Deaconess facts for kids
A deaconess is a special role for women in some Christian churches, like Protestant, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Orthodox groups. These women usually help with pastoral care, especially for other women. They might also have a small part in church services. The word "deaconess" comes from the Greek word diakonos, which means "servant" or "helper." This word appears often in the Christian New Testament of the Bible.
Deaconesses have a long history, going back to the time of Jesus Christ and continuing until the 13th century in Western churches. They were also present in the Byzantine churches in places like Constantinople and Jerusalem. In the early and middle Byzantine times, the role of deaconesses was seen as an important non-ordained position among church leaders.
In the 1610s, some English groups tried to bring back the role of deaconesses, but it didn't work out. A modern return of the deaconess role began in Germany in the 1840s among Protestants. It then spread to places like Scandinavia, the Netherlands, Britain, and the United States. Lutheran churches were very active in this movement. They helped set up many hospitals. The modern deaconess movement was strongest around 1910. After that, it slowly became less common as society changed. Also, nursing and social work became professional careers, offering other options for young women.
Today, deaconesses still serve in Christian churches like Lutheran and Methodist churches. Before they start their work, they are officially set apart for their ministry. It's important not to confuse non-clerical deaconesses with women who are ordained as deacons. Some churches, like Anglican and Methodist churches, have both ordained deacons (who are clergy) and consecrated deaconesses (who are not clergy). In Methodism, men who do similar work to deaconesses are called Home Missioners.
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Early Christian History of Deaconesses
The earliest mention of women as deacons is in Paul's letters, written around 55–58 AD. Early Christian writers like Clement of Alexandria and Origen also talk about their work. A letter from Pliny the Younger in the early 2nd century confirms that women deacons existed. Pliny wrote about "two maid-servants" who were deacons. This shows that the role of deaconesses was present in the eastern Roman Empire from very early times. Church leaders in the 4th century, such as Epiphanius of Salamis, Basil of Caesarea, John Chrysostom, and Gregory of Nyssa, accepted the ministry of deaconesses.
The Didascalia of the Apostles, written in Syria in the 3rd century, talks a lot about the roles of deacons and deaconesses. It tells the bishop to "Appoint a woman for the ministry of women." This was because a male deacon might not be able to visit women in some homes. It also says that a deaconess is needed for "many other matters." The book compares a male deacon to Christ and a deaconess to the Holy Spirit, showing their important place in the church.
Deaconesses are also mentioned in the Council of Nicea in 325 AD. This suggests they had a special, consecrated role. The Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD stated that women should be at least 40 years old before becoming deaconesses. The oldest known ceremony for making someone a deaconess is in the 5th-century Apostolic Constitutions. It describes the bishop placing hands on the woman and asking for the Holy Spirit for her ministry. A full version of this ceremony, with instructions and prayers, was found in the Barberini Codex from 780 AD. This ceremony for women as deaconesses was almost the same as the one for men as deacons. Most modern experts believe this ceremony was a full sacrament.
Olympias was a rich and powerful deaconess in the 5th century. She was a close friend and supporter of Archbishop John Chrysostom of Constantinople. In the mid-6th century, Emperor Justinian made laws for church leaders in his empire. He mentioned men and women deacons together. He also listed women deacons among those serving at the Great Church of Hagia Sophia. He noted there were 100 male deacons and 40 female deacons. A 10th-century book by Constantine Porphyrogenitus also mentions a special area for deaconesses in Hagia Sophia. This shows they continued to have roles in church services and helping people.
Paul's Writings on Deaconesses
Paul's earliest mention of a woman as a deacon is in his Letter to the Romans 16:1 (around 58 AD). He says: "I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is the servant of the church at Cenchreae." The original Greek word used for "servant" here is diakonon. This word means servant in almost all of its 30 uses in the New Testament. However, it can also refer to the church role of deacon. Experts disagree on whether Paul meant Phoebe held an official church job or was just serving in a general way.
Paul also talks about the qualities needed for deacons in his First Epistle to Timothy 3:8–13:
Deacons likewise must be serious, not double-tongued, not indulging in much wine, not greedy for money; they must hold fast to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. And let them first be tested; then, if they prove themselves blameless, let them serve as deacons. Women[e] likewise must be serious, not slanderers, but temperate, faithful in all things. Let deacons be married only once,[f] and let them manage their children and their households well; for those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and great boldness in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.
This part about "the women" is in the middle of a section about deacons. It might refer to the wives of male deacons, or it might refer to women who are deacons themselves. The Greek word for deacon, diakonoi, can mean both men and women. Some early Greek church leaders, like John Chrysostom, believed this verse referred to women deacons.
Clement of Alexandria (150-215 AD) wrote about Paul's mention of deaconesses in 1 Timothy 3:11. Origen of Alexandria (184-254 AD) also commented on Phoebe, the deacon Paul mentions in Romans 16:1–2. Origen said, "This text teaches with the authority of the Apostle that even women are instituted deacons in the Church." He added that women who do good work should be accepted into the diaconate.
The Apostolic Constitutions also describe the role of a deaconess. It says the bishop should lay hands on her and pray to God, asking for the Holy Spirit to help her do her work well.
Women as Deacons in Early Churches
In the early and middle Byzantine period, two types of monastic women were often made deacons: abbesses (leaders of convents) and nuns who had roles in church services. Also, the wives of men who were becoming bishops were sometimes made deacons. There was a strong connection between women deacons and abbesses starting in the late 4th or early 5th century in the East. This also happened in the medieval period in both Latin and Byzantine churches. Most of these women lived in the eastern part of the Roman Empire, where the role of deaconess was most common.
There is written evidence of women deacons, especially in Constantinople. There is also archaeological evidence in other areas of the Empire, like Asia Minor. One famous example from Constantinople was Olympias, a well-educated woman. After her husband died, she dedicated her life to the church and became a deacon. She helped the church with gifts of land and money, which was common then.
Sometimes, people confuse women deacons with widows or wives of deacons. However, widows were usually older women in the church who needed financial and social help. This idea is mentioned in the Acts 6:1 and 9:39–41, and 1 Timothy 5. These widows did not have the same specific duties as deacons. In the Apostolic Constitutions, women deacons were seen as having authority over the widows in the church. Widows were told to obey "women deacons with piety, reverence and fear." In the first four centuries of the church, widows were recognized members, but they did not have the same responsibilities or importance as deaconesses.
Roles of Deaconesses
In the Byzantine church, women who were deacons had roles in both church services and helping people. These women also helped other women in many ways. This included teaching new Christians, helping with women's baptisms, and welcoming women into church services. They also helped solve problems between church members. They cared for the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of those who were imprisoned or persecuted. They were sent to women who were sick or had just given childbirth. They performed the important duty of helping with the physical anointing and baptism of women. Being a deaconess was also suitable for those who led the women's choir, which was a duty in church services. The Life of St. Macrina shows that a woman named Lampadia was in charge of the women's choir.
Decline of Women Deacons
After the 4th century, the role of women as deacons changed in the West. As Christianity became more organized under Constantine, leadership roles for women decreased. In the 5th and 6th centuries in the western Roman Empire, the role of deaconesses became less popular. Church councils, like the Council of Orange in 441 and the Council of Orléans in 533, directly banned their ordination. By the 9th or 10th century, nuns were the only women still ordained as deacons. Evidence for women deacons in the West is less clear from the 9th to early 12th centuries, but some ceremonies for them remained in church books.
In Constantinople and Jerusalem, historical records show that women deacons continued to exist as an ordained role for most of this time. In the Byzantine Church, the decline of women deacons began during the iconoclastic period. By the 12th century, the ordained role for women disappeared. By the end of the medieval period, the role of deacons generally became less important, mostly just preparing for priesthood. By the 12th and 13th centuries, deaconesses had mostly disappeared in European Christian churches. By the 11th century, they were also decreasing in Eastern Mediterranean Christian churches. However, there is still strong evidence of their existence throughout the history of Eastern Churches.
Restoring the Female Diaconate
In August 2016, the Catholic Church created a special group to study the history of female deacons. This group is looking into the possibility of ordaining women as deacons today. The Armenian Apostolic Church still ordains religious Sisters as deaconesses. The last monastic deaconess, Sister Hripsime Sasounian, died in 2007. On September 25, 2017, Ani-Kristi Manvelian, a 24-year-old woman, was ordained in Tehran as the first lay deaconess in many centuries.
The Russian Orthodox Church had female monastic subdeacons until the 20th century. The Orthodox Church of Greece brought back the female monastic subdiaconate in 2004. And on November 16, 2016, the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria also restored the female diaconate, specifically for subdeaconesses.
Reformation Era Deaconesses
The Damsels of Charity, started in 1559 by Prince Henri Robert de la Marck in Sedan, are sometimes seen as the first Protestant group of deaconesses. However, they were not called by that name.
Mennonites had a practice of consecrating deaconesses. Count Zinzendorf of the Moravian Church began consecrating deaconesses in 1745.
Modern Deaconess Movement
The deaconess movement was revived in the mid-19th century. It started in Germany and spread to other areas, especially among Lutherans, Anglicans, and Methodists. As jobs like nursing and social work became professional careers in the early 20th century, the need for lightly trained volunteers decreased. By the late 20th century, changes in Europe weakened many church-related women's groups. However, deaconesses still play an important role in many Christian denominations today.
Deaconesses in Europe
The spiritual revivals in the Americas and Europe during the 19th century allowed middle-class women to find new roles. They could now become deaconesses. In Victorian England and northern Europe, the role of deaconess was socially accepted. One debate was whether the lifelong promise meant deaconesses could not marry. While deacons are ordained, deaconesses are usually not.
The modern movement began in Germany in 1836. Theodor Fliedner and his wife Friederike Münster opened the first deaconess motherhouse in Kaiserswerth. They were inspired by existing deaconesses among the Mennonites. The deaconess role soon came to England and Scandinavia, following the Kaiserswerth model. The women promised to serve for five years. They received a place to live, food, uniforms, pocket money, and care for life. Their uniform was the typical dress of a married woman. Some groups focused on training women for marriage through nursing, child care, social work, and housework. In Anglican churches, the diaconate helped the ordained ministry. By 1890, there were over 5,000 deaconesses in Europe, mostly in Germany, Scandinavia, and England.
In Switzerland, the "Institution des diaconesses" was founded in 1842 in Échallens. In France, a Protestant deaconess order called "Diaconesses de Reuilly" was started in 1841 in Paris. In Strasbourg, another order was founded in 1842 by a Lutheran minister. All three of these deaconess orders are still active today. They work in hospitals, care for the elderly, and lead spiritual activities.
During World War II, deaconess groups in war zones suffered a lot of damage. When eastern Europe came under communism, most deaconess groups were closed. About 7,000 deaconesses became refugees in West Germany. By 1957, there were 46,000 deaconesses in Germany and 10,000 associates. Other countries reported a total of 14,000 deaconesses, mostly Lutherans. In the United States and Canada, 1,550 women were counted, with half of them in Methodist churches.
Deaconesses in North America
Lutheran pastor William Passavant was involved in many new programs. He brought the first four deaconesses to the United States after visiting Fliedner in Kaiserswerth. They worked in the Pittsburgh Infirmary, now Passavant Hospital. Another person influenced by Kaiserswerth was Elizabeth Fedde. She trained in Norway under a Kaiserswerth graduate. She then started hospitals in Brooklyn, New York, and Minneapolis, Minnesota. She also inspired other hospitals in Chicago, Illinois, and Grand Forks, North Dakota.
In 1884, Germans in Philadelphia brought seven sisters from Germany to run their hospital. Other deaconesses soon followed. They began ministries in several U.S. cities with many Lutherans. In 1895, the Lutheran General Synod approved an order of deaconesses. They defined a deaconess as an "unmarried woman" who was "approved" to serve "Christ and the Church." They set up their deaconess training program in Baltimore. By 1963, when the Lutheran Church in America was formed, there were three main centers for deaconess work: Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Omaha. These three groups joined to form the Deaconess Community of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS) has also supported the role of deaconess.
The Social Gospel movement (1880s–1920s) encouraged deaconesses to help new immigrants in big cities. They worked for laws to protect women workers. They also pushed for public health services and more support for poor mothers and children. Starting in 1889, Emily Malbone Morgan used money from her writings to create places where working women and their children could vacation and feel better.
In 1888, German Protestants in Cincinnati opened a hospital staffed by deaconesses. It became the city's first general hospital and included a nursing school. It was renamed Deaconess Hospital in 1917. Many other cities also developed deaconess hospitals in a similar way.
In Chicago, doctor and educator Lucy Rider Meyer started deaconess training at her Chicago Training School for Home and Foreign Missions. She also edited a magazine called The Deaconess Advocate. She wrote a history of deaconesses called Deaconesses: Biblical, Early Church, European, American (1889). She is known for bringing back the role of deaconess in the American Methodist Episcopal Church.
In 1896, Methodist deaconesses founded the New England Deaconess Hospital to care for people in Boston. In 1922, the hospital added medical professionals. In 1996, it merged with Beth Israel Hospital, which had opened in 1916 to serve Jewish immigrants. They formed the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
In 1907, Anna Alexander became the first (and only) African-American deaconess in the Episcopal Church. She served in the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia her whole career.
Mennonites founded the Bethel Deaconess Home and Hospital Society in Newton, Kansas, in 1908. This was for nursing education and service. Over the next 50 years, 66 Mennonite women served there. They were unmarried but did not take vows of chastity or poverty. They worked and prayed under the close guidance of the founder, Frieda Kaufman. As nursing became more professional, fewer women joined after 1930.
Canadian Methodists thought about starting a deaconess order in 1890. They voted to let regional groups begin deaconess work. By the next national meeting in 1894, the order became national. The Methodist National Training School and Presbyterian Deaconess and Missionary Training Home joined in 1926 to become the United Church Training School. Later, it joined with the Anglican Women Training College to become the Centre for Christian Studies, now in Winnipeg. This school still trains men and women for diaconal ministry in the United and Anglican churches.
Between 1880 and 1915, 62 training schools for deaconesses opened in the United States. However, it became harder to find new recruits after 1910. Young women preferred professional nursing schools or social work programs at universities.
Deaconesses in England and the British Empire
In 1862, Elizabeth Catherine Ferard received Deaconess Licence No. 1 from the Bishop of London. This made her the first deaconess of the Church of England. In 1861, she had founded the North London Deaconess Institution. This group later became the Community of St. Andrew. The London Diocesan Deaconess Institution also trained deaconesses for other areas. Some served overseas and started deaconess work in Melbourne, Lahore, Grahamstown South Africa, and New Zealand. In 1887, Isabella Gilmore helped bring back deaconesses who did not live in a community.
Lady Grisell Baillie (1822–1891) became the first deaconess in the Church of Scotland in 1888. A hospital in Edinburgh was opened in her memory in 1894. It was later renamed the Deaconess Hospital.
Deaconesses in the Philippines
In the Iglesia ni Cristo church, deaconesses are married women.
Deaconesses in New Zealand
The Presbyterian Church of New Zealand (now the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand) started a Deaconess order in 1903. They opened the Deaconess Training House in Dunedin. The work of deaconesses in New Zealand had begun with Sister Christabel Duncan, who arrived from Australia in 1901. By 1947, deaconesses could choose from two three-year courses. Women taking the Advanced Course could earn a Bachelor of Divinity Degree. This gave them the same theological training as ministers through the Theological Hall at Knox College in Dunedin. They also trained in social services, teaching, nursing, and missionary work.
In 1965, the Church allowed women to be ordained as ministers. This led to fewer women seeking deaconess training. The Deaconess Order was closed down in 1975. Deaconesses could choose to become ordained ministers or remain lay members of the Church while still working. The Presbyterian Research Centre in Dunedin, New Zealand, has a collection of papers and items related to Presbyterian Deaconesses. This collection was added to the UNESCO Memory of the World New Zealand Register in 2018.
Deaconesses in the Federated States of Micronesia
In 1982, Adelyn Noda became the youngest woman in the history of Kosrae to be ordained as a deaconess.
See also
- Christianity and women
- Deacon
