Concept in Definition ABC

Deacon is a word used exclusively in the sphere religious, specifically in the different conceptions of Christianity. It is a term that comes from Greek and later from Latin (diakonos and diacunus respectively) and which means servant. Thus, a deacon is that person who serves others and in the religious context is a representative of God who has the function of serving men from his responsibility as a member of the church.

General functions of a deacon

While each tradition Christian establishes a series of specific functions, the concept of deacon in the Orthodox, Catholic or Protestant tradition has traits common.

Its general function is to help in the activities of a parish (celebration of masses, administration ecclesiastical goods, administration of the various sacraments, etc). In any case, the deacon is an assistant to the priest and collaborates with him in all religious activities. In the presentDue to the reduction in the number of priests in many countries, the church turns to deacons to meet the needs of the faithful.

Historical origin of the deacon

From the 1st century AD. C Christianity was spreading rapidly and consequently the number of followers increased significantly. This circumstance caused the disciples of the church to find themselves with an excess of tasks to fulfill. Faced with this need, some apostles asked the leaders of the church to appoint a small group as assistants and thus the deacons arose, who initially were the people who served at the tables to the believers.

In this way, the apostles could focus on their activity strictly pastoral, since the deacons were in charge of organizational activities. In its original sense diakono in Greek comes from day, which means through and from konis, dust, since the early Christian deacons raised the dust when they traveled to serve others in their needs.

In the early church the elected deacons were people with spiritual qualities and a vocation of service to others. At that time, those who were appointed deacons had to be individuals with exemplary lives. Thus, in the first centuries, there was the figure of the pastor (the one who proclaims the word of God) and the deacon, who had duties of assistance. It must be taken into account that women also exercised these functions and were known as deaconesses (the historical figure of the deaconess is debated in some spheres religious, since there is no agreement on the function they exercised, for some they were women with the function of serving and others consider that the deaconess was the woman of the deacon).