Ordination in the Church of England
The Church of England describes its ordained ministry as “the ministry of Christ, its chief shepherd and high priest”. It is “Christ’s gift to his Church”. There are three orders of clergy ministry in the Church of England: deacons, priests and bishops. All are ordained first as a deacon, most subsequently go on to be ordained a second time as a priest, and a few go on to be ordained a third time as a bishop. Priests and bishops do not stop being deacons but, rather, take on additional orders of ministry. Think ‘layers of an onion’! The calling to be a deacon therefore is and remains the foundation of all ordained ministry.
What is a Distinctive Deacon?
Distinctive Deacons are those following a calling to remain solely in deacon’s orders, inhabiting, exploring and developing the ministry of the diaconate over a lifetime. They are called ‘distinctive’ deacons in the Church of England to distinguish them from those who spend an initial period in ordained ministry as deacons before becoming priests. Those who are called to the priesthood are sometimes called ‘transitional’ deacons. In some other church traditions they are known as ‘permanent’ deacons (for example, the Roman Catholic and Lutheran churches) because there is no option for them to subsequently be ordained priest. The Church of England, however, uses the term ‘Distinctive’ rather than ‘Permanent’ recognising that, occasionally, a Distinctive Deacon may at some stage in the future sense a change of calling to priesthood.
All deacons minister in the pattern of Jesus who washed his disciples’ feet. (John 13. 14) As the ordination service (or ‘Ordinal’) says:
Deacons are ordained so that the people of God may be better equipped to make Christ known. Theirs is a life of visible self-giving. Christ is the pattern of their calling and their commission: as he washed the feet of his disciples, so they must wash the feet of others.
This is why a deacon wears their stole tied up at the side: it represents the towel Christ tied around his waist when He washed His disciples’ feet. It symbolises the ministry of a deacon but is also a visible reminder of Christ’s call to all God’s people to serve one another.
What does ‘Deacon’ mean?
The word ‘deacon’ derives from the Greek word ‘diakonos’ which is often translated as ‘servant’. A deacon’s ministry is fundamentally a ministry of service. However, in Greek society during New Testament times, a ‘diakonos’ also referred to someone who carried out an important task or who delivered an important message on behalf of someone else – someone who had commissioned them to do so. So the connotation of being a ‘herald’ or ‘commissioned agent’ is also bound up in the concept of being a servant. All these meanings are found in the service of ordination for deacons:
Deacons are to work with the Bishop and the priests with whom they serve as heralds of Christ’s kingdom. They are to proclaim the gospel in word and deed, as agents of God’s purposes of love. (Common Worship Ordinal)
What does a Distinctive Deacon do?
Distinctive Deacons have a strong call to an outward-looking and community-minded ministry. Characteristically, the focus of ministry for a Distinctive Deacon is outside the church building . They prefer to be out and about, making contacts, building relationships, identifying and meeting needs, creating stepping-stones and bridges between God and the ‘world’. They often have a particular concern for issues of poverty and justice and many minister to those on the margins of church and society.
At the same time, Distinctive Deacons retain an important role inside the church too: preaching, leading intercessions, preparing people for baptism, assisting at Holy Communion, and sending the congregation out into the world at the end of the liturgy.
Distinctive deacons can officiate at baptisms, weddings and funerals when appropriate and with the permission of their priest.
Distinctive Deacons often describe their ministry as being like a ‘bridge’, with one foot in and one foot outside of the church. Many feel most ‘at home’ standing at the ‘door’ or ‘threshold’ of their church building, both welcoming people in and sending them out.
It is not that priests and bishops don’t also have this ministry, but that they have assumed additional priestly and episcopal roles and responsibilities as well. The great gift which Distinctive Deacons offer the Church is that they are free to focus solely on this servant-natured, outward-facing ministry which proclaims God’s love in action as well as word right into, as the Ordinals expresses it, ‘the forgotten corners of the world,’ at the same time inspiring, enabling and equipping others to do the same.
Does a Distinctive Deacon receive a salary?
A distinctive deacon is usually a self-supporting minister, and many deacons continue in secular employment.
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