe essay is also such thatone can easily find ananswer to basis questionsconcerning the deacon’s role during liturgi-cal rites.

The final chapters come from two dea-cons of international repute. DeaconWilliam T. Ditewig, Professor of Theologyand Religious Studies at St. Leo University,Tampa, Florida and former ExecutiveDirector of the U.S. Conference of CatholicBishops’ Secretariat for the Diaconate pre-sents an essay entitled Seeing the Diaconatewith New Eyes. This essay encouragesreaders to see the renewal of the perma-nent diaconate as part of the overall pro-gramme of reform and renewal proposed byVatican II. More specifically it offers theo-logical and pastoral points as backgroundfor ongoing discussion on the renewed dia-conate. Ditewig also comments on theimportance of deacons retaining a balancebetween the three munera of word, worshipand service and on the importance of bish-ops, parish priests and lay folk with parishinvolvement reflecting more critically onthe selection, appointment and on-goingformation of deacons.

The ninth and final chapter, entitledDeacons in the Diocese and in the Parish,comes from the pen of Deacon TonySchmitz, Director of Studies of theScottish Diaconal Formation programmeand Co-editor of The New DiaconalReview. Again there is much here that willresonate with deacons and aspirant dea-cons, particularly in the manner in whichDeacon Tony captures something of the

consuming love thatshapes the thrust of thisvocation. Valuable insightis also offered into thedemands of the Scottishformation programme,bishops’ matching ofneeds with deacons’ par-ticular skills and abilitieswhen appointing them,parish and diocesanassignments held by dea-cons and deacons experi-ences in secular employ-

ment etc.. He concludes on a salutary andliberating note that cannot be over-empha-sised, i.e. that every deacon is ordainedinto an ecclesial ministry that necessitatesobedience to bishops and pastors.

Rich in scriptural, historical, liturgicaland theological insight this fine collection ofessays is an excellent resource for diaconalaspirants. It also offers deacons a veryaccessible means of revisiting their three-fold ministry and is likely to be hugely ben-eficial to all who grapple to comprehendand communicate the gift that is the per-manent diaconate today – for Ireland andelsewhere.

Furthermore, I earnestly hope that wewill see a second edition of this book. Nochapter requires rewriting. Rather its com-prehensiveness could benefit through theinclusion on an additional essay on the per-manent diaconate and marriage / familylife. As the age profile of men presentingand being accepted into formation pro-grammes continues to fall, the relationshipbetween both sacraments requires honestand candid attention, not just by marrieddeacons, diaconal aspirants, their wives andformators but also by the Church at large.This too is part of the maturation thatVatican II calls for and would bring a fur-ther richness to this already excellent,thought provoking, inspiring and highlycommendable book. �

Justin Harkin, Director of PastoralDevelopment (Diocese of Elphin)


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One of the valuable hallmarks of Diane’scontribution is her contextualisation of thediaconate vis-à-vis the needs of earlyChristian communities. Another is heremphasis on the reliance of the restorationupon a successful understanding of theNew Testament’s vision of service. Thirdly,she draws attention to the close linksbetween diakonos and episkopos, a matterreturned to in subsequent essays.

Fr. Gearoid Dullea, Co-ordinator for theFormation Programme for the PermanentDiaconate in Ireland and editor of this finecollection follows with The Development ofthe Diaconate. This essay sketches thedevelopment of the diaconate from thesub-apostolic and patristic eras through tothe requests placed before the CouncilFathers at Vatican II that the diaconate berestored in its own right as a permanentministry in the Church. In conclusion hesuggests we are not about to witness arestoration of the ancient diaconate butthat nevertheless the shape of the contem-porary diaconate will not be outside theministerial tradition of the faith. This istaken up in the remaining essays.

International Theological Commissionmember and recently retired AssociateProfessor of Systematic Theology in St.Patrick’s College, Maynooth. Fr. TomNorris, follows by offering splendid theologi-cal insight into Vatican II’s teaching on thediaconate and the ITC’s From the Diakoniaof Christ to the Diakonia of the Apostles(2002). Here the Christological heart andthrust of diaconal ministry is brought to thefore, alongside the importance of all sacredministers working together to nourish thepeople of God and lead them toward salva-tion. Through this essay this book movesbeyond understanding and appreciatingwhere the restoration is coming from to howit must be lived in order to be true to Christ.

The next three essays elaborate on thethreefold munera of word, charity and wor-ship that are so central to diaconal ministry.

In relation to the deacon and the ministryof the Word Fr. Brendan McConvery CSsR,

editor of Scripture in Church and lecturerin Sacred Scripture in St. Patrick’s College,Maynooth, highlights the responsibilities ofevery deacon in relation to the proclama-tion, preaching, teaching and hearing of theWord. Concise, focussed and carrying theweight of Fr. Brendan’s years of supportingpeople pray with Scripture, it offers the dia-conal student a solid understanding of whatfulfilment of the ministry of the Wordentails. Other clergy and laity who serve asMinisters of the Word are also likely toappreciate Fr. Brendan’s solid teaching.

Fr. Padraig J. Corkery, Head of MoralTheology in St. Patrick’s College, Maynoothfollows with an essay entitled ChristianDiscipleship and Catholic Social Doctrine.

This is another gem, presenting all whowish to revisit the fundamentals of CatholicSocial Doctrine with a very accessible text.In concluding Fr. Padraig urges deacons toplay their part in making this body of teach-ing known, noting its capacity to motivateaction for the evangelisation and humani-sation of temporal realities. The many dea-cons who are already engaged will also wel-come the affirmation, encouragement andmotivational boost that Fr. Padraig’sapproach encapsulates.

Fr. Patrick Jones, Director of Ireland’sNational Centre for Liturgy, takes up therole of the deacon as a Minister of the Altar.This pragmatic and refined essay situatesthe deacon’s ministry against the backdropof the right and duty of all baptisedCatholics to assemble around the altar toworship God. The deacon, he emphasises,participates as a servant of the Church’sliturgy and as a minister of each worship-


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This is another gem,presenting all who wish torevisit the fundamentals ofCatholic Social Doctrinewith a very accessible text

After the Reformation, Catholics becamesecond class citizens in the

Netherlands. It was not until the nine-teenth century that Catholics recoveredtheir full rights as citizens and only in 1853did the Dutch State again allow theappointment of Catholic bishops. This wasthe beginning of an immense process ofsocial and political emancipation of DutchCatholics which continued until roughlythe Second World War. The nineteenthcentury saw drastic social changes. Like therest of Europe, though somewhat later, theNetherlands developed from an agricultur-al nation into an industrial society, with allthe social problems that entailed. It was justat that time that Alfons Ariëns, the first andgreatest social pioneer of the CatholicChurch in the Netherlands, developed hisastonishing spectrum of activities.

Alphonse Marie Auguste Joseph Ariëns wasborn in 1860 in Utrecht. His father was alawyer; his mother came from anAmsterdam mercantile family; in short, theybelonged to the small Catholic elite of thatera. The Arïens family had ten children andAlphons was number five. His parents weresocially active. His father was one of thefounding members of the St Vincent de PaulSociety in Utrecht and his mother gave prac-tical help to poor families in Utrecht. At theearly age of ten, Ariëns was sent to boarding

school. Afterwards he entered the arch-diocesan seminary, was ordained deaconand then priest in 1882 before continuinghis studies in Rome where he gained a doc-torate in theology in 1885. His four years inRome shaped his personality, both as a schol-ar and in his sense of society. He preferred toexplore the poorer quarters of Rome andstayed in Sicily where he studied the life ofworkers in the sulphur mines. In Turin hevisited Don Bosco who inspired him to devel-op similar initiatives in his later life. Duringhis stay in Italy he became a member of theFranciscan Third Order. After returningfrom his studies in Italy, Ariëns was in 1886appointed a parish curate in the city ofEnschede in the east of the country.

Enschede in 1886In 1886 the city of Enschede was booming.It was one of the very first cities of theNetherlands to undergo the industrial revo-lution. Many textile mass production facto-ries were established in Enschede and theonce quiet provincial town doubled in popu-lation in only a few years. Ariëns was the firstpriest to realise that the traditional pastoralmethods were no longer effective in thechanged social situation. He made a system-atic study of the living and employment con-ditions of the workers and, fifty years beforeFather Jozef Cardijn, he was already imple-menting the famous See, Judge, Act method-ology. Ariëns worked day and night.

His work as a priest was exceptional in thosedays when the encyclical Rerum Novarum(1891) had yet to be written and he was crit-icised for his work and methods by some ofhis colleagues. He visited as many families aspossible, in their homes. He talked to peopleon the street. He was to be found on the


Here Hub Crijns & Paul Wennekes

In 1958 Cardinal Bernard Alfrink, thenarchbishop of Utrecht commenced theprocess of beatification for AlphonsAriëns, a Catholic social pioneer, littleknown outside his native Netherlands.Here Hub Crijns, a Catholic theologianand director of the Churches’ nationaloffice for Service in Industry Society, anecumenical pastoral work centre in theNetherlands, together with PaulWennekes, a deacon of the diocese of`s-Hertogenbosch and diocesan staffmember responsible for Church andSociety work, introduce this far-sightedsocial pioneer.

many building sites of the city, in the facto-ries, in the parish church and (rarely) in thepresbytery. And in the evenings there werethe many, many meetings. After returninghome he read a great number of newspa-pers, magazines and brochures. He alsowrote a lot, always under the pressure oftime because, as he states, he was at hismost creative under pressure. Whilst writinghe found the mental space to leaf throughstudy books on many and varied subjects. Inthis very busy pastoral and social work Ariënswas active principally on three fronts.

The world of labour Factories life was miserable: working dayslasted up to twelve hours, for almost no pay.Women and child labour was common.During the significant 1890 strike Ariënscame to realize that self-organisation was thebest answer – firstly for men, later for youth,and finally also for women. In 1889 hefounded in Enschede a regional CatholicLabour Union named after Saint Joseph.This Labour Union would grow into theKatholieke Arbeidersbeweging (the NationalCatholic Labour Union of the Netherlands).In 1893 Ariëns launched the first magazinefor Catholic workers, De KatholiekeWerkman (The Catholic Worker). Later, heintegrated this union into an ecumenicalunion because he noticed that employerstried to foment division between Catholicand Protestant workers. In the end, howev-er, this experiment was prohibited by thearchbishop of Utrecht. At the same timeAriëns initiated the first co-operative textilefactory called De Eendracht (Concord orUnion), but this first attempt at self-deter-mination by workers ended in failure whichbrought Ariëns very close to bankruptcy.

The world of the familyLiving conditions were atrocious. Most work-ers lived in one-room ‘houses’ with hardlyany furniture. Workers had only one extra setof clothes and the washing and drying tookthree days in the cramped conditions. Stoveswere heated with peat or wood which wasgathered by the children who were too youngto work in the factory. There was no water, nosewage, no toilet. Dirt and stench permeatedeverywhere, and vermin and disease spreadlikewise. Alcoholism and violence were com-mon in families. Ariëns became especiallyactive in the battle against alcoholism. He


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Alphons Ariëns, priest and social pioneer

In 1919 Ariëns, in further recognition of allhis work, was named privy chamberlain tothe papal household. Two years later Ariënsbecame one of the co-founders of the GeertGrote Association, named after the famousmedieval Dutch deacon and theologianwho founded the Devotio Moderna of theBrothers and Sisters of the Common Life.The object of this association was the publi-cation of books and brochures for wider cir-cles in society. Ariëns was also involved inthe attempt to establish the first CatholicUniversity in the Netherlands since medi-aeval times. These efforts bore fruit in 1923with the foundation of the University in thecity of Nijmegen. Ariëns retired in 1926 andonly two years later, on August 7th 1928, hedied at the age of 68. He has been a priestfor 46 years. On his gravestone we read just

the two words: Ariëns, priester

In 1958 the then archbishop of Utrecht,Bernard Cardinal Alfrink initiated theprocess of beatification. Because of a changein procedure in respect of beatifications, thepreliminary investigation had to be repeatedfrom 2005 to 2008. The process is underwayand we await the recognition of a miracle.But whether beatified or not, Ariëns will bealways remembered as the towering person-ality he was, despite his shortcomings andthe failures he had to endure. He was a pio-neer, a sharp analyst of the social situation ofhis days, a visionary. For many who are activein diaconal work and social engagement heremains an inspiring example. �

Translated by Paul Wennekes and Gail Schmitz

Christian Perspectives on theFinancial Crash

Editor: Philip BoothISBN 978-0-85439-767-9Date: 2010St Pauls Publishing, London£69.99

We are all living with the consequences ofthe financial crash of 2008. Professor PhilipBooth, of the Cass Business School and theInstitute of Economic Affairs, has edited acollection of essays reflecting on this from aChristian perspective. The initial piece is anedited version of a homily preached byArchbishop Vincent Nichols in Birminghamin November 2008 which stresses theimportance of the traditional virtues in ourresponse to the crisis. This has been reflect-ed since then in the recent pre-electionstatement from the Bishops’ Conference,Choose the Common Good. Without ethicalfoundations things go badly wrong: ‘a mar-ket controlled only by regulation, sooner orlater, will succumb to its inherent drive forprofit at all costs.’(p.7) Later in the bookAbbot Christopher Jamieson expands the

theme of virtue, and looks at it not only inrelation to the world of finance but also theissue of climate change.

There are some very helpful essays in thisvolume. Sr Catherine Cowley, who worked infinance before becoming a nun, bravely triesto explain to the financial layperson the com-plexities behind the crisis and shows howgreed and a wish for domination did somuch damage in a ‘results-based culture.’Andrew Lilico from the Policy Exchangegives a good overview of the changes inChristian teaching about usury and how thatrelates to the crisis and the bailout of thebanks; he calls for traditional concerns to be‘given more prominence’ but it is a pity thathe does not mention the witness in the lastcentury against usury of Peter Maurin,Dorothy Day, and the present-day CatholicWorker movement. Pope Benedict XVI inCaritas in Veritate (65) commends the workof credit unions, and Mick McAteer, Directorof the Financial Inclusion Centre, gives aclear and detailed picture of their work andthe ways in which they can be developed –there is a sensitivity and understanding of

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Alphons Ariëns, priest and social pioneer – Hub Crijns

founded the Union of the Holy Cross forMen, the Union of Mary for women and theUnion of Anna for parents. The members ofthe Union of Mary were sent out two by twoto family homes of families and traced out adeal of social misery. To help the women ofEnschede a catering school and needleworktraining was introduced. Later on, in 1899,these three unions would be integrated intothe one Sobriëtas (Temperance) Union foreverybody. Next, he tried to improve livingconditions. He supported the construction ofbetter houses and started a housing associa-tion for his people. During his years inEnschede he witnessed the construction ofthe first series of houses for ‘his’ workers.

The AssociationsIn Turin Ariëns had observed the work ofDon Bosco and in Germany he came toknow Adolph Kolping. Ariëns has learnt thatif there could be no common life at homebecause of the vicious circle of unemploy-ment, alcoholism, hunger and disease, theestablishment of community houses createdother possibilities. These became place toget warm, to meet others to eat together, tolearn to read and write, to follow courses.Ariëns promoted the cultural developmentof workers, introduced music and literatureinto their lives. Very soon such a communi-ty house was opened in Enschede and lateron in many other Dutch cities. In 1894 hestarted the Royal Leo Brass Band in honourof Pope Leo XIII who had published the rev-olutionary encyclical Rerum Novarum onlythree years before.

In politics Alphons Ariëns was ill at ease.Actually he was too honest, too much a pas-tor, not enough of a strategist to be at homein politics. Sometimes he was almost naive,having too much faith in others. He left pol-itics to his collaborators, his dean, or hismodel and mentor, the great Catholic politi-cian of the day, Dr. Schaepman. His lifethrough he would regularly find himself thevictim of his good faith in others, be it in his

union work, or in church life, or in politics.Besides that he was sometimes impatient,initiating yet another project before the pre-vious one had had a chance to bed down.

Ariëns remained a curate in Enschede forfifteen years. In 1901 he was appointedparish priest in the agricultural village ofSteenderen. Some say he was rusticated inorder to be rid of him, but Ariëns himselfwas happy with this appointment becausehe could leave behind an extremely hectictime and devote much more of his energyto the spiritual guidance of the many forwhom he managed to find the time. InSteenderen he got a chance to learn aboutthe situation of the agricultural workers,who found themselves in a very weak socialposition in relation to the farmers. He alsomanaged to considerably improve the work-ing conditions of municipality labourers. InSteenderen Ariëns founded another Unionof Mary which promoted the active involve-ment of women in concrete social work. Inhis opinion this work was not a task exclu-sive to consecrated religious but was aresponsibility for all, including lay women, aview which was not left undisputed.

As a token of recognition Ariëns was in1903 appointed to be a member of a gov-ernment commission which, after severalferocious strikes, was charged with investi-gating the situation of railway workers. In1908 Ariëns was transferred to a parish inMaarssen, a village close to the central cityof Utrecht. In Maarssen Ariëns foundedthe first Caritas organisation in theNetherlands. In view of his profound con-cern with the position of women, Ariënswas asked to assist in the establishment ofa National Catholic Women’s Union whichwas eventually established in 1912.


Alphons Ariëns, priest and social pioneer – Hub Crijns

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Drawing of Ariëns by the Catholic artist Jan Toorop

in his years in Enschede.

ent if we are being told that we need to workwith ‘the grain of human nature’ (Booth’sconcluding article, ‘Christian Social Teaching– How should we respond to the Crash?’ p.190) – that is precisely why effective rules areneeded, alongside the promotion of virtue3.The problem is that many characteristics offinancial life which we cannot see as virtuousare seen by Booth and his friends as not real-ly a problem (Booth actually refers to ‘thebeneficial effects of self-interest’, p. 29).

Indeed, the engagement with the socialteaching of the Catholic Church is selectiveand superficial in Booth’s final piece – twoquotations from the present pope and JohnPaul II which simply disavow technicalsolutions and models. He overlooks thatBenedict is following a long tradition ofpopes who have denounced greed in thefinancial system and called for better regu-lation, not a lighter touch.4 Good, effectiveregulation is about democratic accountabil-ity; as Neibuhr once wrote: ‘Man’s capacityfor justice makes democracy possible;man’s capacity for injustice makes democ-racy necessary.’5 Booth’s interpretation ofthe concept of the ‘common good’ isremarkably narrow, and of other socialteaching concepts such as solidarity or sub-sidiarity we read nothing, let alone the pref-erential option for the poor. Have these

authors never heard of what John Paul IIcalled structures of sin?6 What really givesthe game away is this sentence: ‘...Perhapstheologians and Christian ministers shouldtake a less prominent role in making judge-ments about the political economy respons-es to the crash.’ (p. 189). That is music tothe ears in many a City boardroom: ‘Keeptheologians in their box – leave the runningof the economy to us’. It is no surprise tolearn that some of the material here hasappeared elsewhere, in a collection Boothedited for the IEA7: what we have here is avolume with the same purpose, with somevery good other material added as window-dressing. It seems designed to salve theconsciences of Christians in the financialsector who have done very well out of whatDorothy Day called ‘this rotten, decadent,putrid, industrial capitalist system’8 and toavoid any serious challenge to that systemor evaluating it properly in the light ofChristian teaching. �

Ashley Beck is Assistant Priest ofBeckenham and teaches Catholic Social

Teaching in the Permanent DiaconateFormation programme for most of the

dioceses of southern England and Wales.He is the author of Dorothy Day (CTS

2008) and Christians and the Euro(Faith in Europe 2009).

3 One reason why the world financial crisis has had less serious effects in Australia has been becausethe banks there have been more effectively regulated.

4 Beginning with Pius XI during the Depression, in Quadragesimo Anno 105, also (for example)Blessed John XXIII, Mater et Magistra (1961) and John Paul II, Sollicitudo Rei Socialis (1987) 43.See also the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church (London: Continuum 2004) 368ff.

5 The Children of Light and the Children of Darkness, London: Nisbet, 1945, p. vi. For therelationship between neoliberal economic policies, including minimal regulation of financialinstitutions, see the new book by Noam Chomsky, Hopes and Prospects (London: HamishHamilton 2010) summarised in ‘Another World is Possible’, New Statesman 28 June 2010.

6 ‘Solidarity must be seen above all in its value as a moral virtue that determines the order ofinstitutions. On the basis of this principle the “structures of sin” that dominate relationshipsbetween individuals and peoples must be overcome. They must be purified and transformed intostructures of solidarity through the creation or appropriate modification of laws, market regulations,and juridical systems.’ Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church 193, referring to John PaulII, Sollicitudo Rei Socialis 36, 37 and Reconciliatio et Paenitentia (1985) 16.

7 Verdict on the Crash Hobart Paperback 37, London: IEA 2009.8 The Catholic Worker September 1956.

the problems faced by poor people which isnot found in some of the essays in this book.There is a good presentation of the problemsnow facing Catholic charities by PhilppaGitlin and David Redfern. Francis Davis, in‘Social Innovation and Habits of the Heart:Re-inventing Christian Mission in the Faceof Recession’ restates the case he has madebefore for ‘social silicon valleys’ – Christiancentres, or ‘hubs’ around which ‘the renew-al of spiritual zeal and social and civicrenewal can be grounded in the tough timesahead.’ (p. 144). Davis also draws on goodmodels from elsewhere in Europe such asDie Zweite Spakese, an Austrian form ofcredit union and the American Cristo Rey‘Studio schools’ which root vocational edu-cation in religious faith – the Austrian exam-ple is the only time anything from the rest ofEurope is mentioned positively in this book.

This is because the overall slant of this col-lection is determined by the free-market,anti-EU ideology of the editor himself in theopening and concluding essays and thosewriters who share his approach (SamuelGregg, Ian Allan, and Brian Griffiths). Thisdevalues the other contributions and in some

ways leads to their approaches being manip-ulated. This is most evident in the treatmentof what Archbishop Nichols writes in the pas-sage quoted above about virtues: Booth andthe others use this point to argue againstmore financial regulation. This is sleight ofhand: to say that regulation is not enough, orthat it will not work if people’s behaviour isnot more virtuous, is not the same as sayingthat there is too much regulation and thatthere should be less, not more, in the future1.Gregg (‘Credit, Sin and the 2008 FinancialCrisis’) claims that ‘Archbishop VincentNichols...was one of the few Christian leaderswho unlined this point about the virtuesinstead of following the uninformed herd andarguing for more extensive regulation of thefinancial industry.’ (p. 48). Gregg must countPope Benedict XVI in the herd, since Caritasin Veritate makes it clear that the need forproper regulation must go hand in hand withan ethical imperative: it is a question of ‘both-and’, not ‘either-or’2 Booth repeatedly criticis-es the Anglican Archbishops of Canterburyand York for their criticisms of the financialsector and calls for more regulation. Theauthors’ resistance to regulation is incoher-

1 The archbishop actually writes after the sentence quoted at the beginning of this review: ‘But what we have seen is that, left to itself, the financial market has no robust external frameof reference, not even a wider economic framework. It has behaved as if it exists for itself andwithin itself and to the benefit of those who are part of it.’ The natural interpretation of thesewords is surely that both proper external regulation and the cultivation of virtues are needed.

2 ‘Finance, therefore – through the renewed structures and operating methods that have to bedesigned after its misuse, which wreaked such havoc on the real economy – now needs to goback to being an instrument directed towards improved wealth creation and development.Insofar as they are instruments, the entire economy and finance, not just certain sectors,must be used in an ethical way so as to create suitable conditions for human developmentand for the development of peoples....Both the regulation of the financial sector, so as tosafeguard weaker parties and discourage scandalous speculation, and experimentation withnew forms of finance, designed to support development projects, are positive experiences thatshould be further explored and encouraged, highlighting the responsibility of the investor.’(65) If we look at merely two other areas of human activity where regulation has beenimportant – food standards and the protection of children – we see how incoherent it is toargue that the financial system should be less regulated rather than more so. The HolyFather’s argument raises another issue not addressed in Booth’s collection – the failure formany years of City institutions, long before the Crash, to invest responsibly in manufacturingand real productive enterprises, catalogued, for example, in the writings of the economist andjournalist Will Hutton.


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kingdom of God; no act is futile becauseChrist has risen. If true, the implication isthat everything that we do in the work-place matters because it has eternal signif-icance. It matters unto eternity whether,for example, we teach our classes to thebest of our ability, respect our clients, offeremployees living wages, maintain a safeworking environment, or do the accounts

honestly.’ (pp. 100-101)This is an outstanding and stimulating

book. The only problem, as I indicated ear-lier, is that the gap needs urgently to befilled to apply this reasoning to the suffer-ings of those of all ages who are losing theirjobs or who face little prospect of getting ajob. �

Ashley Beck


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Work, for God’s SakeAuthor: Esther D. ReedISBN: 978-0-232-52761-2Price: £12.95Year: 2010 Publisher: Darton, Longman &Todd, LondonPages: 144

It may seem odd to be reviewing a bookabout the theological importance of workat a time when in the British Isles a verylarge number of people are going to losetheir jobs in the near future; indeed, oneof the few themes not thoroughly dealtwith in Work, for God’s Sake is the phe-nomenon of unemployment, but these arethe Sarum lectures from 2007, when thefinancial crisis which has caused it wasonly just beginning. Dr Reed is AssociateProfessor of Theological Ethics at Exeter,and these lectures build on her slightlyearlier work The Ethics of Human Rights(Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2007).

At one point she pays tribute to PopeJohn Paul II’s great encyclical on humanwork from 1981, Laborem Exercens, but itis interesting that comparatively little hasbeen written on the theme since then bytheologians. What is so impressive aboutReed’s approach is that she integrates herdeep theological awareness with a seriousengagement with secular studies of work,such as the important study of overwork bythe journalist Madeleine Bunting andimportant material produced by the TradeUnion movement, the Work Foundationand the Equal Opportunities Commission;her text is also full of wide-ranging literaryreferences.

In her first chapter Reed looks at basicdefinitions of work, and at the relationshipbetween work and traditional concepts ofvocation and the notion of work as wor-ship. She goes on, in ‘Holy Saturday andthe Curse of Work Today’, to look moreclosely at the damage being done to indi-viduals and families because of the ever-worsening pressures employers areputting on their workers. The third chap-

ter is in many ways the most important:Reed draws on the tradition of liturgy andworship to elucidate the Christian ethic ofwork. ‘Liturgical reasoning’, drawing onJewish and Eastern Orthodox sources,helps us root our everyday work in ourneed for God.

‘Here [the Church’s practice of worship]we learn best to interpret Holy Scriptureand, arguably, perceived most clearly thelogic or reasoning that is to determine ourthinking about work. Here we grasp thatall our work...finds its proper destiny inGod’s dramas of redemption. The work ofthe worshipping people of God is one ofthe best available vehicles for thinkingthrough questions of social ethics.’ (p. 35)Liturgical reasoning enables us to makeconnections between what we do when weare engaged in worship and problems andissues we face: so Reed looks as the gath-ering of the people, our sense of ‘intercon-nection’ through common worship, theanaphora of the bread and wine, theanamnesis of Christ’s Passion, the invoca-tion of the Holy Spirit and the Dismissal asways of understanding what work is about.As a general method this is very valuableand could usefully be applied to othersocial questions: so often there seems to bea gulf between worship on the one handand social/moral teaching on the other.The next two chapters look first at work inthe context of human rights theory, andsecondly in more depth at the idea of voca-tion. The final chapter, ‘Will there be workin heaven?’ addresses the fact that preach-ers these days seldom preach about heav-en or address our understanding of what itmight be like. She draws on the Easterniconographic tradition to show that thework we do on earth has real significancefor our future with God, and also makesuse of the work of Darrell Cosden in hisbook The Heavenly Good of Earthly Work(Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2006). This ishow she expresses this truth:

‘Giving a cup of water to the thirsty per-son is somehow incorporated into the


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Little Way HEALING Ministries

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cal research document in 2003.5 The doc-ument provides a thorough review andanalysis of the diaconate itself as a gradeof the sacrament of Holy Orders and as a“proper and permanent rank of the hier-archy.”6 Within this context, it weighs theevidence for and against the possibility ofordaining women to the diaconate.According to the Secretary, two “impor-tant indications” that emerged from itsresearch tend to exclude this possibility,namely, (1) the fact that “deaconesses”7

in the early Church “were not purely andsimply equivalent to the deacons,” and(2) the unity of the sacrament of Orders.8

The present essay will explore these twoobstacles from the perspective of sacra-mental symbolism. First, however, themain elements of the debate need to berecalled.

Women Deacons: Yes or No?Those who maintain that the Church canand should admit women to the diaconateadvance many arguments for their case.There is historical evidence that women aswell as men served the Church as deaconsduring the first millennium and beyond,and this, not just in the East but also in theWest.9 The evidence shows that womenwere admitted to this office by the bishopin rites analogous, if not identical, to thosefor male deacons (e.g., rites that includethe invocation of the Holy Spirit, and thelaying-on of hands, the bestowal of a stole,and so on), rites identified in severalsources as “ordination.”10 Ancient Churchorders and canonical collections includetheological and juridical statutes thatspelled out the ministerial responsibilities


“Well, what about the diaconate?”My lectures on why theCatholic Church reserves

priestly ordination to men invariably pro-voke this follow-up question. The ques-tioner usually wants to know if there is anyreason why women cannot be ordainedpermanent deacons. The question surpris-es no one, because it is well-known thatbishops in the Eastern Church once didincorporate women into a diaconal office,a public ecclesial ministry for the serviceof women, and that this tradition contin-ued for several centuries after it had “dis-

appeared” into women’s monastic life.1

From the time that women’s access to thepriesthood began to be seriously proposed,moreover, the Holy See has made it clearthat their possible access to the diaconatewas a separate case, one which “must betaken up fully by direct study of the texts,without preconceived ideas.”2 ManyCatholics see ordination to the diaconateas the means by which women could gainentry to the clerical state and so be able totake on greater responsibility for the

Church’s life.3 But can women be ordainedto the diaconate? After many years ofstudy, the International TheologicalCommission4 issued a historical-theologi-


Sara Butler

Sister Sara Butler, M.S.B.T., is the Chesterand Margaret Paluch Professor ofTheology at the University of St. Mary ofthe Lake/Mundelein Seminary, the majorseminary of the Archdiocese of Chicago.She recently published the widelyacclaimed The Catholic Priesthood andWomen: A Guide to the Teaching of theChurch (Hillenbrand Books). She hasbeen a member of the InternationalTheological Commission since 2004, andshe is currently a consultant to the UnitedStates Bishops’ Doctrine Committee.Sister Sara has been active inecumenical dialogue for over 30 years.She belongs to the Missionary Servantsof the Most Blessed Trinity.

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1 Women deacons were enlisted to assist with the baptism of women catechumens at a timewhen the liturgy called for their full-body anointing before immersion; they also had otherresponsibilities related to the pastoral care of women and children. Depending on how oneevaluates the evidence, they may have existed from apostolic times through the 11th century. In some places the superiors or abbesses of women’s monastic communities continued toreceive diaconal ordination or consecration long after women deacons were no longer active inthe service of the local church. See Aimé Georges Martimort, Deaconesses: An Historical Study,trans. K.D. Whitehead (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1986), 205-240.

2 See the Official Commentary on the Declaration Inter insigniores (On the Question of theAdmission of Women to the Ministerial Priesthood), Origins 6:33 (February 3, 1977), 526.

3 See Phyllis Zagano, “The Question of Governance for Women,” Theological Studies 68 (2007):348-67. Admission to the clerical state would allow women, like male deacons, to preach at theEucharist and to exercise jurisdiction in various ecclesiastical offices.

4 Hereafter, ITC. This Commission is advisory to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith;it has no authority to determine doctrine.

... the Holy See has made itclear that their possibleaccess to the diaconate “must be taken up fully bydirect study of the texts,without preconceived ideas.”

5 The report, first published in French, is available in an unofficial English translation as From the Diakonia of Christ to the Diakonia of the Apostles (Chicago/Mundelein: HillenbrandBooks, 2004). It offers a valuable analysis of the issues that remain to be resolved as a resultof the Council’s decision, ch. 7, 91-110.[Cf. also the fresh and more complete translation ofthis research document by Tony Schmitz in this and the previous five issues of The NewDiaconal Review.]

6 The Second Vatican Council provided for the restoration this office for both the Latin (Lumengentium, §29a) and the Eastern Catholic Churches (Orientalium ecclesiarum, §17).

7 The ancient sources refer both to “women deacons” and to “deaconesses” (reserving “deacon”to men). Parties to the contemporary debate use the designation that favors their position. I use “women deacons” only for the sake of clarity in my argument.

8 George Cottier, “Clarification on ITC Study on the Diaconate,” L’Osservatore Romano, WeeklyEnglish Edition (30 October 2002), 12, with reference to From the Diakonia, 109.

9 The tradition in the West developed differently and is linked to the institution of femalemonasticism, but a prayer for “making [female] deacons” is found in pontificals up throughthe 12th century. See Gary Macy, The Hidden History of Women’s Ordination: Female Clergyin the Medieval West (New York: Oxford University Press, 2007), 40f.

10 For years, scholars measured the validity of these “ordinations” by appeal to categories andcriteria that were developed only in the Middle Ages. Gary Macy (following Yves Congar)maintains that this is the wrong way to assess the evidence. For a summary of the state of thequestion, see Macy’s Hidden History, 4-22.

the ecclesiastical office held by womendeacons in the past was not, in fact, theequivalent of the male diaconate; itappears to have been comparable to one ofthe minor orders. They acknowledge mostof the same historical evidence as advo-cates for women deacons, but evaluate itdifferently. For example, scholars realizethat some church orders refer to the con-secration of such women by the bishop asan “ordination,” not only an appointmentor installation, but, they note, “ordination”did not yet have the technical meaning itacquired in the Middle Ages.18 They main-tain that because women deacons werenever called to service at the altar and werenot encouraged to proceed to the priest-hood,19 and because their ministry was lim-ited to women and children, it really wasnot a full and equal counterpart to themale diaconate. They recognize thatwomen deacons served in many parts ofthe Eastern Church during the first mil-lennium, but observe that most of the evi-dence from the Church in the West isdirected to its limitation or suppression,perhaps because of the aberrations relatedto women’s ministry found in hereticalsects, such as Montanism or Priscillianism.

According to scholars who adopt this posi-tion, women are capable of assumingecclesiastical offices, but they are not can-didates for the sacrament of Holy Ordersas permanent deacons. These scholarsleave open to women only the possibility ofa “fourth order,” a diaconate for womenwhich is not the equivalent of that exer-cised by men.

The International Theological Commissionreports that these two “indications” – the

unity of the sacrament of Orders and thefact that the office once held by womendeacons was not exactly the equivalent ofthat held by male deacons – favour theview that the diaconate, like the priest-hood, is reserved to men. The specific con-tribution its research makes to the inquiryis its serious study of the theology of thediaconate and its identification of thequestions that still need to be “harmo-nized” by theologians.20 Although the ITCresearch document investigates the tradi-tion of women’s diaconal ministry, it isdoes not formally explore how the sex ofthe candidate affects the possibility ofreceiving the sacrament of Holy Orders.Since the sacrament is not only an autho-rization and empowerment to carry outcertain functions, but also a sacramentalsign, it is useful to consider how gendersymbolism enters into the question ofwomen’s capacity to be ordained as per-manent deacons. The sacramental sym-bolism of gender is an issue of some impor-tance in the reservation of priestly ordina-tion to men. What force does it have in thecase of ordination to the diaconate?

Sacramental Symbolismand the Subject of Holy OrdersIt is necessary to insist that the Churchdoes not rely on a theological argumentfrom fittingness to determine whetherpriestly ordination is reserved to men. Thefundamental reason for this dispensation,according to the magisterium, is fidelity tothe will of Christ, known by way of hischoice of men only to belong to the Twelve,by the practice of the Apostles in confor-mity with his example, and by the constanttradition of the Church in both East and


Women Deacons and Sacramental Symbolism – Sara Butler

of female deacons, the requirements foradmission to the order (age, celibate sta-tus, moral character), and their variousrelationships: to the bishop, male deacons,widows, virgins, sub-deacons, and theother ministries, and so on. In someplaces, they are explicitly included amongthe clergy. The existence of women dea-cons is acknowledged without objection bymany Fathers of the Church, even as theyreject the possibility of ordaining womenpriests out of hand as something charac-teristic of pagans and heretics.11

It should be noted that some advocates forthe ordination of women to the diaconateassume that while such women would trulyreceive the sacrament of Holy Orders, theywould be ordained only to the permanentdiaconate, without the possibility of proceed-ing to the priesthood. They recall that dea-cons “receive the imposition of hands “notunto the priesthood [sacerdotium] but untothe ministry [ministerium].”12 Still, theywould be ordained to the same diaconate asmen, not to a “fourth order.”13 Other advo-cates, however, maintain that women can be

ordained deacons without qualification.Given the unity of the sacrament of HolyOrders, these scholars assume that admis-sion to the diaconate does imply the possibil-ity of proceeding to the priesthood.14 Sincethis second position is contrary to the teach-ing that must be “definitively held by all theChurch’s faithful,”15 it is important to distin-guish it from the first claim, one for whichhistorical evidence and theological argu-ments continue to be forthcoming.

Those who maintain that women cannotbe ordained to the diaconate, either in itspermanent or transitional form, haveweighty arguments in their favor. The firstrelates to the principle of the unity of HolyOrders, mentioned above.16 Given thatHoly Orders is one sacrament with threedegrees or grades, and given that theChurch has no authority to confer priestlyordination on women, these scholars claimthat it is impossible to admit women to thediaconate. In other words, they believethat the reservation of priestly ordinationto men has immediate implications for thediaconate.17 Second, they point out that



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18 See Müller, 206-210. 19 Martimort, 244-45.20 The Fathers of the Second Vatican Council were concerned to restore the diaconate “as a

proper and permanent rank of the hierarchy” (LG 29). This did not change the nature of thediaconate, but it did require that it be newly integrated with the doctrinal decisions related tothe episcopacy.

11 St. Epiphanius, the foremost patristic exponent of the reservation of priestly ordination tomen, acknowledges the institution of women deacons (Panarion, 79, §4).

12 See LG 29, n. 74; the Council adopted this formulation from documents of the early Church,the Constitutions of the Egyptian Church, the Didascalia, and the Statuta Ecclesiae Antiqua.

13 I.e., they do not want to restore the ancient order of “deaconesses,” but to admit women tothe restored permanent diaconate. See Phyllis Zagano, Holy Saturday: An Argument for theRestoration of the Female Diaconate in the Catholic Church (Collegeville: Liturgical Press,2000), 64-68, 75, 77; the Report of an Ad Hoc Committee of the Canon Law Society ofAmerica, The Canonical Implications of Ordaining Women to the Permanent Diaconate(Washington, D.C.: CLSA, 1995).

14 E.g., John Wijngaards, Women Deacons in the Early Church: Historical Texts andContemporary Debates (New York: Crossroads, 2002), 134-37. Wijngaards maintains thatwomen are eligible for priestly ordination. His full argumentation, along with documentation,is found on www.womenpriests.org.

15 Namely, that the Church has no authority to confer priestly ordination on women. See PopeJohn Paul II, Apostolic Letter, Ordinatio sacerdotalis (1994), §4.

16 See ITC, From the Diakonia, pp. 97-99, for a discussion of this.17 Gerhard Ludwig Müller, Priesthood and Diaconate: The Recipient of the Sacrament of Holy

Orders from the Perspective of Creation Theology and Christology, trans. Michael J. Miller(San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2002), pp. 44-50. Müller finds it theologically indefensible tosplit the sacrament of Holy Orders into “three more or less free-standing sacraments” (50).

removed?29 Is the permanent diaconate,then, gender-neutral? Is it open to womenas well as men? This question remains tobe more thoroughly considered.

Why Two Rites?Those who advocate opening the dia-conate to women tend to direct attentionto the fact that, historically, women dea-cons were ordained by the bishop in a ritethat paralleled the rite for men; from thisthey conclude that they were admitted tothe same office by the same sacramentalordination. On these grounds, it is oftensaid that if the women were not sacra-mentally ordained to the diaconate, nei-

ther were the men.30 On the other hand,those who think the evidence does notsupport women deacons point out that therite was not identical in every respect;moreover, the functions entrusted towomen were not the same as thoseentrusted to men and, in fact, were quitelimited in scope. From this they concludethat the female diaconate was not theequivalent of the male diaconate, butrather a separate order, comparable to theminor orders.

One question that comes to mind is: Whywere male and female deacons ordainedseparately and not together?31 Infants ofboth sexes are baptized with the same rite,and young girls and boys are confirmedwith the same rite; women and men wor-ship together at the Eucharist and receiveHoly Communion at the same time and inthe same way. What accounts for the factthat there are two distinct rites of diaconalordination? This question is not put tothose who think women were consecratedor installed as deaconesses, for theyassume that the women belonged to a sep-arate feminine order, not an all-male dia-conate. This question does have to be con-fronted, however, by those who maintainthat women were ordained to the identicalorder as men and that their ordinationswere equally sacramental.

John Wijngaards, for example, repeatedlyclaims that “the ordination of the womandeacon is the same as that for the maledeacon, and undoubtedly sacramental.”32

To explain what he means by “the same,”he uses the categories “matter” and“form” from sacramental theology. If thematter (imposition of the bishop’s hands)and the form (prayer invoking the HolySpirit) are the same, he argues, men andwomen deacons received the same sacra-ment. “But if the Church ordained womendeacons and male deacons with exactlythe same sacramental signs,” he asks,“how could anyone say that one, the dia-conate of men, is sacramental, and theother, that of women, is not?”33 WhatWijngaards fails to mention is that the



West.21 It is on this basis that the Church issaid to have “no authority whatsoever toconfer priestly ordination on women.”22

The theological argument advanced toshow why the Lord’s choice of men aloneis “fitting” is not the decisive factor; it is aneffort to display by theological reasoningfrom the analogy of faith why it is sacra-mentally meaningful for Christ, who wasand remains a man, to be represented by aman in his capacity as Head and Shepherdof the Church.23 Appeal is made to gendercorrespondence because the priest acts inpersona Christi Capitis Ecclesiae, in theperson of Christ the Head of the Church.The argument from gender is reinforcedby adding the unmistakably masculine ref-erence to Christ as Bridegroom, drawingon nuptial imagery from both Testaments.Christ is the Bridegroom of the Church,his Bride, and since the priest is under-stood to be an “icon” of Christ in his rela-tion to the Church, his maleness is dis-closed as sacramentally significant.24

Appeal to the analogy of the Bridegroom-Bride relationship, then, underscores thefittingness of gender correspondencebetween the priest and Christ.25 Pope JohnPaul II did not reproduce this “iconic”argument in his apostolic letter Ordinatio

sacerdotalis (1994), but he does propose itelsewhere, especially in the apostolicexhortations On the Vocation and Dignityof Women (Mulieris dignitatem, 1988) andI Will Give You Shepherds (Pastores dabovobis, 1992).26 Does this have any conse-quences for the diaconate?

This question remains in play, partly as theresult of a change made to the Catechism ofthe Catholic Church (second edition) andsubsequently inserted into the 1983 Code ofCanon Law. The change reveals the stillunsettled character of the theology of thediaconate itself. In this case, the assertionthat all those who receive Holy Orders –bishop, priest, and deacon – act in personaChristi Capitis has been modified.According to the revised text, acting in per-sona Christi Capitis is reserved to the “min-isterial priesthood,” i.e., to the bishop andpriest.27 This may be seen to follow from thefact that, according to ancient tradition, thedeacon is ordained “not to the priesthoodbut to the ministry.”28 Now if the gendersymbolism of the Head includes that of theBridegroom, and if these are directly rele-vant only to the two higher grades ofOrders, has an obstacle to women’s ordina-tion to the permanent diaconate, been



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21 Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Inter insigniores (1976), §§1-4.22 Ordinatio sacerdotalis, §4. I have underlined the distinction between the “fundamental

reasons” for reserving priestly ordination to men and the “theological arguments” advanced toexplain its meaningfulness in The Catholic Priesthood and Women: A Guide to the Teaching ofthe Church (Chicago/Mundelein: Hillenbrand Books, 2007).

23 Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Inter insigniores (1976), §5.24 Catechism of the Catholic Church, §1142. The identification of the priest as an “icon” of

Christ is found in St. Theodore the Studite’s Seven Chapters against the Iconoclasts 4..25 See my essay “The Priest as Sacrament of Christ the Bridegroom,” Worship 66 (November

1992): 498-517.26 See Mulieris dignitatem, §§23-27, and Pastores dabo vobis, §§16, 22-25, 29, 50.27 See Catechism of the Catholic Church (1997) §875, but notice that this was not changed in

§1581 and §1548; Pope Benedict XVI’s motu proprio, Omnium in mentem (October 26,2009), brought the canons into conformity with the Catechism.

28 In more recent documents , the deacon is said to be an icon of Christ the Servant, but sincethis designation is also given to the priest in conjunction with his role as Head (Pastores dabovobis §§21-23), it is not clear that it specifies the diaconal ministry. See ITC, From theDiakonia, 95-96..

29 Phyllis Zagano, “Inching towards a yes?” The Tablet (9 January, 2010), 10-11. The ITCresearch document (94-95) assumes that the unity of Holy Orders implies the capacity to actin persona Christi capitis. Does this change affect its argument?

30 See Charles R. Meyer, “Ordained Women in the Early Church,” Chicago Studies 4:1 (Spring,1965), 285-308, at 300f.,

31 See Joseph E. Franco, “Women in the Diaconate: The State of the Question,” TheDunwoodie Review 29 (2006).

32 See his analysis of the ordination rites of women deacons on www.womenpriests.org.33 See “When Women Were Deacons,” The Tablet (May 8, 1999): 623-24.

One question that comesto mind is: Why weremale and female deaconsordained separately andnot together?

ment is clear: the Lord’s example sets theboundaries for the ministries of women.Whatever priestly functions he did not com-mit to his Mother or to his women disciples,he did not commit to women.

These same arguments are reversed, as itwere, in the Church Orders that describethe ordination of women deacons.41 Here,it was necessary to justify their inclusionin ecclesiastical ministry. If God, who cre-ated both man and woman, invited awoman to give birth to his Son, he can beasked to grant his Spirit to his handmaid.In one text the woman deacon is evenlikened to the Holy Spirit. Now, the Lord’sMother and his women disciples, andother women from Old and NewTestaments (including Phoebe) arebrought forward to defend and explainhow women, who cannot be priests andbishops, can nevertheless be deacons42 inthe Church. The Didascalia Apostolorumand the Constitutiones Apostolorum(which takes up and reworks several chap-ters of the Didascalia) incorporate these intheir instructions, and the ordination rite(found in the latter), and they are echoedin the 8th century Byzantine rite for theordination of women deacons (CodexBarberini 336).43 Because God hasinspired and accepted the service ofwomen in the past, women can be formal-ly included in the diaconal ministry of theChurch.

Feminine Typology for theMinistry of WomenThe first “type” for the ministry of womenis the Holy Spirit. The Didascalia instructsthe faithful to honor the deaconess “in theplace of the Holy Spirit.”44 The author ofthis work adds the woman deacon to thetypological scheme found in St. Ignatius ofAntioch’s Letter to the Trallians,45 in whichthe bishop is a type of God the Father, thedeacon of Jesus Christ, and the presbytersof the college of the Apostles. According tothe Didascalia, the bishop is to be regardedas “father in God,” and to be honoured byyou as is God himself, because, for you, thebishop stands in the place of [in typum] theAll-Powerful God. The deacon stands in theplace of [in typum] Christ and you shouldlove him. The deaconess should be honoredby you as [in typum] the Holy Spirit is hon-ored. Priests ought to be considered by youas [in typum] the apostles would be consid-ered and widows and orphans should beesteemed by you as [in typum] you wouldesteem the altar of God.46

Why are the deaconesses compared to theHoly Spirit? Two explanations are given.First, since the Father and Son have justbeen named, the third divine Person, theHoly Spirit, follows in logical progression.Second, since “spirit” is a feminine nounin the Semitic languages, a certain corre-spondence with the women ministers sug-gests itself.47 This scheme corresponds to



analysis of the sacramental sign includesnot only its matter and form but also itssubject, the person who receives it. So, forexample, the subject of Confirmationmust be baptized; the subject of theAnointing of the Sick must be sick; thesubjects of Marriage are a man and awoman; the subject of priestly ordination isa man, and so on. The ordination rites formen and women deacons differ becausetheir subjects differ by sex.

In fact, from the available evidence, it seemsclear that the admission of women to dia-conal ministry required some explicit justifi-cation, perhaps because of aberrationsamong heretical sects. What is striking isthat the justification offered uses the sameline of reasoning to account for the exclu-sion of women from the ministerial priest-hood as it employs to account for theirinclusion in the diaconal ministry.34 Thefundamental point of reference is the will ofGod as known from biblical revelation andfrom Lord’s own example as reported in theGospels. So, to explain that women were noteligible for priestly ordination, St.Epiphanius appeals to the Lord’s example.If God had wanted women to offer sacrificeor perform some ecclesiastical office, hewould have chosen Mary over anyone elsein the New Covenant, given her great digni-ty, to exercise a priestly role. Despite the factthat she bore the Son of God in her womb,however, God did not choose the priesthoodfor Mary.35 God’s will for the priesthood isseen in the fact that Jesus called no woman

to belong to the Twelve – not Mary hisMother, nor any of his women disciples.36

These arguments are not original withEpiphanius, who was collecting the tradi-tional arguments against heresies; he is sim-ply repeating the sort of reasoning that isalready found in the Church Orders.According to the Didascalia Apostolorum(ca. 240), the Lord Jesus sent only theTwelve to teach the people, even though hehad women disciples (it names MaryMagdalene and Mary the daughter of Jamesand the other Mary) in his company. Thesehe did not send out, “for if it were requiredthat women should teach, our MasterHimself would have commanded these togive instruction with us.”37 It is a transgres-sion against the Lord’s commandment for awoman to baptize, “for if it were lawful to bebaptized by a woman, our Lord and TeacherHimself would have been baptized by Mary,his Mother.”38 The same explanations, slight-ly modified, appear in the ConstitutionesApostolorum (ca. 380). The Lord sent theTwelve to teach in the Church, even thoughhe did not lack worthy women in his compa-ny, i.e., his Mother and his sisters, MaryMagdalene, Mary the mother of James,Martha and Mary, and Salome.39 Again, theLord did not send women along with theTwelve to baptize; he would have been bap-tized by Mary if he had intended to assignthis function to women.40 The line of argu-



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41 St. Epiphanius states (Panarion, 79, 3) that the order of deaconesses was instituted to servewomen, especially when their nakedness was uncovered at their baptism and in sickness.

42 Because of a certain overlap in functions, some of these admonitions are addressed to widowsor virgins as well as to women deacons.

43 These three documents are by no means the only sources for this material, but they serve tomake the point.

44 Didasc. IX, 2-3. Ignatius was martyred ca. 110. 45 Trall. 3,1: “Let everyone revere the deacon as Jesus Christ, the bishop as the image of the

Father, and the presbyters as the senate of God and the assembly of the apostles.” See alsoIgnatius To the Magnesians, 6.

46 The Syriac and Latin versions of the text are set out side by side in Martimort, pp. 36f.47 See also Yves M.J. Congar, “The Motherhood in God and the Femininity of the Holy Spirit,”

in I Believe in the Holy Spirit 3 (New York: Seabury, 1983): 155-63.

34 This indirectly confirms that the patristic argument for reserving the priesthood to menappealed to the Lord’s own choice of men to belong to the Twelve, and not just to the“Pauline ban” (1 Cor 14:34-35, 1 Tim 2:12, 14).

35 Panarion, 79, 3. 36 Panarion 79, 3-4, 7. Epiphanius names Salome, Martha and Mary, Mary Magdalene, Joanna,

Susanna, the Canaanite woman, and the woman with the hemorrhage. If Christ did notentrust the office of priesthood to these women, neither did he intend it for any woman.

37 Didasc. 3, 6, 1-2. 38 Didasc. 3, 9, 1-3.39 Apost. Const. 3, 6, 1-2.40 Apost. Const. 3, 9, 2.

The ordination rites formen and women deaconsdiffer because theirsubjects differ by sex

consistent with the Eastern attention tothe way the human community, in thecomplementarity of male and female, is“the created epiphany of the uncreatedTrinity.”56 This underlines the value of thedistinction between the male and femaledeacons and their complementary roles.

The second feminine type of the womandeacon is the Blessed Virgin Mary. Sheserves in two ways, first, as the woman whogave birth to God’s only Son, and second,as the Mother of the Lord whose dignitycauses Christians to notice how remark-able it is that he did not confer the priestlyoffice upon her. Mary appears withoutname or title in the prayer over the womandeacon at her ordination: “Eternal God,Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Creator ofboth man and woman,…you who did notjudge it unworthy for your only Son to beborn of a woman, …do now also look downupon this your handmaid who is to beordained to the diaconate… .”57 A similarprayer, in which the bishop reminds God ofhis willingness to enlist a woman in the ser-vice of his plan, is found in the Byzantinerite for the ordination of a deaconess. Thebishop prays: “Holy and Omnipotent Lord,through the birth of your Only Son our Godfrom a Virgin according to the flesh, youhave sanctified the female sex. You grantnot only to men, but also to women thegrace and coming of your Holy Spirit….” Ineach case, God’s choice of a woman to bethe mother of his Son serves to emphasizethe creation of humankind in two sexes,

the unique dignity of Mary as the Motherof God’s Son, and women’s capacity for thegrace of the Holy Spirit that will sustain herministry. It is remarkable that the VirginMary is not actually named with all hertitles; nevertheless, the prayer clearlyimplies that she is the one whose co-oper-ation with God’s plan leads to the expecta-tion that the woman deacon will follow suitand have a fruitful ministry.

Mary figures as a type for women deaconsin another way. Here, she is the Mary ofthe Gospels who accompanies her Sonduring his public life. She is surrounded byhis other women disciples, but exceeds allof them in dignity. Given her dignity, itmight have been expected that the Lordwould have called his Mother to belong tothe Twelve, to offer sacrifice, to teach, andto baptize, even to baptize himself!58 Theseare all priestly functions, and the Lordcalled her to none of them. At times thecompiler of the Apostolic Constitutionsappeals to the Pauline teaching on maleheadship (1 Cor 11:3) as an explanation;he also maintains that the Lord, being theCreator of nature and the divine Lawgiver,knows what is best for his people.59 Ifwomen, after the example of the Lord’sMother, are not called to belong to theTwelve, that is, called to the priestly min-istry, they nevertheless have a diaconalservice to perform in the Church, a min-istry to women. They are able to welcomethe gift of the Holy Spirit and serve inGod’s Holy House.



the Didascalia’s admonition to the bishopto choose deacons of both sexes, a man formost tasks and a woman “for the ministryof women.”48 According to this Trinitariantypology, there is a certain correspondencebetween the male (the type of Christ) andfemale (the type of the Holy Spirit) dea-cons.49 Deacons of both sexes dependdirectly on the bishop,50 and they extend hisministry. The women deacons are responsi-ble for his ministry to women: they anointthe bodies of the female catechumens,instruct them in the life of holiness afterBaptism, visit them in their homes and carefor the sick, bathing them when they beginto recover.51 The male deacon, althoughappointed “to the ministry of men,”52 hasmany other responsibilities. In particular,he assists the bishop at the Divine Liturgy,mediating between the bishop and the con-gregation and binding the concelebratingcommunity into one. At one time he repre-sents the celebrating hierarchy, at anotherthe congregation, inviting each to partici-pate according to its proper role.53 The dea-con and the bishop are to have but “oneaim, one thought, one soul, even thoughthey exist in two bodies.”54 There is no com-parable development of the woman dea-con’s relationship with the bishop.

The author of the Apostolic Constitutionsoffers some amendments to the Didascalia

when he incorporates it into his collection.He reasserts the typology that likens thewoman deacon to the Holy Spirit, but addsto it:

Let also the woman deacon be honoredby you in the place of the Holy Spirit. Lether not do or say anything without themale deacon; as neither does theComforter say or do anything of himself,but gives glory to Christ by waiting for hispleasure. And as we cannot believe inChrist without the teaching of the Spirit,so let not any woman address herself tothe male deacon or bishop without thewoman deacon.55

In his mediating role, the male deaconserves the bishop as Christ serves God theFather, and the woman deacon dependsupon the male deacon as the Holy Spiritdepends upon Christ. Still, like the Holy

Spirit, the woman deacon has a teachingrole for lay women, and mediates betweenthem and the bishop or the male deacon.The woman deacon is called to imitate theHoly Spirit. This Trinitarian typology is



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48 Didasc. 9, 2, 26.49 See Jean Colson, “Diakon und Bischof in de Ersten Drei Jahrhunderten der Kirche,” in

Diaconia in Christo, “Quaestiones Disputatae” 15/16, ed. Karl Rahner and HerbertVorgrimler (Freiburg: Herder, 1962): 23-30, with charts on 28-30.

50 See Petro B.T. Bilaniuk, The Eastern Diaconate in the Sub-Apostolic and Pre-Conciliar Period,Studies in Eastern Christianity, vol. 2, ed. Isabel A. Massey (Munich-Toronto: Our CanadaPublications, 1982). The deacon has no direct relationship to the priest. Bilaniuk observesthat this scheme recalls the tradition that allowed a deacon to be elected bishop without beingordained to the presbyterate; ordination to the bishop’s priesthood was regarded as distinctfrom ordination to his ministry (87).

51 Didasc. 9, 2, 6.52 Ibid., 16, 3, 13.53 Bilaniuk, 88-91.54 Didasc. 16, 3, 13.55 Apost. Const. II, 26, 5-7. (Translation from Wijngaards, Women Deacons, 158.)

56 See Thomas Hopko, “On the Male Character of Christian Priesthood,” in St. Vladimir’sSeminary Quarterly 19:3 (1975): 147-73, at 149.

57 Apost. Const. 8, 20. The later ordination rites collected by John Wijngaards in WomenDeaconesses, 176-188, also contain this prayer, which is cited here in his translation.

58 See above, p.10, for the passages in the Didascalia and the Apostolic Constitutions that makethis case. This argument also has a place in the extra-canonical Gospels and other lessreliable early Christian sources. See Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, “Word, Spirit, and Power:Woman in Early Christian Communities,” in Women of Spirit: Female Leadership in theJewish and Christian Traditions, ed. Rosemary Reuther and Eleanor McLaughlin (New York:Simon and Schuster, 1979): 30-70.

59 Apost. Const. 3, 9.

... the woman deacon dependsupon the male deacon as theHoly Spirit depends upon Christ

The final feminine type, and the onewhose name remained in later rites for theordination of women deacons, is Phoebe,the deacon of the Church of Cenchreae,whom Paul greets in the Letter to theRomans 16:1. Phoebe is named in the sec-ond ordination prayer found in the 8thcentury Byzantine rite (Codex Barberini)and in the texts patterned on it:

Lord, Master, you do not reject womenwho dedicate themselves to you and whoare willing, in a becoming way, to serveyour Holy House, but admit them to theorder of your ministers. Grant the gift ofyour Holy Spirit also to this your maid-servant who wants to dedicate herself toyou, and fulfil in her the grace of the dia-conate, as you have granted to Phoebethe grace of your diaconate, whom youcalled to the work of the ministry. …64

It is surprising that St. Phoebe does notappear in the earlier texts that providefeminine types for women deacons, butthere is no doubt that her witness and thenature of her office were closely examinedin patristic biblical commentaries. Shemaintains her prominence in the laterrites for the ordination of women deaconsas the counterpart to St. Stephen in therites for the ordination of male deacons.

ConclusionGiven the current debate regarding therelevance of the iconic argument, it isstriking that the models for women’s min-istry are, with the exception of the HolySpirit (who may be viewed as “comple-mentary” to Christ), all female. The candi-dates are women, and they are clearlybeing chosen for a “women’s” ministry.And in this respect, despite their manysimilarities, the rites themselves differ sig-

nificantly. This appears to be compellingevidence that women were admitted not toa gender-neutral diaconate, but to awomen’s order in the Church with its owngestalt. Once infant baptism became thenorm and their service was not so urgent-ly needed, the order of women deacons“disappeared,” or rather moved into themonastic communities of women, wherethe superiors and abbesses continued to beordained as deacons.

The deliberate emphasis on female “icons”of ministry seems to tell in favor of an eccle-siastical order of women, established by theChurch to meet a pastoral need, an orderwhich differed from, and was complemen-tary to, the order of male deacons. Thewomen deacons were understood to repre-sent not Christ but the Holy Spirit, theBlessed Virgin Mary, Jesus’ women disciples,Phoebe, or the biblical women noted fortheir prophetic gifts or service in the Temple.

Women in the service of the Church todayundoubtedly exercise many of the rolesentrusted to permanent deacons by ordi-nation. Their service is not restricted toother women and children. There seems tobe no obstacle, in principle, to the creationof a female diaconate, distinct from thesacrament of Holy Orders. The pastoralservice of women might well be incorporat-ed into the structure of the Church as a“fourth order” through formal installationby the bishop. In the meantime, the legacyof the female diaconate continues to becarried forward by apostolic women reli-gious65 and consecrated women in the newecclesial movements, and women in “layecclesial ministry.” These may, in fact, bethe “natural” heirs to the women deaconsof the early Church. �



The third feminine type of the womandeacon is not a single person, but a class –the women of biblical revelation in bothTestaments. Some have already beenmentioned: Jesus’ women disciples, wor-thy collaborators of the Twelve who mightwell (one would think) have been enlistedin the priestly ministry of offering sacrifice,teaching, and baptizing.60 The availabilityand holiness of Jesus’ women disciplesdemonstrates that his failure to choosethem for this ministry is not based in somedeficiency on their part as women.Precisely the opposite is the case: what isremarkable is that he did not call them.Still, they are positive types for women’sdiaconal ministry precisely because they“ministered” to the Lord himself.61

This theme is found in the Didascalia, inthe context of instructions addressed tothe bishop concerning the ministerialduties of women deacons. They are toanoint the bodies of women catechumens,receive them when they emerge from thefont, and instruct and educate them in theways of holiness. “For these reasons, weassert that the ministry of a female deaconis especially required and urgent. For ourLord and Savior was himself served bydeaconesses, such as Mary Magdalene,Mary, daughter of James and mother ofJoseph, and the mother of the sons ofZebedee, along with still other women.”62

In this instance, the existence of Jesus’women disciples is the court of appeal forthe inclusion of women in ministry. Thefact that Jesus accepted their ministryreveals the possibility and, given the situa-tion (anointing of women’s bodies), even

the necessity of ordaining women deacons.

The women of the Gospel are not the onlymodels. In fact, they do not appear in theordination prayers. Instead, the OldTestament prophets Miriam (sister ofMoses) and Huldah, and the judge,Deborah are named, along with Anna thedaughter of Phanuel, who welcomed theinfant Savior in the Temple. The ordina-tion prayer reads:

O Eternal God, the Father of our LordJesus Christ, the Creator of man andwoman, you filled Miriam, Deborah, Anna,and Huldah with the Spirit. You did notobject to your only-begotten Son to be bornof a woman. You ordained women to bekeepers of your holy gates in the taberna-cle of the testimony and in the Temple. Donow look upon this your handmaid who isto be ordained to the diaconate, and granther your Holy Spirit .…63

If these women rather than the Gospeldisciples are found in this prayer, it is like-ly due to their association with prophecy,the gift of the Holy Spirit. (The fourdaughters of Philip [Acts 21:9] are oftenincluded in the list of women prophets.) Ifin the history of salvation, women filledwith the Holy Spirit have served in theLord’s house, these women deacons willcarry forward that same service. Thewomen who kept the “holy gates” in theTent of Meeting (Ex 38:8 and 1 Sam 2:22)and in the Temple (Anna, Lk 2:36-38) arealso models, for the women deacons hadresponsibility for the conduct of womenand children in the liturgical assembly.



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60 See above, pp. 10-11. 61 Luke 8:2-3; Mk 15:40.62 Didasc. 9, 2, 26 (my emphasis).63 Apost. Const. 8, 20. Translation by Wijngaards, 161. Kyriaki Karidoyanes Fitzgerald, Women

Deacons in the Orthodox Church: Called to Holiness and Ministry (Brookline, MA: Holy CrossOrthodox Press, 1999), provides an extended commentary on the two ordination ritesmentioned here (59-110); in addition, she supplies information (28-58) on the womendeacons who are revered as saints in the Orthodox Church.

64 Codex Barberini gr. 336, in the translation from Wijngaards, Women Deacons, 176.65 Phyllis Zagano continues to suggest a connection of this sort. See her Holy Saturday, 119-

130, and, more recently, “Looking for Nuns, Finding Women Deacons,” Review for Religious70 (January, 2011): 73-83.

The Latin Fathers are covered by elevenpapers in Part Four, divided into just three:Evidence from the Latin Fathers, then Jerome,and Augustine of Hippo. Here the biggest gapis treatment of Gregory the Great, especiallyhis Registrum epistularum. One day a doctor-al student could do a useful bit of researchinto the writings and especially the letters ofGregory. She or he would scarcely need tohave Latin after the publication of JohnMartyn’s fine translation, with Introductionand Notes, of The Letters of Gregory the Greatin three volumes, the first complete transla-tion into English and only the second into anymodern language, published by the PontificalInstitute of Mediaeval Studies in Toronto. Ifever a bishop or pope knew how to deploy his

deacons it was Gregory.The volume concludes with Part Five

devoted to Archaeological and InstitutionalAspects and Part Six on the FemaleDiaconate which includes a paper in Spanishby Juana Maria Torres Prieto. I very muchhope that this journal will enable some of thepapers presented at this singular event toreach a wider readership. Many deserve to doso. Patent gaps such as treatment of the ear-liest evidence of the diaconate in the Didacheand Second Clement also need to be filledand we promise to do so in due course in theNew Diaconate Review. This after all couldonly serve as the first dossier, but it is a mostworthy one. �

Tony Schmitz


Review

Diaconia, Diaconiae, Diaconato:Semantica E Storia Nei Padri DellaChiesa, XXXVIII Incontro distudiosi dell’ antichità cristianaRome, 7 – 9 May, 2009Series: Studia EphemeridisAugustinianum 117

Publisher: Institutum PatristicumAugustinianum RomeDate: 2010No price givenPages: 708

These Proceedings of the Thirty-EighthConference of Scholars of Early Christianityheld at the Augustianum Patristic Institute inRome during three warm but also wet days inMay 2009 were published in time for the2010 Conference but have reached me onlyjust in time for this brief notice before we goto press with our May 2011 issue of the NewDiaconal Review.

When in 2003 the InternationalTheological Commission published itsresearch document, Le Diaconat – Évolu-tion et Perspectives (Editions du Cerf, Paris,2003, and being freshly englished in stagesby this journal), there was an acknowledg-ment of the need for further research togain a clearer picture of the early history ofthis order in the diverse settings of the localChurches in both East and West. TheseProceedings are the most significant contri-bution towards that end published since2003. It is our hope to translate and presentin future issues of New Diaconal Reviewsome of the more outstanding papers readat that noteworthy conference which wasorganized jointly by the Augustinianum andthe Faculty of Catholic Theology of theUniversity of Tilburg in the Netherlands,represented principally by its dean andProfessor Bart Koet, deacon and one of oureditorial consultants (cf. NDR 3, November2009, pp. 29-32).

The forty-six papers were presented, andare here published, principally in three lan-guages: Italian, German and English. Afterintroductions and prefaces, we have a Part

One on Biblical and Classical Sources withnine articles. The first of these by theAugustinian Professor Prosper Grech wehave had translated and publish in this issueof New Diaconal Review. German NewTestament scholar Anni Hentschel, whosemassive semantic study Diakonia im neuenTestament: Studien zur Semantik unterbesonderer Berücksichtigung der Rolle vonFrauen. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungenzum Neuen Testament for the most part cor-roborates the conclusions of John N Collins,contributes a paper entitled Paul’sApostleship and the Concept of Diakonia in 2Corinthians which concludes, in concur-rence with Collins, that it was “much moreimportant for Paul to be known as a diakonosof God than an apostle”. Other notablepapers in this section are Bart Koet’s Like aRoyal Wedding – On the Significance ofdiakonos in John 2, 1-11 and the investiga-tion by Mario Cimosa and Gillian Bonneyfrom the Pontifical Salesian University on Jobas the Servant of the Lord and of his Friends– The Development of the Meaning in theLanguage referring to “servants” and “ser-vice” from the eastern Greek and HellenisticWorld to the early Christian Church.

Part Two is devoted to Evidence from theSyro-Armenian Fathers and includes anauthoritative and fine paper by AlistairStewart-Sykes on Deacons in the SyrianChurch Order Tradition: a Search for Origins.

Part Three is subdivided into four sectionswith twelve papers: Evidence from the GreekFathers, and then successively, Deacons andDiakonia in the Area of Alexandria, Deaconsand Diakonia in Cappadocia and Deaconsand Diakonia in the Area of Antioch.Certainly original is Judith Gentle’s TheBlessed Virgin Mary as the Model of Diakoniaaccording to the Christological Writings of StCyril of Alexandria and also of interest isYsabel de Andia’s Liturgie, diaconie des pau-vres et theologie du corps du Christ chez saintJean Chrysostome. One would have liked tohave seen more from the other Cappadocianfathers just as in Part Two there is a huge gapwith nothing on the great St Ephraim.


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This photograph shows the first diaconate students to graduate in the new Foundation Degree in Pastoral Ministry at

St Mary’s University College, Twickenham. This degree was established partly to cater for those in formation in the

diaconate. In their third year of formation students can convert this into a full theology honours degree. The graduation

ceremony took place in the college chapel, where six months before Pope Benedict XVI met representatives of

religious orders involved in education.

Graduation

thorough selection and formation pro-grammes. Readers are also introduced tothis diocese’s fruitful utilisation of reviews,harnessing of developments (local, nationaland international) and pursuit of relevantexpertise. Power writes candidly yet sensi-tively too of difficulties in relation to theintegration of the permanent diaconate andof diocesan efforts to name and addressemergent issues. Readers will easily appre-ciate how the Archdiocese of Torontobecame well placed to be a valuable con-tributor to the consultation processes thatsubsequently found expression in the pub-lication of Basic Norms for the Formation ofPermanent Deacons by the Congregationfor Catholic Education and Directory for theMinistry and Life of Permanent Deacons bythe Congregation for the Clergy in 1998. Itis clear too that a culture of ongoing review,evaluation and analysis continues to com-

plement Toronto’s diocesan programme.All that said, there is for me, one obscu-

rity in Power’s impressive accomplishment.In his treatment he has tended to presentthings more from a diocesan managerialperspective, albeit caring, rather than fromthe contemporary lived experiences of per-manent deacons in ministry. In time thismay well prove a valued strength of thisbook but contemporary readers may thefind the absence surprising. There is still adearth of literature concerning the bless-ings and challenges of varied diaconal min-istries (which are listed).

Nevertheless this is a fine and valuablebook that demonstrates how the permanentdiaconate has become established inToronto and how it is supporting the Churchextend her reach further and further.

Justin Harkin, Director of PastoralDevelopment (Diocese of Elphin)


Review

Servants of All: A History of thePermanent Diaconate in theArchdiocese of Toronto 1972 –2007

Author: Michael PowerISBN: 978-2-89646-218-6Price: $24.95Publisher: Toronto/NovalisPublishing Inc.Year: 2010Pages: 256

Retirement, especially from positions ofgrave responsibility, can frequently beaccompanied by moments of gracefullucidity. Such was the case for CardinalAloysius Ambrozic when he stepped downas Archbishop of Toronto in December2006. In addition to thanking the CatholicCommunity for their generous support hemade specific mention of the ministry ofpermanent deacons, saying that theArchdiocese could not have provided thesame broad level of ministerial service tothe community without their competentsupport. He further recommended that ahistory of Toronto’s permanent diaconateprogramme be written to document theorigins and ministerial service of the arch-diocese’s 253 deacons during the period1974 – 2007.

Fortunately this moment of gracefullucidity was acted upon and I concur withJohn O’Mara, Bishop Emeritus of St.Catherine’s diocese in Ontario Canada,who, in the preface, states that CanadianChurch Historian Michael Power “hasgiven us a timely and inspiring illustrationof how grace became a reality through thecollaborative efforts of the priests and can-didates who launched the permanent dia-conate program and who continue todevelop and support it as an importantministry in the Church.”

Power begins by offering a fine scholarlyintroduction to some of the twentieth cen-tury personalities, thinking and develop-ments that contributed to Vatican II’s rec-ommendation that the restoration belocalised in the competence of local

Episcopal conferences, i.e. with theapproval of the Supreme Pontiff (LumenGentium #29). His aptitude for story-telling is particularly strong here, ground-ed in a prudent and judicious selection ofhistorical sources. Newcomers to the storyof the twentieth century restoration arewell-served as are those involved in theprovision of catechesis on the permanentdiaconate.

Having provided a fulsome backdropPower proceeds to sketch how the restora-tion was advanced in Canada and morespecifically in Toronto (1966 – 1979).Valuable insight is offered into the mind-set, weighty personal commitment anddiligence of supportive bishops, clergy, dia-conal candidates and laity. More specifical-ly attention is drawn to the sterling prag-matic efforts of the Canadian Hierarchyand of instrumental personnel of the arch-diocese, as the diocese set about a catech-esis and consultation of key Church per-sonnel. More specifically Power elaborateson the emergent vision of the desirablecharacteristics and focus of the diaconatein the late twentieth and early twenty-firstcentury Toronto.

Power’s treatment of this period and ofthe subsequent introductory phase is com-mendable. By marshalling analysis of avail-able written data with the reminiscencesof key players he succeeds in illuminatingthe workings of the Holy Spirit as Torontoearnestly prepared for the permanent dia-conate as another energetic and positiveforce in the renewal of the Church’s mis-sion to sanctify the world in the name ofChrist. Moreover this is graciously contex-tualised through references to ArchbishopPhilip Pocock’s (1971 – 1978) simultane-ous efforts to support a renewal of the cler-gy and to promote greater involvement oflaity in the life and ministry of the localChurch.

Insight is also offered into the initial train-ing received by Toronto’s first permanentdeacons (twenty-six were ordained in1974) and of the gradual evolution of more


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Joint National Assembly of Deacons in England and Wales

& International Conference, International Diaconate Study Centre

North European Circle

Friday 24th June – Sunday 26th June 2011

St Mary’s University College, Twickenham

Confirmed visitors and speakers so far include ... Cardinal Keith O’Brien, Archbishop Vincent Nichols

Professor William Cavanaugh, Professor Michael Hayes and Professor Joseph WissinkWorkshop leaders include Anthony Towey, Duncan Macpherson, Louisa Warren,

Nelleke Wijngaards-Serrarens, and Benas Ulevicius

More details at ... www.diaconate.org.uk

I. Changes in diaconalministry

From the third century on, each of theseven deacons in Rome headed one of theseven pastoral regions, whilst the pres-byters held smaller tituli (future parishes).These deacons were responsible foradministering the funds and directing thecharitable support services. At the begin-ning of the fourth century the Council ofNeocaesarea asked that each Church,regardless of its size, should have no morethan seven deacons, in memory of Acts6.1-6.1 This provision, still recalled byIsidore of Seville,2 but rarely observed,especially in the East,3 enhanced the pres-tige of the diaconal order, and encourageddeacons to abandon even more of theiroriginal functions to other clerics. This ledto their being defined more and moreexplicitly solely by reference to their litur-gical functions and this also led to conflictwith presbyters.

Increasingly deacons’ functions came tobe exercised by other ministers. Already inthe Traditio Apostolica (13), “sub-dea-cons” were appointed “for them to followthe deacon.” Those who “follow the dea-con” quickly became his “acolytes”.4 Theseacolytes were responsible for carrying the

fermentum, a particle of the bishop’sEucharist to the presbyters of the tituli inthe city. It is also they who took theEucharist to the absent. The “door-keep-ers” also performed a function formerlyentrusted to deacons. It could be arguedthat the minor ministries stemmed from aparceling out of diaconal functions.

The status of the sub-deacon came toapproximate more closely that of the dea-con. In the East, towards 400, the Councilof Laodicea attempted to prevent the sub-deacon from encroaching on the liturgicalfunctions of deacons. They should havebeen content with guarding the doors.5 Wesee sub-deacons adopting the rule of life ofdeacons. At the end of the fourth centuryAfrican councils required continence of allclerics “who serve at the altar.”6 TheCanones in causa Apiarii (419-425)

1 Council of Neocaesarea (314 or 319), can.15, in: Mansi Sacrorum Conciliorum amplissima,nova collectio, Paris-Leipzig, 1901 (rev. ed.), vol. 2, 539.

2 Isidore of Seville, De officiis ecclesiastici 2, 8.3 There were a hundred deacons in Constantinople at the time of Justinian. See Justinian,

Novellae III, 1 (Corpus Juris Civilis, ed. Kriegel, vol. III, Leipzig 1887, 20).4 See Constitutiones Apostolorum, II, 28.6.5 Cf. Can. 21.22.43, in: P.-P. Joannou, Discipline génerale antique IIe–IXe siècle, I-2, Rome

1962, 139-148.6 Council of Carthage sub Genethlio (390), can. 2, in: Ch Munier, Concilia Africae , CCSL 259,

Turnhout 1974, 13.


Tony Schmitz

The NDR presents the next installment ofa fresh and complete translation of theInternational Theological Commission’simportant research document LeDiaconat: Évolution et Perspectives,Éditions du Cerf, Paris, 2003. TheGerman, Greek and Latin footnotes aretranslated for the first time. Deacon TonySchmitz is Director of Studies of thenational diaconate formation programmefor the Diaconate Commission of theBishops’ Conference of Scotland andco-editor of the New Diaconal Review.What follows is Chapter Three of theresearch document.

The Disappearance of thePermanent Diaconate


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Deacon to Deacon ... Appeal

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“Therefore brethren pick out from among you seven men of good repute full of theSpirit and of Wisdom”

Asummer institute of advanced study on all aspects of the diaconate is

being established in Rome. With theapproval of the Vatican's Congregation forCatholic Education, an international fac-ulty of scholars will offer one-week inten-sive courses for advanced (graduate) aca-demic credit over a three-week period atthe various pontifical universities in

Rome. Students may register for anynumber of courses during that three-weekperiod. As of this writing, the faculty arepreparing specific course descriptions andit is anticipated that the first courses willbe offered during the summer of 2012.

Questions concerning the institute maybe referred to Deacon Dr William T.Ditewig at [email protected]

News

Summer Institute of Advanced Studies in Rome

tinguish it from all the others ordersbeneath the priestly order.14

Also towards the end of the fifth century,the clerical career-path is defined in termsof liturgical competences as well as of therequirement of continence for those serv-ing in the sanctuary or on their way there.For Leo I the ideal was to pass through allthe stages of the cursus, observing suitableintervals between each stage, before enter-ing the priesthood and the episcopate.15

The number and names of the severaldegrees (gradus) of the cursus fluctuate. AtRome there were eight in the time of PopeCornelius.16 In the fifth century, portersand exorcists are no longer spoken of.17 Theauthor of De septem ordinibus at the begin-ning of the fifth century speaks of gravedig-gers, door-keepers, lectors, sub-deacons,deacons, priests and bishops.18 The StatutaEcclesiae antiqua, also composed in south-ern Gaul circa 480, revived a list of eightofficiales ecclesiae who received an ordina-tio: bishop, presbyter and deacon receive alaying on of hands, whilst candidates forlower orders (sub-deacon, acolyte, exorcist,lector, door-keeper) are installed by a rite ofporrection (handing over of instruments ofoffice).19 Thus the functions that had hith-erto been autonomous and effectivebecame mere steps on a course toward thepriesthood. The Sacramentary of Verona(c. 560-580) contains a prayer of consecra-tion for the bishop and the presbyter, and aprayer for “blessing” for the deacon. The

latter was essentially ordained with a viewto liturgical service; and he should be anexample of chastity.20

Progression along the clerical career-pathwas still often accomplished per saltum. Inthe ninth century at Rome the sub-dia-conate became the only mandatory stagingpost of the course on the way to reachingmajor orders. Every pope between 687 and891 had been a sub-deacon. Five hadbecome deacons before being elevated tothe episcopate, whilst nine passed directlyfrom sub-diaconate to priesthood and thento episcopate.

One of the traditional competences of dea-cons, the management of the goods of the

community, was also lost to them. TheCouncil of Chalcedon (451) sanctionedthis development. Every bishop was toentrust this charge to a bursar chosenfrom “among his own clergy” (Can. 26),not necessarily from among the deacons.Aid to the poor was often taken care of bymonasteries. Under Gregory the Great,


The Disappearance of the Permanent Diaconate – Tony Schmitz

extended this requirement to sub-deacons“who touch the sacred mysteries.”7 Leo I(440-461) went on to confirm this disci-pline for sub-deacons.8 Leo readily distin-guishes between sacerdotes (the bishopand presbyters) levitae (deacons and sub-deacons) and clerici (other ministers).9

Cyprian had already deemed it necessaryto recall that deacons had been institutedby the Apostles, and not by the Lord him-self.10 It seems that in some places deaconsmust have been tempted to take the placeof presbyters. The Council of Arles (314)reminded them that they could not offerthe Eucharist (Can.15) and that theyowed presbyters their due honour (Can.18). Nicaea prohibited deacons from giv-ing communion to presbyters, or fromreceiving it before bishops. They ought toreceive communion from bishop or pres-byter, and after them. They ought not to beseated amongst the priests. “Let the dea-cons remain within the limits of their com-petence, knowing that they are servants ofthe bishop and rank lower than pres-byters” (Can. 19).11

The anonymous Ambrosiaster, composedin Rome towards 378, testifies to the per-sistent tension between the diaconate andthe presbyterate.12 Jerome goes further inadding: Deacons are not superior topriests!13 Increasingly presbyters begin toexercise functions once reserved to dea-cons, even as the former received progres-sively greater autonomy in their responsi-bilities for the tituli in the city and forparishes in the country. Deacons, who had

wanted to exercise liturgical and teachingfunctions reserved to presbyters, now suf-fered a backlash: they became subordinateto presbyters, their direct link with thebishop faded, and they ended up by nolonger having any specific function. Theclergy of the Church in the Empireincreasingly forgot their function of ser-vice, and maintained a conception of sac-erdotal sacrality, towards which all thesteps of the cursus honorum led. Deaconswere the first to suffer the consequencesof this.

Towards the end of the fifth century thethought of the Pseudo-Dionysius began toexert a lasting influence in both East andWest. In Dionysius’s hierarchical concep-

tion of both heaven and the Church beingsreceive their specific determination andtheir function based on the order in whichthey are inserted. The ecclesiastical hier-archy was composed of two triads. Thefirst of these distinguishes the order ofhierarchs or bishops, then the order ofpriests and lastly the order of liturges orministers. This last order embraces theecclesiastical orders ranging from deaconto porter or door-keeper. The diaconate nolonger has any further specification to dis-



Let the deacons remain withinthe limits of their competence,knowing that they areservants of the bishop andrank lower than presbyters

In the ninth century atRome the sub-diaconatebecame the only mandatorystaging post of the course onthe way to reaching majororders

7 Cf Can. 25, ibid.108-109.8 Leo the Great, Ep 14, 4 to Anastasius of Thessalonica, PL 54, 672-673.9 Leo the Great, Ep 14, 4 to Anastasius of Thessalonica, PL 54, 672-673.10 See supra chap. II, note 40.11 Cf G. Alberigo, Les Conciles Oecuméniques, Les Décrets, Vol. II, 1, Paris 1994, 54.12 The little treatise De Romanorum jactantia diaconum (CSEL 50, 193-198) reproves deacons

who would want to climb up the rank of presbyters, or who refuse the tasks of service andwhose sole concern is with liturgical chant.

13 Jerome, Letter 146 to Evangelus ; PL 22, 1192-1195.

14 Pseudo-Dionysius, Ecclesiastical Hierarchy, V, 7, V, 6; PG 3, 506-508.15 Leo I, Ep 6, 6 to Anastasius of Thessalonica, PL 54, 620. Leo himself was a deacon when he

was elected to the episcopate. See also L. Duchesne, Liber Pontificalis I, de Boccard, Paris1981, 238-239.

16 Cf Eusebius of Caesarea, Hist. eccl . VI 43.17 See The Decretals of Siricius; PL 13, 1142-1143; The Decretals of Innocent I, PL 20, 604-605.18 Ps-Jerome, Ep XII de Septem ordinibus ecclesiae; PL 30, 150-162.19 Cf Ch Munier, Les Statuta Ecclesiae antiqua, Edition-Études critiques, Paris 1960, 95-99.

The author adds the psalmist to this list. Isidore of Seville, Etymologies VII, 12, PL 82, 290spoke of are nine degrees, including the psalmist. For him, all nine ordines are also calledsacramenta, cf. De Ecclesiasticis Officiis 2.21.

20 Cf LC Mohlberg, Sacramentarium Veronensis (RED.FI), Rome 1956, 120-121.

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altar. This ritual was brought to Romethrough the reforming zeal of theGermanic emperors at the end of thetenth century. Rome fell into line on theclerical cursus per gradum which was thepractice in the Empire. From that momenton, the history of ordination rites attests a

perfect continuity.27 The First LateranCouncil (1123) canon 7, and the SecondLateran Council (1139), canon 6,deprived of office clerics who, from thesub-diaconate inclusively upwards, con-tracted marriage. Canon 7 of the SecondLateran Council declared that such a mar-riage would be null and void.28 From thenon the Latin Church generally ordainedonly celibate men.

The patristic and liturgical texts of the firstmillennium all mention the ordination ofbishops, of presbyters and of deacons, butthey do not yet raise explicitly the questionof the sacramentality of each of these ordi-nations.

The history of ministries shows that priest-ly functions have tended to absorb the

functions of the lower orders. When theclerical cursus honorum became stabi-lized, each grade retained the compe-tences that belonged to the lower grade aswell as acquiring supplementary ones.What a deacon does, a presbyter can alsodo. At the summit of the hierarchy, thebishop can exercise all ecclesiastical func-tions. This following suit of competencesand this taking over of lower functions byhigher ones, this fragmentation of thecompetences that originally belonged todeacons into multiple functions exercisedby subordinate clergy, as well as the pro-gression to higher functions per gradum,together all go to explain how the dia-conate, as a permanent ministry, came tolose its raison d’etre. All that remainedwere the liturgical tasks performed for agiven period by candidates for the priest-hood.

II.Towards thedisappearance ofdeaconesses

After the tenth century, deaconesses arenamed only in connection with charitableinstitutions. A Jacobite author of this peri-od observes: “In ancient times deaconesseswere ordained. Their function was to takecare of adult women, so they would not beuncovered in front of the bishop. But whenreligion spread more widely it was decidedto administer baptism to children, and thusthis function was abolished.”29 The sameobservation can be found in the Pontifical



the vast Patrimony of St. Peter is managedby defensores or notarii, who were madeclergy or at least tonsured.

As to the East, when the ByzantineCouncil In Trullo in 692 came to reviewthe model found in Acts 6:1-6 it observedthat The Seven were neither deacons norpresbyters nor bishops. These were per-sons “charged with attending to the common needs of the congregation of thetime ... They are an example of charity “(Can. 7).21 By the end of the ninth centu-ry in the East, deacons still formed a per-manent order of clerics, but solely for meeting liturgical needs. The Byzantinerite had two stages preparatory to thesacred ministries: the lectorate (or can-tors) and the sub-diaconate, conferred bychirothesia, mandatory before the dia-conate.22 But the sub-diaconate was oftenconferred at the same time as the lectorateor else just prior to the diaconate.According to the ritual of theConstitutiones Apostolorum which stillremained in force in the East, admission tothe lower orders of subdiaconate and lec-torate was gained through the laying on ofhands and the handing over of instru-ments of office. In the West also, the activ-ity of the deacons was practically reduced

to their liturgical functions.23 When ruralparishes were established, the Councilsinsisted they be provided with a priest. It never occurred to them to call for deacons.24

From the tenth century onwards, at leastin the Holy Roman Empire, ordination pergradum became the rule. The referencebook was the Roman-GermanicPontifical,25 composed at Mainz around950. There was no break in the tradition ofOrdines Romani of the preceding cen-turies,26 although numerous elements ofthe Germanic ritual were aggregated tothese. The ordination of deacons involvedthe handing over of the Book of theGospel, a sign of his mission to proclaim

the Gospel in the liturgy. Here the deaconappears closer to the sub-deacon than tothe priest. This latter was the man of theEucharist; the deacon attended him at the



21 P.-P. Joannou, Discipline générale antique IIe – IXe siècles. Les canons des concilesoecuméniques, I, 1, 132-134.

22 Cf F. Mercenier & F. Paris, La Prière des Églises de rite byzantine, 2 vols., Prieurié d’ Ainaysur Meuse 1937. From the eighth century, the vocabulary became fixed: the term cheirotoniawas now reserved to the ordination of bishop, priest and deacon, whilst cheirothesia was theterm used for the orders below those.Thus Canon 15 of the Council of Nicaea II (ed. G.Alberigo, vol II/I, p. 149). See C. Vogel, Chirotonie et chirothésie in: Irénikon (1972) 7-21,207-238.

23 Ps-Jerome, De septem ordinibus, asserts that deacons do not stray from the temple of theLord ... They are the altar of Christ ... Without the deacon the priest has no name or origin orfunction “(PL 30, 153).

24 Cf Council of Aix-la-Chapelle in 817, can. 11 (C J Hefele – H. Leclercq, Histoire des Conciles,vol. IV, Paris 1910, 27).

25 C. Vogel, Le Pontifical romano-germanique du dixième siècle, 3 vols. (Studi e testi 226-227-269), Vatican 1963-1972.

26 See M. Andrieu, Les ordines Romani du haut moyen age, (SSL 24), Louvain 1951.

27 The various Roman Pontificals of the twelfth century came from the common stock of thetenth-century Romano-Germanic pontifical. See M. Andrieu, Le Pontifical romain au moyenage, vol. I, Le Pontifical du XIIe siècle (Studi e testi 86), Vatican 1938. This was widelydistributed in the Latin Church and was developed by Innocent III. See M. Andrieu, Ibid.,vol. II, Le Pontifical de la Curie romaine du XIIIe siècle (Studi e testi 87), Vatican 1940. In itsturn, this was to be included in the Pontifical composed by Guillaume Durand, Bishop ofMende at the end of the thirteenth century. See M. Andrieu, Ibid., vol. III, Le Pontifical deGuillaume Durand (Studi e testi 88), Vatican 1940. This was to serve as a model for theedition printed through the efforts of Burchard of Strasbourg in 1485.

28 Cf G. Alberigo, op. cit., t. II/1, 419 and 435.29 Cf G. Sarkis-Khouri, Le Livre du guide de Yahya ibn Jarir in: Orient Syrien 12 (1967) 303-

318.

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The ordination of deaconsinvolved the handing over ofthe Book of the Gospel, a signof his mission to proclaim theGospel in the liturgy

What a deacon does, apresbyter can also do. At thesummit of the hierarchy, thebishop can exercise allecclesiastical functions

of Patriarch Michel of Antioch (1166-1199).30 Commenting on the Canon15 ofthe Council of Chalcedon, TheodoreBalsamon at the end of the twelfth centuryobserves that “the matter this canon wasdealing with has fallen into disuse entirely.For today deaconesses are no longerordained, although the name of deaconess-es is improperly applied to those whobelong to communities of ascetics ... .”31

Deaconesses had become nuns. They livedin monasteries that did little by way ofdiakonia whether in the field of education,hospital care, or parish service.

There is still evidence of the presence ofdeaconesses in Rome at the end of the

eighth century. Whilst the old Roman ritu-als were silent on the subject of dea-conesses, the Hadrianum Sacramentary,sent by the pope to Charlemagne and dis-seminated by him throughout the Frankishworld, has a Oratio ad diaconam facien-dam. This was actually a blessing, placed

as an appendix amongst other rites of firstinstitution. The Carolingian texts oftenamalgamated deaconesses and abbesses.The Council of Paris of 829 issued a gen-eral prohibition on women performing anyliturgical function.32 The Decretals ofPseudo-Isidore carry no reference to dea-conesses. A Bavarian Pontifical of the firsthalf of the ninth century is also silent onthem.33 A century later, in the Romano-Germanic Pontifical of Mainz, we find theprayer Ad diaconam faciendam, placedafter the ordinatio abbatissae and betweenthe consecratio virginum and the conse-cratio viduarum. Once more, this was onlya blessing that accompanied the handing-over of the stole and veil by the bishop,alongside the nuptial ring and crown. As inthe case of widows, deaconesses promisedcontinence. This is the last mention of“deaconess” in the Latin rituals. Indeedthe Pontifical of Guillaume Durand at theend of the thirteenth century speaks onlyof deaconesses as belonging to the past.34

In the Middle Ages, the nursing and teach-ing religious in fact carried out many of thefunctions of diaconia without for all thatbeing ordained to that ministry. The title,without a corresponding ministry, wasgiven to women instituted as widows orabbesses. Right up until the thirteenthcentury, Abbesses were sometimes calleddeaconesses. �



30 “The chirotonia or ordination was once also done for deaconesses: and for that reason therite concerning them was transcribed into ancient manuscripts. In those times deaconesseswere required principally for the baptism of women ... .” (cited by AG Martimort, Lesdiaconesses, 167).

31 Scholia in Concilium Chalcedonense; PG 137, 441 (cited by AG Martimort in Les diaconesses, 171).32 Chapter 45 (ed. A. Werminghoff, Concilia aevi Karolina, vol. I, 639).33 Cf F. Unterkircher, Das Kollektar-Pontifikale des Bischofs Baturich von Regensburg (817-848),

Spicilegium Friburgensis 8, Friburg 1962.34 Between De ordinationes abbatissae and De benedictione et consecratione virginum the

passage De ordinationes diaconissae is reduced to a few lines phrased as follows: “Diaconissaolim, non tamen ante annum quadragesimum, ordinabatur hoc modo ...” See M . Andrieu,op. cit. , vol. III (Book. I, XXI-XXIII) 411. [At one time a deaconess would have been ordainedin this way, but not before her fortieth year.]

The Carolingian texts oftenamalgamated deaconessesand abbesses. The Council ofParis of 829 issued a generalprohibition on womenperforming any liturgicalfunction

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