There is a saying: "To know where you are and where you are going, you need to know where you have been". The Permanent Deacon has a history that pre-dates Vatican II by nearly 2000 years, so in order to understand where we are and 'see' where we are going we need to know the past. In coming to know the origin, theology and history of the Deacon we need to be transparent, honest and humble. Events and developments of the Diaconate in the past still have an effect on the present day order and unless we, as Church, can bring the light and presence of Christ to illumine and guide us, the restored Permanent Diaconate will limp under the burden of history.
Christological
The origin of Christian diaconia and the Diaconate ministry in particular, is firmly rooted in the very incarnation of God; Jesus Christ who is fully human and fully divine. In his letter to the Philippians Paul says of Jesus; "His state was divine, yet he did not cling to his equality with God but emptied himself ......... and became as men are; and being as all men are he was humbler yet ........" This authentic humility is the first sign of Christ's diaconia and, from this perspective, a gift to be highly prized by all the faithful. John records in his Gospel that Jesus told his disciples ".......... love one another; just as I have loved you, you must love one another ......" and again "A man can have no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends". Sincere love for the human person, as they are and where they are is demonstrated by Jesus and this is the second sign of Christ's diaconia. At the last supper according to the Gospel of John, Jesus washes the feet of his disciples, culturally the job of the servant ministering to his masters guests. Jesus says to his disciples "Do you understand what I have done to you? ............. If I, then, the Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you should wash each other's feet". The third sign of Christ's diaconia; generosity in word and in action to his fellow man. Humility and love find their expression in generous self-giving for the greater good of others. It is clear that Jesus, while Lord and Master, presents himself as the humble, loving and generous servant of all. "... the Son of man came, not to be served but, to serve ...". In this way he demonstrates a way of life that gives life to the true diaconia of his body; the Church: Jesus is the true deacon of God and man, with an infinite capacity of love for both. It is a fact that Jesus did not shy away or stand aloof from the world in which he chose to be, but engaged it at all levels of society, not to condemn it but to save it. God became the Servant King and shows us the true meaning of humility, love and generosity in his own diaconia. Jesus shares his diaconal spirit with his disciples, but especially with the chosen twelve, the Apostles who, through Peter, are called to ".....build my Church" and to whom "..... the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven ....." are given so that "...... whatever you bind on Earth shall be considered bound in Heaven ......". In the Apostles then resides the fulness of Christ's ministry.
Apostolic
In the book of Acts, the Apostles, overwhelmed by the needs of the early Church, realised that they needed help. It must be remembered that up to this point the Apostles took care of virtually all aspects of the Church: leadership, worship, charity, teaching, preaching, etc. They selected 7 men and through the imposition of hands, confered the Sacrament of Holy Orders, not to preside but to serve. The order of Deacon (Diakonos) as a stable, permanent ministry in the early Church came into being. These chosen and consecrated men were the protodeacons of the early Church and this imposition of hands becomes the first recorded ordination by the Apostles. From a purely factual perspective the deacon becomes the first clerical office created by the Apostles. The diaconal ministry of these 7 men, initially attending to the needs of the Greek speaking Jewish widows and orphans, developed further within the life time of the Apostles to include other faculties. The first person to be martyred after the death and resurrection of Jesus was, according to the Acts of the Apostles, the Deacon Stephen. He was stoned to death for proclaiming the word of God, even before the Sanhedrin and giving witness to the Risen Lord. From this we realise that the Deacons had the faculty of proclaiming the Good News through preaching. The Deacon Philip, also encountered in Acts, is the one who evangelised the Ethiopian eunech, proclaiming the word of God to him, explaining salvation history, then Baptising the convert. The faculty of teaching and baptising were also part of the ministry of the Deacons.
The first letter of Paul to Timothy, written about 65 AD shows very clearly the Ecclesial hierarchy as it was at that point in time. The Episcopos (later known as the Bishop) and the Diakonos (Deacon), his helper. It is also clear that the order of Deacon was already a stable ministry of the Church prior to the written instructions i.e. it was there in the 30's working along side the Apostles.
Historical
Towards the end of the first century, in Rome (80-90AD), the size of the territory (diocese), covered by the Bishop of Rome (Peter's successor) and the increased number of Christians necessitated the establisment of smaller communities (mini-diocseses) called parishes. Since the Bishop could not be in all of them the Presbyterate was established and Priests were assigned to these parishes. They were the Bishops helpers sharing in his priestly ministry. Priests presided over the worship (liturgy) of the community with the faculty of consecration, preaching and teaching. However, the identity of the Priest was still developing and from early Church sources (Didache) we know that it was not what we see of it today. Even the theology of the clergy taught at the end of the 1st century testifies to a very different understanding than that of today. It does appear that Deacons, by virtue of their Apostolic link (succession) were the Bishops right hand men and were placed in charge of the administrative affairs of the diocese and its parishes. The Priests were, in hierarchical terms, subordinate to the Deacons for several centuries. It was not uncommon for the Deacon to succeed the Bishop or the Pope based on the theology of the time.
Over the next few centuries the Diaconate flourished, side by side with the Presbyterate. Each exercising the particular ministry and faculties of the Bishop shared with his helpers. As already mentioned, Deacons like St. Lawrence saw to the administration of the dioceses and parishes, the distribution of money and goods to the poor, taking communion to the sick and home bound, preaching, teaching, baptising, marrying, burying, etc. In many instances there were overlapping ministerial areas with the Priests. In the third century there arose an identity crisis between the office of Deacon and the office of Priest. One of the key issues of contention was the power entrusted by the Episcopate in the Diaconate. The seriousness of this issue and the subsequent development can be seen in the reaction of a Priest at that time; Father Jerome. He demanded to know why the Deacons exercised so much power yet they did not have the faculty to consecrate in the Mass. In retrospect this could be termed a clerical or hierarchical revolt. The tensions eminating from both the Diaconate and Presbyterate sparked the beginning of the end for the order of Permanent Deacon and despite the Diaconate flourishing its days were numbered. By the Sixth Century the Permanent Diaconate in the Western Church was all but finished and the office of Deacon became subordinate to the Priest (transitory deacon) as a stage towards the ministerial Priesthood. Indeed, one of the sad moments in the history of the Church; the loss of this Apostolic link, its proper identity and its particular charisms which enriched the early Church. Today, we cannot fully comprehend all the issues that were at stake; the motives, the emotions, the thinking, the arguments of the key players and the subsequent decisions of the Bishops in the period that led to the demise of the order of Permanent Deacon. We are, however, certain that the Permanent Deacon as a stable and sacred order resides within Apostolic tradition which is the bedrock (Kepha) of Church tradition.
Contemporary
1500 years later, the call for the restoration of the order of Permanent Deacon gathered momentum in various settings. One such instance was in the concentration camp of Dachau, during the second World War, where incarcerated Priests expressed their desire to see Deacons ordained to a permanent ministry. The thinking at the time was motivated more by the shortage of Priests, some of whom, through no fault of their own, were not able to pastor to their communities during those turbulent times. It is doubtful that their thinking envisaged a full restoration of the original permanent diaconate in fidelity to Apostolic tradition. Rather, it is more reasonable to assume that they envisaged consecrated assistants who would be recognisable and accepted by the community as proxies for the absent Priest. A stop-gap measure that a Deacon could fullfil. Pope Pius XII commented on this with greater insight, indicating that the time was not yet right for the restoration of the order. It was at the second Vatican Council, in an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, a second Pentecost as it were, that the Council Fathers took the decision, among many, to restore, in complete continuity with ancient tradition, the order of Permanent Deacon.
Given the historical and contemporary sensitivities surrounding the Diaconate, the restored order was said to be of a "lower level of the hierarchy" (LG 29). The inclusion of this differential term would seem to indicate a placating of those not wholly convinced of the need to restore the order and furthermore, that the Permanent and transitory Deacon were the same. Since that time, reception to the restoration of the Permanent Diaconate as a Sacred order has been and continues to be polarised. On the one hand an enthusiastic embracing of a 'lost jewel' and on the other a rejection of the 'prodical son' returned.
Today
44 years after Pope Paul VI issued his Apostolic letter "
Sacrum Diaconatus Ordinem" the order of Permanent Deacon has flourished in some parts of the world, with a strong diaconal identity, formation and mission, while in other parts the order remains a footnote in the history books. The reluctance or hesitation, on the part of Bishops, to restore the order in their respective dioceses finds many reasons: fear of ancient tensions re-surfacing, the issue of power and hierarchical status, a definitive identity of the Permanent Deacon, or simply about resource availability for the formation of Permanent Deacons.
The Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, reminds us today that the World and indeed the Church are in need of a "New Evangelisation". Faith and reason must, harmoniously and zealously, find dynamic ways of presenting the truth of the Gospel without error. The work of rebuilding the Church is not the preserve of a few but of the whole, united in one faith, one hope and one baptism, made one in the One Holy Spirit. The order of Permanent Deacon, inspired of the Holy Spirit working through the Apostles and through the Council Fathers (Vatican II), can contribute towards this new evangelisation in which the world, more and more secularised, is the mission. The work places, boardrooms, schools, colleges, universities, politics, whereever the cancer of secularism is rooted or hosted needs the active presence of the official Church. The Bishop, as with the Apostles, cannot be in all these places, so his helpers, the Deacons, restored, are sent "into the harvest" to be "the eyes, mouth, heart and soul" of the Bishop.
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Dcn. Greg
