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What is a deacon? More than fifty years since the restoration of the permanent diaconate by the Second Vatican Council, the office of deacon is still in need of greater specificity about its purpose and place within the mission and organizational structure of the Church. While the Church is more than a social reality, the Church nonetheless has a social reality. Our understanding of the diaconate therefore benefits from a theological discussion of the divine element of the Church and a sociological examination of the human element. Understanding the Diaconate adds the resources of sociology and anthropology to the theological sources of scripture, liturgy, patristic era texts, theologians, and magisterial teachings to conclude that the deacon can be understood as “social intermediary and symbol of communitas” who serves the participation of the laity in the life and mission of the Church. This research proposes the deacon as a servant of the bond of communion within the Church (facilitating the relationship between the bishop/priest and his people), and between the People of God and the individual in need. Thus authentic diaconal ministry includes a vast array of many concrete contexts of pastoral importance where one does more than simply serve at Mass.
"In these three essays - which were presented as keynote lectures at the 2004 conference of the National Association of Diaconate Directors - Professors Cummings, Ditewig, and Gaillardetz construct theologies of the diaconate in conversation with one another and the church. The result is essential reading for deacons, aspirants to the diaconate, deacon directors, as well as the other orders of the clergy, and the laity" -- Book jacket.
To commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the restoration of the diaconate as a permanent and stable order of ministry in the United States, the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University undertook a contemporary study of the diaconate in the United States. Building on studies completed in 1981 and 1995 as well as annual research that CARA has conducted for the USCCB since 2005, CARA designed a comprehensive study of deacons, their wives, diaconate directors, and bishops to explore all aspects of this ministry. This book explores trends in the diaconate as well as current and emerging opportunities and challenges in the ministry. Deacons and their wives, diaconate directors, and bishops share insights about how those trends impact diaconal ministry today and into the future.
From the Congregation for Catholic Education and the Congregation for the Clergy.
Pope John Paul II's apostolic letter,ÊOrdinatio Sacerdotalis, confirmed that conferring Holy Orders on men only is a matter pertaining to divine revelation that has consistently been taught by the universal and ordinary Magisterium of the Church, and hence is to be definitively held by all the faithful. Thus, the Church's practice is not a concession to the customs of an age, but is founded upon a theology of the sexes, which is based on the relationship of man and woman originating in creation itself. This relationship is sanctified to the utmost in the Sacrament of Matrimony, as the concrete symbol of God's love for mankind. God's own self-communication is inscribed in this marital consecration when Christ, being the representative of the Father, presents himself as the Bridegroom of the Church, his Bride. Furthermore, this spousal relationship between Christ and the Church is reflected in the Sacrament of Holy Orders and the male recipient's relation to the Church, which stands in relation to him as a feminine reality. This book thoughtfully explores the Church's understanding of the ministerial priesthood and the diaconate.
This book is a highly readable, comprehensive study that has established itself as the definitive work on the diaconate. Drawing upon original sources, the book provides valuable insights into the development of the office of the deacon in the early church and situates it within the context of the church s total ministry. Dr. Barnett contends that a radical change in the nature and understanding of the church s ministry took place in the fourth century. A ministry that had included the whole people of God in a horizontal, organic structure gave way to one that was clerical and hierarchical. This change, among other factors, eventually transformed the diaconate into an inconsequential, transitional office on the way to the priesthood. Responding to the present-day revival of the diaconate in the Roman Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, and other churches, Barnett calls for a restoration of the office to its original place as full and equal order, thus re-creating the great symbol of the servant ministry that Christ gave to all the church. James Monroe Barnett, now living in retirement in Omaha, is the former rector of Trinity Episcopal Church, Norfolk, NE.
Three related essays by experts on the diaconate that examine the concept of women deacons in the Catholic Church from Thistorical, contemporary, and future perspectives.
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