Canon Deacon Michael Jackson is the longest-serving deacon in the Anglican Church of Canada. He is also the editor of the very well-received The Diaconate in Ecumenical Perspective: Ecclesiology, Liturgy and Practice, Sacristy Press, 2019, and has now written thorough and reflective reviews of three books about aspects of the diaconate, followed by discussion prompts. I am delighted that one of those books is mine, Deacon by Design (VeriteCM Press 2019)
Thanks, Michael! He then goes on to raise the thorny Issue of Sequential and Cumulative Ordination, looking at the different opinions in the Church of England and the Roman Catholic church, and considering again the wisdom and likelihood of abolishing the ‘transitional’ diaconate.
By and large, opinion in the Church of England views the diaconal ministry of service as an integral part of, and hence a necessary preparation for, the priesthood, to the extent that many advocate a transitional diaconate extending several years rather than the traditional year. At the limit, says Francis Young, presbyters and bishops are “another group of deacons” and you don’t need “distinctive deacons to represent the diaconate.” The notion of direct or per saltum ordination to the priesthood and abolition of the transitional diaconate gains no traction in the Church of England, although it has been widely discussed elsewhere.
Read his reviews here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1o-B4U1VXXcV5SGHtRvvPwfnD0WD7J58Y/view?ts=5f84846a
CofE Network of Distinctive Deacons 