Diaconia - acts, understandings and stories of service in a pluralistic Southern Africa

Editors: Knoetze, J. and Beukes, J.W.
Date: 2025
Reference: Knoetze, J. and Beukes, J.W.(Eds). 2025. DIACONIA: Acts, understandings and stories of service in a pluralistic Southern Africa. Wellington: Barnabas Acadmic Publishers

Description: Papers from a groundbreaking conference held in 2024 at the University of Pretoria that delve into the church’s call to serve amidst deep-seated socioeconomic, political, and historical challenges and examined diaconal identities in a pluralistic African context. This book explores diaconia – Christian service – as a transformative force addressing poverty, inequality, social exclusion, corruption, and environmental crises. It does so through a rich tapestry of theological reflections, empirical studies, and real-life narratives that illuminate the power of faith-driven engagement. Bringing together voices from across Africa and Europe, the contributions span historical perspectives, contemporary challenges, and practical models of service, offering fresh insights into the role of the church in a post-apartheid, post-Christendom society.

Keywords: deacons, Reformed, Anglican

Theological Education by Extension: Accounts from the 20th Century

Authors: Glissmann,V. And Harrison, P.J. (Eds)
Date: 2025
Reference: Glissmann,V. And Harrison, P.J. (Eds). 2025. Theological Education by Extension: Accounts from the 20th Century. Blantyre, Malawi: TEEnet Press

Description: Theological Education by Extension has been a major means of providing theological education to many deacons and this book provides a global perspective on TEE. Three articles (those by John Aitchsion, Louis Peters, and Stephen Hayes) provide accounts of the initiation of TEE in South Africa

Keywords: deacon, theology, church, theological education by extension

Report of the Archbishop’s Commission on the Ministry of the Distinctive and Permanent Diaconate

Author: Archbishops's Commission on the Ministry of the Distinctive and Permanent Diaconate
Date: 2024
Reference: Archhbishop's Commission on the Ministry of the Distinctive and Permanent Diaconate. 2024. Report on the Commission on the Ministry of the Distinctive and Permanent Diaconate. Cape Town: Anglican Church of Southern Africa

Description: The Report of the Commission set up in 2022 to examine the ministry of deacons in Southern Africa. The report is comprehensive with chapters on the history, theology and functions of deacons, the meaning of diakonia and recommendations on a way forward for the Anglican Church in Southern Africa.

Keywords: deacon, theology, church, diakonia, Anglican

Meeting the global crisis: Kingdom community, diaconal church and a diaconal world

Author: Clark, D.
Date: 2023
Reference: Clark, D. 2023. Meeting the global crisis: Kingdom community, diaconal church and a diaconal world. [Unpublished document]

Description: A comprehensive theology of the diaconal church focusing on the kingdom centred community and the need for a new paradigm of the diaconal church. Has a challenging analysis of the roles of presbyters and deacons in such a church and of the specific church-facing and world facing roles that deacons play.

Keywords: theology, church, diakonia, deacons

The Lord's Call

Author(s): Diocese of Natal
Date: 2022
Reference: Diocese of Natal. 2022. The Lord's Call. Pietermaritzburg: Diocese of Natal

Description: A guide to the processes of call, discernment, and formation for the ordained ministry. Originally published in 2002 and revised several times.

Keywords: call, discernment, formation, ordination

Called to transformation: ecumenical diakonia

Author(s): World Council of Churches and Act Alliance.
Date: 2022
Reference: World Council of Churches and Act Alliance. 2022. Called to transformation: ecumenical diakonia. Geneva: World Council of Churches

Description: A resource that aims to outline and provide a new ‘base-line’ for the theological and practical service for diakonia in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals of 2015 and the Covid-19 pandemic since 2020 in which prophetic diakonia addresses peace building, climate justice, racial justice, health and healing. The text provides theological insight that underscores the trinitarian and ecclesiological founding of diakonia and that can orient churches and related agencies in their diaconal practices as well as proposing concrete steps to be taken in order to strengthen the diaconal capacity of the churches in cooperation with their ecumenical partners. It argues for the distinctiveness of diaconal practice, how its identity as both faith and rights-based action forms its mission, objectives and methods. It presents diaconal assets, both tangible and intangible resources that are at hand for diaconal action, and indicates the advantages of developing a diaconal language. Finally, it points to the importance of building diaconal capacity and presents core elements of diaconal professionalism.

Keywords: theology, church, diakonia, deacons, welfare, social work

A guide to the Process of Discernment, Confirmation, Training and Formation for Ordained Ministry

Author(s): Anglican Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn
Date: 2021
Reference: Anglican Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn. 2020.Discerning and Responding to a Call to Ordainedn Ministry - the Ordination Manual. Canberra, Federal Capital Territory: Anglican Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn

Description: A clearly written manual coveting the whole process from call to ordination.

Keywords: call, discernment, selection, formation, ordination

Discerning and Responding to a Call to Ordained Ministry - the Ordination Manual

Author(s): Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh
Date: 2020
Reference: Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh. 2020.Discerning and Responding to a Call to Ordainedn Ministry - the Ordination Manual. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh

Description: A thorough and comprehensive manual coveting the whole process from call to ordination

Keywords: call, discernment, selection, formation, ordination

Lockdown homilies 1 - 200

Author(s): Aitchison, John
Date: 2020
Reference: Aitchison, J. 2020. Lockdown homilies 1 - 200. Durban: Parish of St John the Divine

Description: Originally prepared as a daily homilies and prayers for the parishioners during the crisis of the Covid-19 lockdown, they provide an engaging mix of devotional and informational reading.

Keywords: devotional, homily, prayer

Lockdown homilies 201 - 296

Author(s): Aitchison, John
Date: 2022
Reference: Aitchison, J. 2022. Lockdown homilies 201 - 296. Durban: Parish of St John the Divinel

Description: Originally prepared as a daily homilies and prayers for the parishioners during the crisis of the Covid-19 lockdown, they provide an engaging mix of devotional and informational reading.

Keywords: devotional, homily, prayer

What does it mean to be a distinctive deacon in the Church of England today?

Author: Sorenson, A.K.E.
Date: 2018
Reference: Sorenson, A.K.E. 2018. What does it mean to be a distinctive deacon in the Church of England today? Glasgow: Theology and Religious Studies, School of Critical Studies,University of Glasgow [Unpublished PhD thesis]

Description: This thesis outlines the history of the distinctive diaconate within the Church of England, and the understanding of the diaconate contained with the Ordinal. It explores the experience of distinctive deacons within the Church of England today. It does so through interviews with a respondent cohort of sixteen distinctive deacons in active ministry. It also looks at why the distinctive diaconate has failed to grow and flourish, the ways in which the distinctive diaconate has been misused, and the inability of the Church hierarchy to act upon the recommendations of various commissioned reports. Finally it presents an argument for the retention and development of the distinctive diaconate in the ministry of the Church of England.

Keywords: deacons, theology, history, exegesis, Anglican

Deacons of Word and Service: Vision statement of the Church of Scotland diaconate

Author(s): Church of Scotland Diaconate
Date: 2018
Reference: Church of Scotland Diaconate. 2018. Deacons of Word and Service: Vision statement of the Church of Scotland diaconate. Edinburgh: Church of Scotland Diaconate

Description: A statement on the ministry, history, and the contempory need for deacons in the [Calvinist] Church of Scotland and the various ways in which they could function.

Keywords: deacons, theology, functions, competencies

The Iona Report: the diaconate in the Anglican Church of Canada

Author(s): Anglican Church of Canada
Date: 2016
Reference: Anglican Church of Canada. 2016. The Iona Report: the diaconate in the Anglican Church of Canada. Toronto: Anglican Church of Canada, General Synod

Description: A thorough description and analysis of the diaconate with a detailed look at the competencies seen as required (at selection, at ordination, and lifelong) in the areas of diakonia and the diaconate, human awareness and understanding, spirituality and spiritual practice, practical training and experience, church polity and public ministry, scripture, and Christian history.

Keywords: deacons, theology, competencies, functions

A calendar of deacon saints

Author: Platter, John
Date: 2015
Reference: Plater, O. 2015. A calendar of deacon saints. Houston, Texas: Association for Episcopal Deacons

Description: This calendar of more than 200 deacon saints is assembled from many sources, including Anglican, Catholic, Orthodox, and Lutheran calendars, and numerous other religious and secular sites.

Keywords: deacon, saints, devotional, lectionary, liturgy

The Diaconate Renewed: Service, Word and Worship

Author: Jackson, D.M
Date: 2015
Reference: Jackson, D.M. 2015. The Diaconate Renewed: Service, Word and Worship

Description: A detailed guide to the diaconate in Canada, its history, revival, and contemporary issues with practical guidance on the liturgical role of the deacon

Keywords: deacons, theology, history, Anglican, Canada

Truly called by God 2

Author(s): Scottish Episcopal Church
Date: 2012
Reference: Scottish Episcopal Church. 2012. Truly called by God 2. Edinburgh: General Synod Office, Scottish Episcopal Church

Description: An update to the previous 1987 report, this one calls for further action and poses a number of typical question asked about the distinctive diconate.

Keywords: deacons, theology, functions

The Diaconal Ministry in the Mission of the Church

Author: Boettcher, R. (Ed.)
Date: 2006
Reference: Boettcher, R. (Ed.). 2006. The Diaconal Ministry in the Mission of the Church. Geneva: Lutheran World Federation, Department for Theology and Studies

Description: A set of essays on the diaconal ministry which still tend towards the social work for the needy understanding of diakonia.

Keywords: deacons, deaconess, theology, welfate, social work, Lutheran

A review of two books: by John Collins and the Church of England

Author: Sherlock, C.
Date: 2005
Reference: Sherlock, C. 2005. [A review of two books]. Journal of Anglican Studies, Volume 3, Number 1, pp. 125-126

Description: This review of John Collins Deacons and the Church. Making connections between old and new of 2002 and the Church of England report For such a time as this. A renewed diaconate in the Church of England of 2001 gives a useful, if brief, insight into the gist of both books.

Keywords: deacons, theology, history, Collins, Anglican

The Hanover Report. The diaconate as ecumenical opportunity Call

Author(s): Anglican-Lutheran International Commission
Date: 1996
Reference: Anglican-Lutheran International Commission. 1996. The Hanover Report. The diaconate as ecumenical opportunity. London: Anglican Communion Publications

Description: A A groundbreaking ecumenical discussion on the diaconate that provides a theological rationale which follows a clear line of argument: from Christ and the Spirit, through the ministry of the whole people of God (including ordained ministry) to an understanding of the diaconate. The latter part of report focuses on the role of the ordained deacon in particular, as distinct from the broader understanding of diakonia.

Keywords: deacons, theology, competencies, functions, Anglican, Lutheran

Truly called by God to serve as a Deacon: The Report of the Bishops’ Working Group on Distinctive Diaconate

Author(s): Scottish Episcopal Church
Date: 1987
Reference: Scottish Episcopal Church, 1987. Truly Called by God to Serve as a Deacon: The Report of the Bishops’ Working Group on Distinctive Diaconate. Edinburgh: General Synod Office, Scottish Episcopal Church

Description: A survey of the diaconate and its function with recommendations on the distinctive diaconate in the Sottish Episcopal Church.

Keywords: deacons, theology, functions

Educational principles and missionary methods

Author: Allen, R.
Date: 1919
Reference: Allen, R. 1919. Educational principles and missionary methods. London: Robert Scott

Description: Allen's attempt to compare contemporaty misisonary methods with contemporary educational ones. A follow up to his Missionary methods, St Paul's or ours in which he argues that St Paul's methods were closer to modern educational ones than contemporary missionary methods.

Keywords: education, teaching, mission, evangelism, Anglican, Allen

Missionary methods, St Paul's or ours

Author: Allen, R.
Date: 1912
Reference: Allen, R. 1919.Missionary methods, St Paul's or ours. London: Robert Scott

Description: Allen argues that St Paul's missionary methods suceeeded where contemporary ones did not. St Paul planted churches and did not leave until they were fully equipped with full ministry, sacraments and tradition. The process Allen described goes something like this:

• A Christian community comes into being as the result of the preaching of the
  Gospel.
• To that community is handed over four essentials – scriptures, creed, sacraments
  and ministry.
• The community is then responsible, under the direction of the overseer, the
  bishop, to recognise the spiritual gifts and needs in its membership and to call
  into service priests/presbyters to preside at the Eucharist and to be responsible
  for the word and for pastoral care.
• The Holy Spirit working on the human endowment of those leaders drawn from
  the community is sufficient for its life. Leaders do not have to be pulled in from
  outside. A Christian community that cannot do these things is not yet a church.
• It is also required to share the message and the life with its neighbouring
  communities not yet evangelised.
• The bishop and his staff of deacons are crucial (Paul had his assistants Timothy,
  Titus and Phoebe).

Keywords: mission, evangelism, church growth, deacons, Anglican, Allen