Deacons: Ordained to. . . WHAT?

The deacon's ordination has been the subject of ecclesiastical reflection nearly from the beginning.  One of the classic texts is that attributed to Hippolytus of Rome around 215 AD: "When the deacon is ordained, this is the reason why the bishop alone shall lay his hands upon him: he is not ordained to the priesthood but to serve the bishop (Latin: "non ad sacerdotium sed in ministerio episcopi").  About 250 years later, the "Statuta Ecclesiae Antiquae" changed this to read: "the deacon is not ordained to the priesthood but to service: (Latin: “non ad sacerdotium sed ad ministerium”).  The problem is, just what is meant by this "service"?

Service is a tough word to pin down.  We get "service" in restaurants or from mechanics or at a retail store.  We have religious "services" and many of us have had military "service".  What constitutes diaconal "service"?  The word "deacon" itself means servant, but that doesn't help much, either.

When I was going through formation for ordination, our director of formation asked us all to identify some areas of ministry which we had never performed before.  His only stipulation was that it had to be "diaconal" ministry.  Well, I thought, deacons are ordained to share in the triple office of Word, Sacrament and Charity, so I suggested the development of a parish adult formation program.  The director informed me that this was not "service" in the diaconal sense and that I should find something else.  I did.  However, it got me thinking.  Just what is "diaconal service"?

Others also questioned this almost exclusive association of the deacon with what Anthony Gooley has referred to as "the servant myth."  Basing his work on that of John Collins' monumental word study of the diakon- words in the New Testament, Gooley agrees with Collins that "service" means considerably more than menial service.  I could not agree more!  On the other hand, I believe firmly that diaconal service INCLUDES menial service; it's just not restricted to it.  Serving those most in need -- whatever that need happens to be -- is an ancient function of the church and of her ministers.

Vatican II, in describing the ministry of the bishop, refers to the triple function of teaching, sanctifying and governing as diakonia.  The whole thing is diakonia.  Teaching is diakonia, sanctifying is diakonia, servant-leadership is diakonia.  In the early days of the renewal of the diaconate, it was not unusual to hear the triple function of the deacon described as "word, sacrament and service", but I contend that this only adds to the confusion.  Much better, in mind opinion, is "word, sacrament and charity," with "service" applying to all three.

To lose sight of this balanced, integrated approach can cause real distortion and confusion.  For example, in one diocese, the liturgical and sacramental role of the deacon was so minimized that married candidates for ordination were told that the normal place for them during Mass was in the pews with their families.  If the pastor asked a deacon to preach, then he could assist at that Mass; but liturgical assistance was seen as an almost extraordinary function!  However, given our Eucharistic theology, such a position is truly stunning.

Here in the United States, ever since the first guidelines on the diaconate were issued by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops in 1971, the bishops have always held that there is an "intrinsic unity" within the triple office in which the deacon participates.  In fact, the bishops write that no one is to be ordained who is not willing to undertake all three in some way.  I like to think of deacons as "ministers of connect-the-dots" in which we sacramentalize the balanced approach to discipleship -- a discipleship of Word, Worship and Charity -- to which we are all called through sacramental initiation.

This post is certainly no attempt at a full-blown scholarly analysis of all of this; this is, after all, "just a blog"!  But it does, I hope, highlight some of the concerns which surround the issue.