Deacon facts for kids
A deacon is a role in the Christian church. The job of a deacon is different depending on the church he or she is a part of. A deacon usually helps to run the church and teaches people about Christianity. A deacon can also witness marriages.
Men who intend to become priests are usually named deacons for some time before advancing onto the rank of priest.
In the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches men are not allowed to marry after they have become deacons. Deacons in Protestant churches are allowed to marry.
A protodeacon is an honorary rank given to certain married deacons in Eastern Christian churches. In the Russian Orthodox Church it is an honorary title given to married deacons, as a mark of which, the clergyman is entitled to wear a burgundy-colored skufia.
Images for kids
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Saint Stephen, one of the first seven deacons in the Christian Church, holding a Gospel Book in a 1601 painting by Giacomo Cavedone.
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A Catholic deacon wearing his dalmatic and biretta
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Ornately embroidered dalmatic, the proper vestment of the deacon (shown from the back with an appareled amice)
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Greek Orthodox deacon in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, wearing an orarion over his sticharion. On his head he wears the clerical kamilavka.
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Painting of a Russian Orthodox deacon leading an ektenia (litany)
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An Anglican priest vested as a deacon with an alb and a purple stole over his left shoulder
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Certificate of ordination as a deacon in the Church of England given by Richard Terrick, the Bishop of London, to Gideon Bostwick. February 24, 1770
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Saint Stephen, detail of the bishops and deacons windows by Józef Mehoffer in the cathedral of Fribourg
See also
In Spanish: Diácono para niños
