An Apologetical Explanation of the

Office of Deacon

What is the role of deacon?

Deacons likewise must be serious, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for gain; they must hold the mystery of faith with a clear conscience.  And let them also be tested first; then if they prove themselves blameless let them serve as deacons…. Let deacons be the husband of one wife, and them them manage their children and their households well; for those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith which is in Jesus Christ.  (1 Tm 3:8-13)

A deacon is ordained to serve his bishop and the Church.

Like the office of bishop and the office of priest, the office of deacon is bestowed through the Sacrament of Holy Orders.  Unlike bishops and priests, however, deacons are not ordained for priestly ministry; rather, they are ordained for the ministry of a servant (in Greek, diakonos).  (Cf. CCC 1569)

The office of deacon appears in the Acts of the Apostles, when St. Peter called for several men to be selected who would manage the distribution of food to the widows and orphans so as to free up the Apostles to attend to their duties of preaching and teaching (Acts 6:1-7).  The first martyr to be mentioned by name in the New Testament is St. Stephen, who was one of these first deacons; his eloquent preaching of the Gospel resulted directly in his death by stoning (Acts 6:8—7:60).

The office of deacon—known collectively as the diaconate—is the first of the three levels of the Sacrament of Holy Orders, followed by the office of priest and the office of bishop.  While a deacon’s primary ministry is that of service, the deacon in the Western Church also is empowered to baptize, to preside at weddings and funerals, to proclaim the Gospel and preach at Mass, and to assist at the altar during Mass (cf. LG 29; SC 35; AG 16).  (Cf. CCC 1256, 1536, 1554, 1570)

There are two types of deacons.  Men who are preparing for ordination to the priesthood are ordained as transitional deacons before receiving their ordination as priests; such deacons are generally unmarried in the Western Church.  Men who are not pursuing priestly ordination, whether married or celibate, may be called to serve as permanent deacons.  (Cf. CCC 1571)

The Catechism addresses this question in paragraph 1570.

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