- Literally, "servant."
Originally seven deacons were ordained to assist the apostles with the temporal affairs of the Church (Acts 6:1-7)
. This established office has continued in the Church. A deacon assists the bishop and priest, but cannot preside over the Eucharist, give blessings or pronounce absolution. In the New Testament (Rom.16:1)
and the early Church, women also served as deacons or deaconesses (1 Tim. 3:8 13).