deaconess
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thumb|Elizabeth Ferard|Elizabeth Catherine Ferard, first ordained deaconess of the Church of England A deaconess is a member of a ministry for women in some Christian churches to provide pastoral care, especially for other women, and who may carry a liturgical role. The word comes from the Greek (), for "deacon", which means a servant or helper and occurs frequently in the Christian New Testament of the Bible.
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- Commons category
- Deaconesses
- female form of label
- diakonė
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~33 min read
Article
31 sectionsContents
- Early Christian period
- Pauline text
- Women as deacons
- Roles
- Art
- Decline of the diaconate including women
- Eastern Church Continuation
- Eastern Orthodox
- Oriental Orthodox
- Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church
- Coptic Orthodox Church
- Syriac Orthodox Church
- Reformation era
- Late modern period
- Europe
- Denmark
- Britain and the British Empire
- Finland
- Norway
- Sweden
- North America
- Federated States of Micronesia
- Australia
- New Zealand
- Philippines
- Proposed Catholic Restoration of the Female Diaconate
- See also
- References
- Bibliography
- In other languages
- External links
thumb|Elizabeth Ferard|Elizabeth Catherine Ferard, first ordained deaconess of the Church of England A deaconess is a member of a ministry for women in some Christian churches to provide pastoral care, especially for other women, and who may carry a liturgical role. The word comes from the Greek (), for "deacon", which means a servant or helper and occurs frequently in the Christian New Testament of the Bible.
Deaconesses trace their roots from the time of Jesus Christ through to the 13th century in the West. They existed from the early through the middle Byzantine periods in Constantinople and Jerusalem; the office also existed in Western European churches. There is evidence to support the fact that the diaconate including women in the Byzantine Church of the early and middle Byzantine periods was recognized as one of the major non-ordained orders of clergy.