Discussant: Paul van Geest
In recent years, scholars have considered a number of aspects of the diaconate. Studies have appeared on its position in thecursus honorum, for example, as well as on issues relating to deaconesses. Important philological research has taken place on the importance of the worddiakoniaand related expressions in classical and New Testament Greek. John Collins and Anni Hentschel showed that the view thatdiakoniarefers only to lowly service is not always compatible with the Greek of Hellenistic and Christian sources.
A number of questions relating to the diaconate have not been answered, however. For example, we lack a thorough review of the exact tasks and functions of the deacon in the early church. What was their function in liturgy, in the religious community, or as a teacher?
In early Christian literature, no explicit and thorough descriptions are given of these tasks. Therefore, only through scrupulous research into the relevant texts, written in the first centuries in different regions of early Christianity, will we be able to discern the characteristics of the early diaconate. Only then, the different views of the office of deacon that existed in different particular churches, in the East and the West, can be firmly established. This involves not only considering the sources relating to deaconesses, but also re-reading those relating to male deacons.
A collection of articles about deacons and diakonia in the first two centuries of the early church by scholars from different continents and backgrounds appeared at the end of 2018. In addition, the first ever study on deacons in the works of Augustine was published. Because there are many more texts where deacons are mentioned in patristic literature, the workshop here proposed focuses on the next step: answering the question what did deacons do in the 3rd to 6th centuries?
By the middle of the third century, the leadership of the church in Roman North Africa had become more structured, as was the case elsewhere in the empire. Scholarship in this area has focused on the role of bishops in Cyprian’s thought, particularly the status of the bishop of Rome. But what of the other clerical orders? Here I examine the writings of Cyprian to determine what deacons did in this period. While they cared for the poor—a view of the diaconate that prompted a revitalisation of social work in nineteenth-century German-speaking countries—they had a much wider brief. Liturgical functions, teaching, and assisting the bishop in administration were also important duties of deacons.
In several of his letters, Gregory the Great regrets the loss of monastic contemplatio as a result of his ordination as deacon and, later, bishop. With hindsight, the years he served as deacon were a preparation for the papacy. This paper explores the possibility of an alternative view on the diaconate of Gregory the Great. Not only was it far from unusual for a deacon to become the next bishop, Gregory’s background and experience made him an obvious candidate for the papacy. So, was Gregory just a reluctant deacon, or can one argue that becoming a deacon was also perceived as a logical next step?
The reinterpretation of deacons and diakonia challenges us to consider the function of deaconesses in the Apostolic Constitutions. The Apostolic Constitutions is a church order that originated in Antioch and was completed in AD 380. The tasks of deaconesses in the document can be divided into three categories: Firstly, duties that are linked to the liturgy in the congregation are assigned to the deaconesses by the compiler. They guard the doors of the church building, find places for women who need them and are present when the women approach the altar during the Eucharist. When a woman is being baptized, a deaconess assists the bishop during the rite. The document also consists two analogies which describe the liturgical function of the deaconesses: They function in the places of the Levites as well as the Holy Spirit. Secondly, the deaconesses have tasks that traditionally have been defined as charitable service. Since the concept of deacon has been reinterpreted, tasks have to be evaluated as to whether they include charitable connotations or not. My analysis shows that the deaconesses are sent to visit the homes of women. The visits include, for instance, almsgiving, and hence belong to the field of charity by nature. In some cases the tasks of healing and travelling also seem to have charitable connotations. However, alongside these tasks, the deaconesses also have a task that is neither mainly liturgical nor charitable. As messengers, they play a role in the communications of the congregation.
After having investigated the role of deacons in the early church and in Augustine's writings in earlier research, I looked at how the writings of Jerome refer to deacons. In this paper I would like to briefly present the results of this research.
After a first assessment of data in Jerome, I will discuss the differences between Jerome and Augustine.
A first observation is that in Jerome’s writings there are less references to deacons or deaconate than in those of Augustine. While Augustine's writings reveal a vivid picture of deacon performance, Jerome's deacon is more often a prototype of certain behaviour. These differences naturally reflect the different contexts of these two church fathers. The bishop of Hippo and the priest of Bethlehem have in common that they do not mention deaconesses. Therefore, a comparison of Jerome and Augustine is only a first step. Eventually, the works of John Chrysostom, for example, will also have to be examined to gain further insight into the role of deacons and deaconesses in the early Church.