Encyclopedia of Liturgical Theology

Deaconesses and Their Work in the Church

Deaconesses and Their Work in the Church¹

We are pleased to open this new section, in which we will publish matters concerning women or girls: in terms of their service in the Church, their personal problems, aspects of their various activities, or their news… and the magazine welcomes what our sisters send of ideas or news for publication. We will begin this section with an article about (deaconesses):

Deaconesses and Their Work in the Church

There were deaconesses in the early Church, and there are many articles in the Church canons concerning them.

His Holiness the Pope has seen fit to restore the service of deaconesses once again to the Church. At present, their special attire is being prepared, and the liturgical prayers are also being prepared.

Some churches have nominated names to carry out this service, and the door is open for other churches to submit their nominations. The deaconess may be a virgin, and she may also be married. She must be of a venerable age, with a past in service, and qualifications suited to it.

The diaconate for women is not a priestly rank, but rather merely a church service; therefore, she does not receive the laying on of hands, but she does have a special liturgical prayer.

The Service of the Deaconess and Her Work:

The deaconess does not serve the altar, because the priesthood is for men only. However, she has other services in the fields of teaching, organization, social service, and some liturgical aspects… The details of this are as follows:

1. The deaconess may maintain order in the church in the women’s choir.

2. She may also organize those approaching for Communion, and present them for Communion after ensuring that they are Orthodox Christian confessors, lest some women intrude into the rows of those receiving Communion. She must also ensure their modesty in approaching the divine Mysteries. In this way, she relieves the conscience of the priest from all these aspects.

3. The deaconess works in the field of social service, due to what a woman is endowed with of love, compassion, and tenderness. Thus, she can care for widows and orphans, whether in homes or institutions.

4. She may visit women in their homes, and present her information to the priest so that he may carry out what is required within the scope of this service. Thus, through her visitation, she can contribute to the growth of meetings and to visiting those who are absent.

5. The deaconess may also visit sick women, whether in their homes or in hospitals. She offers them a good word, service, and assistance, and speaks to them with the word of God. She represents the Church in caring for them, and informs the priest of cases that need his visitation or Communion.

6. The deaconess may also work in the field of personal status matters: she can contribute to solving family problems, especially since she is more capable of understanding the psychology of women and knowing their circumstances. She can relieve the priest of issues that do not require his intervention to resolve, and she is also more capable of hearing some women’s matters and perceiving their true causes. In this, she helps the priest to know the facts of matters before entering into their resolution.

7. The deaconess may also assist the priest in baptizing women, especially older ones, in matters that do not fall within the limits of the sacrament, but rather within the limits of modesty.

8. The deaconess can also work in the field of education, especially in teaching women, girls, and children in general. Therefore, if the service secretaries in church education are mature, they may become deaconesses in the Church.

9. The deaconess may serve in the upbringing of childhood. A woman is more capable of bearing with the child, granting him tenderness and love, and raising him in his early stages. Therefore, nurseries can be supplied with deaconesses who serve in them, giving them a church character in addition to their current social character.

10. The deaconess may supervise women’s activities in the Church, whether workshops or exhibitions, the girls’ library, or the club and summer activities specific to girls.

11. The deaconess may also supervise the cleanliness of the church and the arrangement of its furnishings, for a woman has an excellent sensitivity to cleanliness and elegance. She can perceive what is needed to complete its splendor and beauty. In this, she may enlist many girls to work under her guidance.

12. The deaconess may supervise nursing in hospitals, if this is among her gifts. In this way, we will have fulfilled the situation in which Catholics use nuns. The nuns devote themselves to worship, and this service is carried out by deaconesses.

¹ An article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III – Al-Keraza Magazine – Fifth Year – Issue Nine – 30-11-1974.

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