‘What are deacons and what should deacons do?’ Such a question is needed because, certainly, in the light of the renewed understanding of the Biblical concept of diakonia, the current (1989) Southern African rite for the ordination of deacons provides insufficient guidance in this respect. (We do recognise that other Anglican communions have undertaken recent revisions of the ordinal for deacons.)

However, an ordinal must necessarily deal in broad strokes with the work of the ordained deacon. What in more detail, as a practical guide (say to bishops), would be the potential work of distinctive deacons? And can a theology of the diaconate, however contextual it is, provide guidelines about what a deacon should do, on what the functions or roles of a deacon are? For, as a Scottish Episcopal Church statement puts it:

“In its essence diakonía is not about particular functions, but about being commissioned and delegated by the bishop.”

Perhaps the real practical and situational difficulty with looking at the functions of the deacon is that, given that diakonia must be multiple in its potential activities, that the list of functions might be exceeding long.

Attempts at simplification

There have been various attempts at simplifying the matter by providing broad categories of roles and activities. For example according to Clark (2023, p. 103 and also see Clark (2023, pp. 102-106).

“a renewed diaconate has two core roles which are church-facing: enabler and educator, and three core roles which are world-facing: catalyst, intermediary and partner. The other roles identifying servant leadership – visionary and strategist – remain important and come into the picture as and when needed.”

The Diocese of Exeter (2023) states this:

“Distinctive Deacons have a strong call to an outward-looking and community-minded ministry. They prefer to be out and about, making contacts, building relationships, identifying and meeting needs, creating stepping-stones between God and the world. They often have a particular concern for issues of poverty and justice and many minister of those on the margins of church and society.”

Clark (2023) argues that the balance between continuity and transformation is needed because continuity alone leads to stagnation and introversion, a focus only on transformation tends to fragment and weaken.

Attempts at describing diaconal competencies

Another approach mimics the lists used in the training world of competencies required for various skills and professions. So competency grids have been compiled to assist in the selection, growth, lifelong learning and support of ordained clergy in their work (such as those developed by Robert M. E. Paterson (in 2006) and Krita Ewert (in 2021) and used in North America and England respectively). These are now used in many provinces and dioceses. These usually take a staged approach, identifying particular expectations for selection time, ordination, and for lifelong learning after ordination.

Looking at the past

It is possible to create a summary of what can be gleaned from the New Testament and Patristic sources on what deacons were and did. Whilst the early days of the diaconate as an official position within the early Church are obscure it is clear that they were initially the effective minister-operatives of the diakonia of the Church. The early deacons had multiple tasks, roles, missions. They led the outgoing transformative ministry of the Church and had a key role within the liturgical assembly of the Church which were presided over by what in effect was the bishop in council (of the elders).

Companion and co-worker of apostolic missionaries like Paul

Worked directly with the bishop Executive officer of the bishop Gatekeepers of access to the bishop Checkers of the credentials of visitors from other congregations Information gatherers for the bishop Administrators of the Church’s finances and assets Security officers and body-guards of the bishop in time of persecution

Ensure the regular celebration of the Eucharist Kept order in the assembly and ensured no favouritism in position or seating Presenters of the offerings Organisers of the sharing of the offerings Distributed the bread and wine both within the assembly and to those unable to attend (the sick, the imprisoned, women forbidden to leave the home) Involved in baptismal instruction, the actual baptism and penitence Ministers of the word though only some preach

Equippers of the laity for diaconal action

Performers of a service ministry, for example to the sick and needy Having personal interactions with all members of the congregation

Envoys, ambassadors or diplomats to other congregations

Ministers of outreach standing on the threshold of the church (a liminal ministry) bridging church and community

Modellers of the servanthood of Christ

What is clear is the link between their diaconal actions and their presence in the liturgy, their presence in the assembly and their going out to do diakonia in the wider world. Their servanthood is expressed in terms of their being servants of the bishop and respectful of the presbyters and in their humility in interactions with others.

What this suggests is that, though the status of the deacon has changed over the centuries and there may be a need to construct a new ‘job description’ for a renewed diaconate it could and should resonate with the old.

But in responding to the historical evidence, the present day question may not be ‘What was a deacon?’ but rather ‘What is the diakonia of the Church and how may particular leaders within the Church galvanize the diaconal work?’ That is both a historical and theological question and also a contextual one on how diakonia is expressed today.

Functions of the deacon

With some caution, here is a list of possible functions/roles – the work that deacons can do – derived from numerous church documents:

Function	Categories
Proclaimer	Apostolic missionary, Herald of Christ’s kingdom
Ikon	Ikon of Christ, Model of servanthood, Minister of service
Worship leader	Liturgical worship leader
Interpreter of needs and situations	Interpreter, Needs reporter
Administrator
Educator and equipper	Teacher and catechist, Information giver, Equipper
Outreacher	An outwards reaching minister
Liminal/Threshold/Bridge
Collaborator/Partner/Team worker
Networker	Connector, Messenger, Ambassador
Prophet and social justice activist	Prophet and social justice activist, Disrupter

[A full exposition of these functions is found in the Report of the Archbishop's Commission on the ministry of the distinctive and permanent diaconate (2024, pp. 38-46)]

Some brief notes on some of these functions are provided here:

Servant as herald and icon: The image of deacon as servant focuses on being sent by God with his authority, serving as ‘heralds of Christ’s kingdom’ in a way appropriate for a given context. The deacon can be seen as an icon of the servant Jesus Christ. This image has a strong apostolic dimension – potentially being sent from community to community, task to task. Useful biblical passages to reflect on this are: Acts 6: 1-4; John 13 and Romans 16:1-2.

Servant as prophet: The Old Testament word for servant (particularly as used by Isaiah) is the one sent to follow out God’s mission in the world and bring light to the nations. The Church of England's 2021 Common Worship ordinal draws out the prophetic dimension to the deacon’s ministry: “They are to proclaim the gospel in word and deed, as agents of God’s purposes of love. They are to serve the community in which they are set, bringing to the Church the needs and hopes of all the people. They are to work with their fellow members in searching out the poor and weak, the sick and lonely and those who are oppressed and powerless, reaching into the forgotten corners of the world, that the love of God may be made visible.” Deacons are often a voice for the voiceless, a “herald of the kingdom” speaking out where there is injustice and calling and equipping others to respond. This prophetic dimension to diaconal ministry can speak also within the church, echoing Jesus turning over tables in the temple. Useful biblical passages to understand this are: Stephen in Acts 6 and 7; Isaiah 40:1-11; Mark 1:1-3; Acts 2:18.

Servant as bridge: Deacons have sometimes been described as a bridge between the church and world. Their ministry is often at the margins; one of the liberating aspects of a ministry not tied to particular tasks is freedom to adapt. However, deacons are not free-agents, but go in the authority of the church, proclaim the gospel and not themselves and seek to bring others into the church. Deacon are normally self-supporting ministers, which emphasises this bridge role. Useful biblical passages for reference are: Isaiah 49:13-18; Matthew 11: 25-30; Romans 10.11-17.

Can one summarise and codify diaconal functions?

The above Functions of the Deacon list is long and exhaustive with about twenty functional categories. A similar problem arises with the competency grids developed for the diaconate.

Can these lists be summarised, condensed? Yes, in the sense that Clark (2023c, 2023d) has done with his broad areas of enabler, educator, catalyst, intermediary and partner, but these are very broad, particularly at the practical level of a deacon being deployed to particular activity. And, as was said when we looked at the theology of the diaconate, such a contextual theology will need to be contextual and flexible and inclusive of many options. Thus a list of functions such as we have developed should be seen as an indicative list of possibilities rather than a job description cast in stone.

The functions have to be seen contextually and flexibly. As the Methodist Church report of 2004 (p. 10) puts it:

“Similarly today, demands made upon the Church will change, and the form that diaconal ministry takes will vary from place to place and from deacon to deacon. It changes over time in response to the needs of the World and the missionary tasks of the Church. This means it frequently takes place beyond the margins of the Church and respectable society. Yet, whatever form diaconal ministry takes, deacons remain representatives authorised and sent by the Church, owned and supported as such.”

This returns one to seeing the need for a revised ordinal as one that would both hold the church-facing and world-facing aspects of the deacon together while being broad and open enough for a multitude of orientations for diaconal action.

The latest (2021) Common Worship ordinal from the Church of England does this quite well:

God calls his people to follow Christ, and forms us into a royal priesthood, a holy nation, to declare the wonderful deeds of him who has called us out of darkness into his marvellous light.
The Church is the Body of Christ, the people of God and the dwelling-place of the Holy Spirit. In baptism the whole Church is summoned to witness to God’s love and to work for the coming of his kingdom.
To serve this royal priesthood, God has given a variety of ministries. Deacons are ordained so that the people of God may be better equipped to make Christ known. Theirs is a life of visible self-giving. Christ is the pattern of their calling and their commission; as he washed the feet of his disciples, so they must wash the feet of others.
...
Deacons are called to work with the Bishop and the priests with whom they serve as heralds of Christ’s kingdom. They are to proclaim the gospel in word and deed, as agents of God’s purposes of love. They are to serve the community in which they are set, bringing to the Church the needs and hopes of all the people. They are to work with their fellow members in searching out the poor and weak, the sick and lonely and those who are oppressed and powerless, reaching into the forgotten corners of the world, that the love of God may be made visible.
Deacons share in the pastoral ministry of the Church and in leading God’s people in worship. They preach the word and bring the needs of the world before the Church in intercession. They accompany those searching for faith and bring them to baptism. They assist in administering the sacraments; they distribute communion and minister to the sick and housebound.

Deacons are to seek nourishment from the Scriptures; they are to study them with God’s people, that the whole Church may be equipped to live out the gospel in the world. They are to be faithful in prayer, expectant and watchful for the signs of God’s presence, as he reveals his kingdom among us.”

Deacons and the liturgy

There are limited Anglican resources on the role of the deacon in the liturgy. See Deacons in the Liturgy.

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