What is a deacon?
The last last century and particularly the last three decades have seen a major resurgence of interest in and study of the diaconate and of the meaning of diakonia, that ministry which deacons are meant to exemplify and lead. There are growing number of deacons in a number of church denominations. In the Anglican Church this is particularly so in North America.
The setting up in 2022 by Archbishop Thabo Magoba of a Commission on the ministry of the distinctive and permanent Diaconate resulted in a richly detailed report on the diaconate which gives excellent resources that can help answer questions such as:
What are the origins and history of the diaconate?
What is diakonia?
What is the theology of the diaconate?
What should deacons be and do?
This webpage links you to the ACSA report, summaries of its answers to the above questions, and links to various resources about the diaconate.
The Report of the Archbishop's Commission
The Draft report was received by the ACSA Provincial Standing Committee in September 2023 and placed on the ACSA website. The final Report of the Archbishop’s Commission on the Ministry of the Distinctive and Permanent Diaconate was finalised in April 2024 and presented to the Provincial Synod in late September 2024.
The report has nine chapters looking at the history of the diaconate, the meaning of diakonia, the theology of the diaconate, an examination of what deacons are and can do, as well as a descriptions of the experiences of distinctive deacons in Southern Africa today. Three of the chapters look at the dilemmas facinga renewal of the diaconate, the discernment, training and support of deacons, and what will happen if there is indeed a renewal of the diaconate.
