Deacons; One Name, Two Types
of Service Leads to Confusion of Some

by William E. McGee, Ph.D.
There are two very different types of deacons in the Episcopal Church today. The use of the same term and ordination rites for these very different types of deacons result in much of the confusion.

Originally the Church recognized two specific orders of formal ministry: that of the bishop and that of the deacon. The presbyterate (priestly order) evolved from that of the bishop. The order of deacons did not evolve from the priestly order.

A transitional deacon is a priest-in-training, and the ordination to the diaconate is simply a pre-terminal step towards clerical completeness. They are ordained as deacons and so carry on their shoulders the duties of deacons, but they are ordained to the diaconate as a step to the priesthood. It is the priesthood to which they are called. The transitional deacon is, by definition, an incompletely trained priest who is still in the training process. A transitional deacon cannot operate independently of a priest because a priest serves essentially as a "field supervisor" during this phase of the transitional deacon's training.

A vocational deacon is one who has been called to and ordained into the historical diaconate. The call is specifically to the diaconate, not to the priesthood. The vocational diaconate is not a step towards priesthood, but a separate and distinct calling. A vocational deacon can function independently of a priest because a vocational deacon has a different role -- a completely separate and different order of ordained ministry.

The Vocational Deacon

1. A vocational deacon is trained according to the guidelines established in the diocese. Such training may be formal seminary training, formal non-seminary training, or a mentor-ship.
2. A vocational deacon is not trained to teach seminary but to provide the specialized ministry to which s/he has been called. The training typically is less academic than for a priest, but not always since many vocational deacons are seminary trained. The purpose of diaconal training is not specifically for academic or philosophical discourse, but for service in the world.
3. Vocational deacons operate under the direction of the bishop, but they may take independent action which is consistent with the defining canons. Their independent action does not involve celebrating the Eucharist or hearing confessions or blessing people and/or things. Rather, a vocational deacon's independent action involves taking Christ into the world and bringing the concerns of the world to the attention of Christ's holy church.
4. A vocational deacon may be employed by a church or diocese in his/her clerical capacity as a deacon, or may serve in a non-stipendary (i.e., non-paid) manner. Vocational deacons work both in the world and in the church, and their financial compensation typically is from the world and not from the church.
5. Many vocational deacons are employed in the secular world and, thus, are said not to be active in their diaconal vocation all the time. This represents an inaccurate understanding of the very nature of the diaconate, because the diaconate has always been conceptualized and utilized as the bridge between the church and the world. The vocational deacon has a foot in both the secular community and in the sacred community, because that is where the vocational deacon is called to provide diaconal ministry.

Deacons are called to assist at the celebration of the Eucharist. Deacons are called to read the Gospel at the celebration of the Eucharist because that is the first step in taking the Gospel outside the church and to the people in the world. Deacons conclude each Eucharistic celebration by encouraging the congregation to go out into the world in the name of Jesus. Deacons are called to provide direct care to the poor and the downtrodden.

These are activities that priests and bishops also perform, as do thousands of lay men and women. What, then, differentiates deacons from priests, and deacons from the laity?

Deacons are called to represent Christ and his Church, to be a servant to those in need, and to assist in the proclamation of the Gospel. Deacons are called from the world to return to the world to represent Christ. Deacons are called to represent the needs of the world to the Church. Deacons are the bridge between the world and the Church. The ordination of a deacon means that s/he has been called from the world to be married to the church and then to return to the world to represent the church. Not in the church building but in the world.

Deacons transform the Gospel words into action outside the formal church environment. Their representation in the liturgy provides the strong symbolic link between the church and all that is holy, and the world and all that is secular.

The deacon represents a "bridge" between the world and the church during the liturgy in a symbolic way, and provides that "bridge" during the rest of the week in her/his work. There is little differentiation between the secular world and the religious world for the deacon because the diaconate is on the "edge of chaos." The edge between what we contend with on a daily basis and that which we consider to be ideal, the edge between daily reality and our Church. That is the deacon's rightful place. That is the place and position of the deacon's call.

William E. McGee, Ph.D., is a parishioner at St. Timothy's, Signal Mountain.
Editor’s note: This article is an excerpt from “The Episcopal Deacon” published in Diakoneo in 1999. It is reprinted here by permission of the author.