Church Servers: The Deacon

From the Bulgakov Handbook

The name deacon in own sense designates a third rank of the ecclesiastical hierarchy. On initial assignment the deacons were servers at the meal of the Lord, i.e. at the fulfillment of the liturgy. They were also ministers of the word of God.

The present circle of their liturgical actions is determined in an exact sense by the primary head of the establishment. They serve at the administration of Holy Communion for the bishops and presbyters, but do not perform sacraments, except for baptism as a last resort, according to the image fulfilled by the laity.

They uplift prayers as assistants and read the Gospel.

"According to the certificate of ordination" the deacon is obliged "at the Divine liturgy and at other sacraments performed by the priest, and at other divine services and rites, to serve", "in obedience to the priest (see page 680 note 1), contributing and working for all the good"; "the service of the deacon: to prepare the sacred vessels for the service, to properly raise up prayer for the people (i.e. within oneself) and for the people (i.e. loudly for all to hear) in church, for this to be ordained and blessed, on the ambo in honor of the Gospel and the Apostolic epistles: and those things not specifically belonging to the priest (if, for example, last during the Divine Service he is called to administer the Unction or to baptize an ill person), to teach the people from the Divine Scriptures, the Divine Commandments and the way of life according to Christian law, from the dogmas and the commentaries of the church luminaries, the God-bearing fathers. More than this nothing that belongs to the priest is appropriate".

The Deacon in the case of the absence of the priest or because of his illness can not lead the vigil or obednitsa services, lead or sing the burial service for the departed, serve the moleban or the panakhida ; in general, the deacon, as only a server, is the person assisting the priest in the performing the sacraments and other liturgical actions and can not perform any kind of Divine Service without the participation and blessing of the priest.

It is true that the church rubrics on some days of the year permit the serving of some of the services, for example, the compline, the midnight service and others, "privately" (see for example page 524) but from here it may not be concluded in any way that the deacon may lead the services of compline, vespers, matins and so forth in the temple and as if these services were led by the priest.

In the order of the church services (in their beginning, in the middle, and also at their end), usually, are clear instructions on the participation in performance of the Divine Services of the priest and on the necessity of his blessing during the performance of church services (for example: "the priest at the beginning does", "the priest begins", "having been blessed by the priest", "an exclamation from the priest", "the priest prays", "the priest says to the deacon", "the priest says the dismissal", "the priest does the dismissal"; in other respects there are remarks: "if there is no deacon the priest says", but there are no remarks: "if there is no priest, the deacon says".

As is evident the church services are adapted by the Church for their performance by the priest, quite often together with the deacon, but certainly with the participation of the priest and from his blessing. The priestly blessing to teach, the exclamations, the many prayers and closing priestly dismissals say that the deacon has no right to say, between the former as well as those, and others what begins, is accompanied and fulfilled in each general church service in the Orthodox Church.

From here it is clear, that the deacon may not and must not begin, nor independently perform, any general church service without the participation of the priest. The Deacon is the servant, and not the performer of the Divine Services; he has no right without the blessing and the participation of the priest to vest himself with the sticharion, to cense, to recite the litanies.

The Deacon's Certificate of Ordination clearly expresses the command to the deacon "to serve at (but not to perform) the Divine Liturgy and other sacraments performed by the priest, and at other divine services and orders". Independently deacons may perform (without a vestment, in the rasson) only those Divine Services, that are also permitted to the laity, namely those in which begins with the rubric: "if the priest says: Blessed is our God, and we say: amen; if there is no priest, we say: Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, O Lord Jesus the Christ our God, have mercy on us"; thus the so-called home canons and prayers begin; the church services all without exception begin with the blessing of the priest and without him in any case they may not be performed.

If the priest illegally blesses the deacon to perform in place of himself he must stand before the church meeting. The priest receives by ordination in his rank the authority only personally to perform the known priestly functions and the known function of the ecclesiastical jurisdiction, but he has no right of assignment to whomever of the full powers of his priesthood. In this case is one of the essential ways of distinguishing the holy rank of the bishop from the rank of the presbyter.

Differing from the deacon by many privileges in the divine service, the presbyter is similar to him in that personally, by himself, he can not change anything in the precisely specified norms of activity, which properly belongs to him, and the clergy with whom he concelebrates. Therefore, the priest blessing deacon to perform instead of himself the church order of services (as, for example, the funeral procession of the departed), and he himself is carried away with the right of the bishop, exceeds his position, and blessing the deacon to fulfill this is the same crime, i.e. the excess of authority given him by ordination.

But also inarguably the right of assignment belonging to the bishop is not unconditional: even the bishop cannot give to each of the clergymen any kind of an assignment, but only that consistently with the degree he carries, and with his clerical position. The bishop cannot order, for example, the deacon to sanctify an altar, perform the liturgy, or other priestly activities; because to fulfill these priestly activities there simply is not enough authority in the assignment, but an ordination to the degree of presbyter is necessary.

If even the bishop is inarguably constrained in the application of the authority belonging to him; then the priest may use it: he is personally obliged to send a petition for his need, and must not charge the deacon to direct a service, for which he is not authorized even by the bishop's ordination.

In general the spirit and letter of the priest's canon do not give any right 1) for the deacon to replace the priest in performing any priestly activities, and 2) for the priest to agree and assign the deacon to do any of these priestly duties.

Thus, unfairly, those priests behave reprehensibly and with harm for the Church who assign the deacons to perform any kind of church services, in church vestments and in their absence; equally it is unlawful and criminal for the deacons to act also, if he soon is independent, without the participation of the priest, even with his consent, performs in the place of the priest this or that Divine Service - general or particular - in the temple or outside of it.

The Deacon should perform (see the Certificate of Ordination) only "the services belonging to the deacon" and moreover "according to the rubrics and the order of the Holy Eastern Church"; "in place of the priest, as the Blessed Augustine says, only priest may serve, and not a deacon". (see the details in the Theological Messenger 1892, 9; C. M. 1892, 43; 1893, 1; The Manual up to the present 1888, 6; 1889, 13; 1894, 10-14).

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