1.      The word Deacon comes from the Greek word "Diakonos".  It refers to a servant: either an emissary or a waiter at table. "Dia" (thoroughly) "Ken" (active).

2.      In the primitive Church when congregations were small, the Bishop functioned as both Pastor and Priest assisted by the Deacons. Presbyters (Priests) functioned as a council of advisors to the Bishop. Later, as the community expanded Presbyters were sent by the Bishop to preside over out lying communities.

3.      In the Primitive Church, Deacons were generally elected to be the Bishops since they knew the needs of the community.

4.      In the Primitive Church, a person needed the recommendation of a Deacon to be ordained a Priest.

5.      "In like manner, let everyone respect the deacons (my special favorites) as they would respect Jesus Christ, and just as they respect the bishop as a type of God the Father, and the presbyters (priests) as the Council of God and the college of apostles."

-St. Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, Letter to the Magnesians, written on his way to Martyrdom in the Arena, 107 AD.

6.      The Deacon's role in the Eucharist was of critical importance in the early Church because he symbolized the Servant Christ to the Community.  St. Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, ordered a Deacon as well as a Presbyter (Priest) to be smuggled into the imperial prisons to celebrate the last Eucharist for those Christians who were about to die in the arena under the persecution of Diocletian.
-Cyprian, EP V.2

7.      For the qualifications of a Deacon in Scripture read 1 Timothy 3:8-13.

8.      For the beginning of Deacons in Scripture read Acts 6.

9.      To see a Deacon in his ministry in Scripture read about Philip in Acts 8.

10.  The first Christian to die for the faith was a Deacon, St. Stephen (Acts 7).  Saul (later St. Paul) presided over his death. His feast day is December 26.

11.  St. Justin Martyr in the mid second century gives a description of the Eucharist in defense against pagan charges.  He describes the role of the Deacon as distributing the Eucharist to those present and carrying it afterwards to the sick and old to whom they ministered. Justin, Apology 65, 1.286

12.  As parishes multiplied, Bishops became leaders of large groups of Churches.  Priests became pastors and functioned as did the early Bishops except that they could not ordain.  Deacons became detached from direct service to the Bishop and worked under Priests with a few exceptions.  Priests began to assume, all ministerial functions (including Diakonia/Service).  Diaconate became a stop over on the way to priesthood.

13.  In 1545 The Council of Trent ordered the restoration of the Diaconate as a full and separate order within the Church.

14.  The next significant push for the restoration of the diaconate occurred in a most unlikely place Cellblock 26 of Dachau Concentration Camp. Father Wilhelm Schamoni and others discussed at great risk the rebuilding of the Church after the war. Father Otto Pies smuggled the notes of these meetings out of the Camp and referred to them in an article.

15.  In 1951 the notes from the Dachau Discussions had a deep impact on a young Forest Ranger named Hans Kramer.  He formed the first "Diaconate Circle" in the city of Freiburg, Germany. Others who felt called to be Deacons joined him.  Their efforts attracted the attention of one of the great theologians of the 20th Century, Father Karl Rahner, SJ. Father Rahner was one of the most influential theologians at Vatican II.

16.  At Vatican II on 9 October 1964 Cardinal Leo Suenens called for the restoration of the diaconate. The Council document Lumen Gentium (29) said that the time was right for this restoration to begin. Pope Paul VI restored the diaconate in 1967 with the Apostolic Letter Sacrum Diaconatus Ordinem.

17.  There are 2 types of Deacons: "Transitional" (soon to be ordained a priest) and "Permanent" (no intention of being ordained a priest).  The appropriateness of ordaining someone a Deacon for a few months before ordination to the Priesthood is under discussion. 

18.  There is no such thing as a "Lay" Deacon.  All Deacons are ordained and are therefore no longer "Lay" but "Clerics" (Clergy). This misnomer is generally an attempt to signify a married Deacon.

19.  Deacons must be 25 years of age to be ordained if they are to be celibate.  They must be 35 years of age if married. This is to insure that the Deacon has time to establish a career and family.

20.  Married men need the permission of their wives to be ordained.  They promise to be celibate if their wife should die.

21.  Training for ordination to the Diaconate varies from diocese to diocese. Generally, it ranges from two years to five years, part time. Some dioceses even require a Master's Degree in Theology before ordination.

22.  The training of a Deacon covers a wide range of Scripture and Theological courses.  It typically also includes courses in Counseling and Preaching.

23.  Throughout the training period a Deacon is in a formation program designed to deepen their spiritual life. This includes Retreats, Spiritual Direction, Spiritual Reading, etc.

24.  As part of their training, Deacon-candidates are typically assigned to work with the poor and the marginal in Soup Kitchens, Prisons, Halfway Houses, Hospitals, Group Homes, etc.

25.  There are no part time Deacons.  A Deacon is always a Deacon. Not just in his ministry but also at home and at work.

26.  Not only do co-workers approach Deacons with personal problems, etc. but also Deacons are in their work places as peers, as equals.  They can bring the ethics of the Gospel to their fields because they understand "the real world".   A nun or a priest giving the same opinion would be dismissed as "idealistic".

27.  Deacons are regular members of the secular work force. They bring their secular areas of expertise to the service of the Church and it's mission. By their presence as ordained ministers, they bring Christ into places where He is forgotten or unknown.  They do this in a way that no one else in the Church can because they belong at work.

28.  Deacons establish a presence of Christ and the Church in places (offices, factories, etc.) where many people have no contact with the Gospel.  They are missionaries of the marketplace.

29.  As the only married Church officials, Deacons offer the insight of lived experience into the complex needs of marriage and family.

30.  The Deacon is the sacramental sign bearer of the Servant Christ for the Community of Faith.  All Christians, because of their baptismal vows, are called to be servants.  They are called to serve one another as Christ served.  The purpose of ordaining Deacons is to keep this baptismal call ever before the faithful.

31.  The special role of the Bishop is to preside over and govern the Church aided by the Presbyters (Priests).  The role of the Deacon is to be a helper of the Bishop and his Priests. The grace of ordination helps them to proclaim by their lives the People of God's call to serve the needs of others.

32.  All the baptized are called to serve by Christ as Christ served.  "These acts of service are the living fiber of the Church.  They both presuppose and under gird the central activities of preaching, sacramental celebration, and community guidance. They are indispensable to concrete, everyday building up, life, and activity of the Church." (Guidelines, n.14, NCCB, 1984)

33.  The central role of those who receive Holy Orders (Bishops, Priests and Deacons) is to lead the People of God in carrying out the mission that Christ entrusted us with.  It is like coaching a team.  The Deacon is the Coach of Service. 

34.  The service of the People of God is a concrete and real expression of their faith, hope and love.  "Service" is generally quite ordinary and unglamorous: "conversations, gestures of sympathy and support, individual and communal prayer, parents instructing and guiding their children in the living of the Gospel, formal activities of teaching, care of the sick, poor and needy, etc." (Guidelines, n.14, NCCB,1984)  The "ordinariness" of genuine service is mirrored in the Deacon's role at the altar: preparing the chalice, reading the prayer of the faithful, directing the people at the sign of peace, dismissing them at the end of Mass, etc.

35.  The stole (scarf like vestment) is a sign of office.  Tradition says that originally, the Deacon wore his as the priest does. However, it would fall off or otherwise get in the way when the Deacon bent over to help the sick, etc.  They began to tie it off at the waist and leave it over the left shoulder so that their right arm could be free in order to be able to assist people.  The Deacon continues to wear the stole in this manner today.

36.  Many people mistakenly believe that Vatican II restored the diaconate because of the priest shortage. However, that is not true. The Deacon has a different ministry. He is not a "mini-priest".  The priest shortage occurred after Vatican II and the restoration of the Diaconate.

37.  Some people mistakenly believe that the Deacon's ministry is a replacement of Lay Ministry. Not true. The Deacon's ministry is to make lay ministry happen. To see that we are a "serving community".  It is impossible for the Deacon to do all the service that needs to be done. The Deacon's ministry calls him to "animate and promote" the service of the Laity.

38.  The Deacon is the most uniquely Christian ministry.  Many other religions have priests and some type of leader/teacher similar to our office of Bishop.  There is no parallel in either any other religion or secular organization to the office of Deacon.

39.  The uniqueness of the office and ministry of the Deacon originates in the unique emphasis that Jesus , both in his teachings and life, puts on serving others: "I am among you as one who serves." (Mk 10:45)

40.  The functions (jobs) of a ministry do not define what it is.  Just as the functions (jobs) that a husband does do not define what it means to be a husband.  I am a husband because I made an exclusive and life long vow of love to my wife.  I am not a husband because I empty the garbage.

41.  I am a Deacon because I took a life long exclusive vow of love to the People of God, the Church, not because I distribute communion at Mass. 

42.  A Deacon is what I am not what I do.  Properly understood, a husband is, for his wife, a sacramental sign of God's unconditional love for her.  Properly understood, a Deacon is, for the People of God, a sacramental sign of Christ's servant love for all.

43.  A Deacon is minister "in the margins".  His responsibility is to search out those who have fallen through the cracks of our society. He makes their needs known to the Bishop and Pastor. He mobilizes the congregation to meet those needs.

44.  The Deacon brings the Church to the Poor and the Poor to the Church.

45.  The Deacon is called to proclaim the Gospel, preach and teach: "Receive the Gospel of Christ whose herald you are. Believe what you read. Teach what you believe. Practice what you teach." (Ordination Ritual)

46.  The Deacon makes clear to the People of God the connection between the Eucharist and the ordinary, daily service that Christ calls us all to by his small, serving actions during the celebration of the liturgy.

47.  In the liturgical aspect of their ministry, Deacons Baptize, Marry, Preside at Wakes, Funerals and Burials, Preach Homilies, Celebrate Communion Services, and bring Viaticum to the Dying. Deacons may also preside over the Liturgy of the Hours, Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament and administer sacramentals (bless medals, etc.).

48.  During the celebration of the Eucharist, Deacons proclaim the Gospel, Preach, Voice the General Intercessions of the People, prepare the altar and chalice, direct the people, assist in the presentation of the gifts, distribute communion and dismiss the people.

49.  The diaconate has been from the First Century a ministry of both love and justice.

50.  A 1981 survey found Deacons serving in such diverse ministries as: abused children, the aged, battered women, the bereaved, the blind, the deaf, the divorced, drug addicts, the dying, the handicapped, the homeless, the ill, prisoners, refugees, the rural poor, street people, victims of racial and ethnic discrimination, etc. (National Study of the Diaconate in the U.S., NCCB, 1981)     

51.  The Diaconate is not an abridged form of the priesthood, but a distinct and full order in its own right...the Diaconate is not  to be thought of or exercised on the model of the Priesthood. n.121 (Guidelines, NCCB, 1984)

52.  The Deacon represents the Servant Christ to the Servant Church.

53.  St. Francis of Assisi was a deacon.