A short historyThe Second Vatican Council (1962-65) called for the restoration of the permanent Diaconate in the Latin Church, as a “proper and permanent rank of the hierarchy”. Following the Council, Pope Paul VI issued an Apostolic Letter, setting out the conditions for the admission and ordination of candidates to the Diaconate. The ministry of deacons in the Church is clear from apostolic times. There is an account in Acts of the Apostles 6: 1-6 of the appointment of seven men to a special ministry. One of these was Stephen, the Church’s first martyr. Pope Benedict has said the “Tradition sees in this group the origins of the future ministry of deacons.” Deacons are also mentioned in the letters of St Paul, sometimes in close association with bishops (see Phil 1:1). In the first letter to Timothy, the author lists the qualities and virtues which deacons should possess, so as to exercise their ministry worthily. Church writings from the earliest centuries describe a hierarchical and ministerial structure, which included the Diaconate. St Ignatius of Antioch even considered as unthinkable a Church without bishop, priest or deacon. He described the ministry of deacons as nothing other than “the ministry of Jesus Christ”. The Permanent Diaconate remained a prominent feature of the Western Church, until the fifth century, when for various reasons it began a slow decline. The Church has always had deacons, but the Diaconate became only an intermediate stage for formation for those preparing for priestly ordination – the final step in the training of priests. This is known as the “transitional” Diaconate.
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