May 2009 - International Diaconate

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EDITORIAL2 Deacons and the Pauline Year

Ashley Beck and Tony Schmitz

DIACONIA OF THE ALTAR4 Presiding at the Liturgy of Charity

James Keating

DIACONIA OF THE WORD14 The Holy Spirit, Interpreter of Scripture

Paul WatsonDIACONIA OF CARITAS21 Chaplaincy among Seafarers

Richard WithersTHEOLOGY OF DIACONATE31 Where are we?

Alphonse BorrasREVIEWS41 A German Catholic view of Diaconate

and DiaconiaJohn N Collins

47 Living the Mystery Bill Anderson

48 Listen to the Word Ashley Beck

49 The Church and the World David Braine

FORMATION51 Deacons as Bachelors

Neil Mercer53 Something stirring in Ireland

Kevin Doran

DOCUMENTATION55 Diaconate in the New Testament

Tony Schmitz

EVENTS1 Diaconal Spirituality: IDC Study Conference in

Vienna summary60 Patristics Conference, Rome: Diaconia, diaconiae,

diaconate, 7-9 May 200961 National Assembly of Priests and Deacons of

Scotland, 22-24 Sept 200961 National Assembly of Deacons in England and

Wales, 5-7 February 201061 DC-NEC North Europe Conference in Ushaw, 2011

Issue 2 May 2009

thinking about what it means for the visibil-ity and nature of Christian communities.The deacon’s liturgical role, standing along-side the priest at the altar, is a powerfulsymbol of the different roles we all have toplay within Christ’s Body – as the ministryof deacons becomes more and more a nat-ural part of the life of the Church, we willincreasingly feel that a celebration of theMass without a deacon present is somehowincomplete symbolically.

We are very grateful to subscribers and oth-ers for the interest and support they haveshown since the publication of our firstissue in November. We would like to reiter-ate our aims: we want to provide a ‘mixed’journal, combining material of an academ-ic nature which is not being translated intoEnglish by anyone else with articlesfocussing on the pastoral ministry of dea-cons and others in diaconal ministry. If youfind something you read here requiressome effort, don’t give up! It does us noharm to be stretched intellectually once ina while. We would like to encourage readersto submit contributions for our journal –details are given elsewhere in this issue. Weare also grateful to the editor and publisherof The Pastoral Review for their advice andsupport, and to the international leadershipof the IDC.

In this second issue we publish a paperfrom Dr James Keating (editor of TheDeacon Reader) about the specific role ofdiaconate directors, particularly in relationto the deacon’s ministry of the altar and hisspiritual life. Our first issue began with amajor article by Fr Didier Gonneaud of theArchdiocese of Dijon about the sacramen-tality of the order of deacon; we follow that

up with the first part of a further paper onthat topic by Professor Alphonse Borras. Wecontinue our retranslation of theInternational Theological Commission’sdocument The Diaconate: Perspectives onIts Development; we look at the Church’sdiaconal ministry of charity in a specificway through the experience of one of ourdiaconate students who for many years hasbeen associated with the Apostleship of theSea. Another student reflects on the newFoundation degree in Pastoral Ministryestablished by St Mary’s University College,Twickenham (in west London) which hasbeen devised partly to provide academic for-mation at degree level for diaconate stu-dents. The Synod of Bishops on the Word ofGod in the Life and Mission of the Churchin the autumn of 2008 was an importantevent in the life of the Church, andMonsignor Paul Watson reflects on theChurch’s understanding of how we shouldread Sacred Scripture, to help build up the‘Diakonia of the Word.’

This issue goes to press at the same time asthe IDC International Study Conference onDiaconal Spirituality in Vienna. We includea summary of what has happened andthere will be fuller reports in our next issue.Also in future issues we intend to includecoverage of diaconal work being done in theNetherlands and Eastern Europe and anarticle which argues why deacons should beenthusiastic supporters of the singleEuropean currency.

We welcome contributions from our read-ers, and details of style and length are to befound on the website of The PastoralReview website. Letters from readers arealso welcome. �

This second issue of the New DiaconalReview appears towards the end of the

special year in honour of St Paul inaugurat-ed by Pope Benedict XVI in June of 2008. Inmany places in the Church we have hadopportunities for reflecting about St Paul’splace in the life of the early Church and theabiding importance of his teaching: forexample, there has been a series of articlesabout him from different angles in our sis-ter journal, The Pastoral Review.

The issues surrounding diaconal ministrywhich we aim to explore in this new journalare all illuminated by St Paul’s life andteachings. We think very naturally of him asan evangelist, a preacher of the gospel: oneof the key reasons why the Church in thewest decided to restore the permanent dia-conate was evangelistic: curiously we some-times lose sight of the aspiration in manyteaching documents that deacons shouldbe engaged in evangelisation in their placesof work. This is obscured if deacons keeptheir jobs in ‘watertight’ compartments or ifmost deacons are retired or semi-retired.Proclaiming the gospel and Christian moralteaching require particular skills in a cul-ture which is increasingly hostile toChristianity: deacons, by virtue of theirstate of life and the Church’s expectationthat they should have a special knowledgeof Christian social teaching, have an indis-pensible role to play. As the Directory putsit, they are called to ‘transform the worldaccording to the Christian order’ – the cur-rent crisis in western capitalism providesnew opportunities to preach this message.

Another area is our ecclesiology. St Paul’stheology of the Body of Christ is somethingwe so easily take for granted, without really

Published November & May each year by: International Diaconate Centre – North European Circle (IDC-NEC)Ogilvie Institute, 77 University Road, Aberdeen, AB24 3DR, Scotland.Tel: 01224 638675(from outside UK: +44 1224 638675)A Charitable Company Registered in England In association with The Pastoral Review,The Tablet Publishing Company Ltd, 1 King Street Cloisters, Clifton Walk, London, W6 0GY, UK.

Website www.idc-nec.orgBoard of the IDC–NEC

Tony Schmitz (Chair), Ashley Beck, John Traynor, Nelleke Wijngaards-Serrarens, Rob Mascini (President of the IDC), Wim Tobé, Paul Wennekes, Göran Fäldt

Editors sTony Schmitz [email protected] Beck [email protected] are welcome from readers. Please send material to the editors at the e-mail addresses above. For style details please consult the website of The Pastoral Review www.thepastoralreview.org/style.shtml

Editorial consultantsDr John Collins (Australia)Rt Revd Gerard de Korte (Netherlands)Revd Dr William Ditewig (USA) Rt Revd Michael Evans (England)Revd Dr Michael Hayes (England)Revd Professor Bart Koet (Netherlands), Rt Revd Vincent Logan (Scotland), Most Revd Sigitas Tamkevicius (Lithuania)

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ISSN 1795-1902Subscriptions and membership of IDCNEC 1 year - £15 / 20 euros

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Ashley Beck and Tony Schmitz

New Diaconal Review Issue 2 3New Diaconal Review Issue 22

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Diacons and the Pauline Year

In the midst of many administrativeduties that are essential to leading a dia-

conal formation program DiocesanDirectors of the Diaconate ought not tolose sight of one vital component to theirministry: the call to bring the deacon intoa love of and fascination with all thingsholy. Directors are called by their bishop toassist him in ministering to and formingmembers of the diaconate in the mysteryof Christ’s own service. The Director’smission, then, is one that enables deaconcandidates to welcome the mind of theChurch regarding such service. Funda-mentally, the director is accountable to thebishop and the norms of diaconal life, min-istry, and formation as set down by theVatican and local directories.1

Integrated with these goals, however, thedirector endeavors to create a definitespiritual environment within the forma-tion community. One might immediatelyargue that this confuses the diaconate

cons requires such a profound spiritualitybecause of the call they receive to servethe needs of others in faith. The founda-tion for such service is the communionwith Christ that each deacon possesses ashe welcomes the mission of Christ as hisown defining reality. It is only this commu-nion that can sustain him in prayerfulfidelity to his vocation during those timeswhen the consoling fruits of such serviceare meager. Such service is to be enteredinto in a manner that relentlessly purifiesthe deacon’s own selfish inclinations4 andreplaces such with inclinations towardeager listening, accurate discernment, andready response to the needs of others. Inorder to form a diaconal community of ser-vants, the director needs to instill withinthose under his or her charge the capacityto listen, discern, and respond. Withinthese three components exists a charac-teristic diaconal spirituality that, whenmatured, enables the order of deacon tofully symbolize the work of the Churchamong those who are deficient in anynumber of areas – a poverty of mind, body,or spirit – that calls out to the deacon foran appropriate response in service.

At the very heart of diaconal identity is acoalescing receptivity to the Word (listen-ing), along with the consequent compe-tencies to discern and teach the truth,leading the deacon to enflesh in servicewhat has fully engaged his mind and heartin contemplation. As the bishop states toeach diaconal candidate at his ordination,‘Receive the Gospel of Christ, whose her-ald you now are. Believe what you read,

teach what you believe, and practice whatyou teach.’

Further, these three components of a dia-conal spirituality also approximate thethree ways the laity ought to be engaged incontemporary culture, as outlined byCardinal Cardijn in the decades before theSecond Vatican Council. This interpene-tration between the lay movements of thepre-Vatican II Church and the maturingvision of lay holiness at the Council itself isa crucial reality for the deacon to embrace,as it is he who serves the laity in their roleas transformers of culture. The deacon isembedded in culture, as is the laity, but thedeacon carries with him the mysteries ofthe altar to spiritually assist with suchtransformation in and through the gracesand competencies of ordination. This rela-tionship between the deacon, who lives alay life, and the laity, who are summonedto penetrate the culture with the mysteriesof Christ, is a foundational reality withinwhich all deacon candidates must beimmersed.

A central aspect of bringing about thetransformation of culture is to haveCatholics orient their lives by the truths ofthe paschal mystery. The paschal mysteryis the core of all Christian spirituality andcan be configured to the diaconal vocationby meditating upon how Christ’s life,death, and resurrection enables, encour-ages, and instills a servant-capacity to lis-ten, discern, and respond5. The term ser-vant-capacity refers to those charisms thatcharacteristically inhere within the dia-

Director for the spiritual director, but thatis not the case at all. The spiritual directorhas set competencies and duties that arewell known within any clerical formationsystem. Beyond these competencies thatspiritual directors bring to a formationprocess it is incumbent upon the dia-conate Director to promote the influenceof spirituality throughout all of diaconallife and ministry assuring that spiritualitywill not simply become enclosed in theinternal forum of spiritual direction and/orthe celebration of the sacrament of recon-ciliation. How is this spiritual role of thedirector to be understood and enfleshed?

Aspects of DiaconalSpiritualityThe promotion of sound diaconal spiritual-ity is within the purview of the director’smission since he or she is called by thebishop to ‘inspire’ the whole work of for-mation, either in its early stages of guidingdiaconal candidates or in duties promotingthe ongoing formation of the deacon2.Directors, therefore, must be vulnerable tothe Spirit, offering their hearts in a man-ner that opens them to share in the holi-ness of God. ‘Those entrusted with the for-mation (of deacons) must take care thatthis community be characterized by a pro-found spirituality.’3 The community of dea-

James Keating


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We aim to provide support for Diaconatedirectors and others engaged in the taskof forming deacons. Dr James Keating is adeacon and Director of TheologicalFormation of the Institute of PriestlyFormation at Creighton University, Omaha,Nebraska, USA. He is the editor of TheDeacon Reader (Mahwah, NJ.: PaulistPress, 2005). In this article he looks at theoften-neglected area of the spiritualformation of a student for the diaconateand the ways in which formators candirect this on the basis of the threefoldministry of altar, word and charity.

Presiding at the Liturgy of CharityDirecting the spiritual formation of the deacon

1 Such as that published by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, NationalDirectory for the Formation, Ministry and Life of the Permanent Deacon in the United States(Washington, DC.: USBCC, 2005), that for Scotand….and Ireland…. A new Directory ofFormation for England and Wales has been approved by the Holy See and is due to bepublished soon.

2 Congregation for Catholic Education, Basic Norms for the Formation of Permanent Deaconsand Congregation for Clergy, Directory for the Ministry and Life of Permanent Deacons(London: Catholic Truth Society 1998), section 21 of the Basic Norms.

3 Ibid., section 26.4 Directory, section 49.5 John Navone SJ, ‘The Sending of the Spirit’, Milltown Studies (Summer 2005), p. 32.

principle of his thinking.9 Such vulnerabil-ity marks the foundation for the deacon’scapacity to assist in discernment, whereinhe brings to the conversation a commu-nion with the mind of Christ as it inheresin the signs, symbols, narrative, and powerof the paschal mystery. Much more thansimply giving helpful advice, such power isthe consequence of the deacon’s involve-ment in sacred ministry. He is consciousthat his end in any discernment is to bringhimself or another more closely to com-munion with Christ and not simply to givethe person new ideas or helpful advice.

RespondingFilled with the fruits of listening andordered by the wisdom of yielding to theindwelling Spirit in discernment, the dea-con is prepared to respond to the people heserves. His response, however, is not hisown. It is a response out of the power ofcrucified love, a love that defines the dea-con and a love he is searching for withinthe sufferings of the poor he welcomes.The diaconal response is one that has itsorigin in compassion fueled by intimateknowledge of the crucified Christ. In thisway the deacon is porous to the presenceof those who suffer and delights in assist-ing them by his listening presence andwords of guidance, which give way towhatever ‘more’ the poor may need andthe deacon is capable of giving. In thiscommitment to notice and listen to thosewho are invisible to the passing age (Rom12:1-2), the deacon preserves, in a sacra-mental way, the beauty of Christ’s self-emptying love 10

In light of this general spirituality of thediaconate, what can be said to character-ize the spirituality and formation of thedeacon director? How ought the directorto lead the aspirants, the candidates, and

the voices of truth and the voices of errorwith members of the Church. This capac-ity to assist a person in his or her discern-ment is rooted in the deacon’s intimacywith the mysteries of Christ, so that herecognizes them embedded in the lifestory of each person who comes to himseeking liberation from confusion or theparalysis of indecision. His assistance indiscernment is essentially facilitated by hisstudy of the human psyche and training inthe ways of spiritual direction. These disci-plines assist the deacon by gifting him withhumility so he comes to notice that fromwithin the expertise he gained throughstudy he is weak before the wisdom of theHoly Spirit. As with all clerical formationthe deacon only relies upon guidance from

the Spirit once the asceticism of theologi-cal study has been embraced, otherwisehis judgment might be more solipsisticthan docile.The Spirit instructs the dea-con in what to say and how to say it, adirection offered in measured cadence sothat the truth can be received according tothe capacity of the counselee to receive.Rather than bringing new truth, theSpirit’s role is a new doing and actualizingof the truth.8 The Spirit particularizesone’s participation in the paschal mysteryin a fashion relevant to each person’sunique identity. The deacon’s consciousparticipation in the paschal mystery makeshim vulnerable to the Holy Spirit, affectinghis thinking, in fact becoming the very

conal vocation as it shares in the servantidentity of Christ. How should one under-stand these servant charisms? The theolo-gian and psychologist Thomas Acklin,OSB, speaks of God as ‘omni-kenotic’: Godis not only all-knowing and all-present, butGod’s very being is ordered toward self-emptying, toward self-donation (kenosis)6.If man shares in the mystery of Christ, hecomes to see that he is only fully himselfwhen he makes his life a gift of self, a lifeof self-donation in service to others. It isthis truth of who God is, which Christrevealed, that is symbolized in the publicministry of the deacon.

The deacon’s life is a sacrament becausehe embodies this mystery of Christic self-donation in and through his ordination. Itis this objective mystery that the deaconmust enter every day, so that by the end ofhis life his subjective character reflects thetruth of what Christ called him to embodythrough ordination. The charism of self-donation, of eager availability, then, liesnear the heart of diaconal spirituality. Howis this eager availability embodied?

The embodiment takes place through thedynamisms of the gift of listening, distin-guishing truth from error, and respondingto the needs of others, especially as thesedraw energy and orientation from thepaschal mystery of Christ. In this kind ofspirituality the deacon is being formed in‘strength for leadership through service.’7

ListeningAs an emissary of the bishop and one whoengages the mystery of Christ’s own obedi-ence toward the Father, the deacon is tobecome a master at listening. He must suf-fer the death of his own ego and itscacophony of voices so that he is vulnera-ble to the voice of Christ within his prayer

and the voices of those in need within hisministry. The deacon contemplates themysteries from deep within his soul – themystery of Christ’s own obedience untoHis death for the life of all and the mysteryof suffering found in the poor as they seekmeaning and relief in the Christic mystery.

Such poverty is known in the absence ofwhat is due a human person – from edu-cation to health care, from housing to food,and from employment to rest. Only thedeacon who truly listens can hold both themystery of Christ and the mystery ofpoverty in his being at one time.

Listening enables such ‘holding’ becauseof the One to whom the deacon is attend-ing in his heart: the very Word of God. It isonly out of divine power that the deaconcreatively exists in this tension; otherwisethe tension might crush him emotionally.The fruit of such contemplative listening isthe gift of discernment, of distinguishingwhat serves the good and what may under-mine it. To have discerning deacons minis-ter within society is crucial because the

church needs competent ministers torespond to all the rival spiritual and moralvoices that have arisen during this age.

DiscernmentOut of the gift and task of listening, thedeacon becomes better able to sift through


Presiding at the Liturgy of Charity – James KeatingPresiding at the Liturgy of Charity – James Keating

The deacon’s life is asacrament because heembodies this mystery ofChristic self-donation in andthrough his ordination

The deacon only relies uponguidance from the Spirit oncethe asceticism of theologicalstudy has been embraced D

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6 The Passion of the Lamb (Cincinnat: Servant Press, 2006), p.60.7 William Ditewig, ‘The Kenotic Leadership of Deacons’ in James Keating (ed.) The Deacon

Reader (Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2006), p. 277.

8 Navone, op.cit., p. 17.9 Ibid., p. 32.10 Bruno Forte, The Essence of Christianity (Grand Rapids, Mi.: Eerdmans, 2003) pp. 106-108

with which the deacon Director needs tobe familiar is very concrete and particular:a life that enters deeply into the ordinaryso as to minister the service of Christ byway of an episcopal commission. Whatspirituality can the director draw from thediaconal call in the context of this deaconbeing sent by the bishop into the mun-dane? It will be a spirituality that orientsitself by the incarnation and by all of itsmysteries, but particularly by its mysteriesof service, those relational realities thatJesus summons deacons to participate inalong with him. ‘Whoever serves me mustfollow me, and where I am, there also willmy servant be. The Father will honor who-ever serves me’ (Jn 12:26). ‘[W]hoever

wishes to be great among you shall be yourservant; whoever wishes to be first amongyou shall be your slave.... [T]he Son of Mandid not come to be served but to serve andto give his life as a ransom for many’ (Mt20:26b-28).

If the Director listens to these mysteries,he or she can better discern how to be con-figured in empathy to the call the deaconis receiving. By so doing the director canrespond to the needs of the candidates inways that lead them deeper into theirapostolic participation – in other words,deeper into the reality of what it means tobe sent by the bishop. Directors can assistdiaconal candidates with a wisdom born ofa lively engagement with these servantmysteries of Christ only to the extent that

the Director shares in the call of Christ toenter deeply into service and prayer. Forthe director, the deacon candidates, theirfamilies and deacons themselves are thepoor. They are the focus of his or her service and the means of his or her purification.

Doctor of the Church St. Thérèse ofLisieux gives a profound insight into thecharacter of diaconal spirituality when shebecomes conscious of and attempts toarticulate the core of Christ’s mystery: loveitself. The Director is called to minister asimilar vision to the deacon so that thedeacon can develop a habit of meditatingupon the greatness of this sacrament towhich he has been called. Likewise, theDirector is invited to meditate upon thisdynamism of love so that he or she canappreciate and, therefore, promote such avision. Therese says she wants to becomea ‘martyr of [Christ’s] Love’. For our pur-poses charity can be seen as the embodiedelement of the Sacrament of Holy Ordersas configured by the deacon. Thérèseexclaims,

‘I understood that if the church had abody made up of different members,the most necessary and most noble ofall members could not be lacking to it,and so I understood that the churchhad a heart and that this heart wasburning with love. I understood that itwas love alone that made the church’smembers act, that if love ever becameextinct, apostles would not preach theGospel and martyrs would not shedtheir blood.’15

Holy Orders keeps love alive in a sacra-mental way, assuring against it ‘extinction’.If no others were to love the poor, the dea-con would keep the hope of such servicealive. Within a spirituality of the diaconate,the very act of serving takes on a sacra-

New Diaconal Review Issue 2 9

the already ordained more deeply into thekenotic consciousness of Christ?

Aspects of SpiritualFormation for DeaconDirectorsIt would appear that the Director will drawnew life and focus for mission if he or sheis disposed to being affected by the listen-ing, discerning, and responding that char-acterized Christ’s own eager availability tothe poor and to His Father’s will. If theDirector is willing to submit to such atutoring, then the wisdom gained from itwill serve as a true lodestar for the forma-tion of deacons and candidates. The direc-tor, under the mission of the bishop, is tocall these men into their own appropria-tion of the diaconal identity in and beforeChrist. Authentic spiritual power will bereleased if the director is him – or herselfraptly attentive to Christ the deacon as Heappears in revelation. Spiritual sustenancecan be drawn for his or her vision of lead-ership by following the reality of Christ’sown diaconate. In this regard, John 13, thelast supper foot-washing scene, has

become an interpretive key to understand-ing the core of diaconal spirituality. Thedirector ought become vulnerable to thetruths of this account and appropriate

them in his or her own life, as well as inthe direction given to diaconal candidates.As the International TheologicalCommission concluded, ‘It is not just anyservice that is attributed to the deacon inthe Church; his service belongs to thesacrament of Holy Orders, as a close col-laboration with the bishop and the priests,in the unity of the same ministerial actual-ization of the mission of Christ’11. The dea-con is sacramentally entrusted with theservice of Christ in a way analogous to, butnot in the same exclusive fashion as, thepriest with the body and blood of Christ.The deacon, as sacramental minister, iscalled to love people in their particularityby way of the gifts noted above: listening,discerning, and responding. The deacon isnot ordained to look for ways to foster thepolitical and social love that is specified byjustice. That is the work of the laity. Thedeacon’s spirit is local, familiar, reachingout to this person now – more the work ofdirect action than devising strategies forstructural political change.12 The Director’sspirituality orients him or her to go deepwithin the ordinary and the particular andto help the deacon candidates claim suchas the arena for their service. This com-mitment to penetrating deeply into minis-tering ‘the service of Christ’ is two sided:The Director is to enter into prayer as wellas into the call from Christ to minister tothe needs of others13.Both of these consti-tute the kenotic mind of Christ that dea-cons share in and Directors attempt toinstill within aspirants and candidates.The context for this deep penetration isthe apprehension by the deacon, con-firmed by the Church, that he is to be pub-licly sent by the bishop14. The way of life

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Presiding at the Liturgy of Charity – James Keating Presiding at the Liturgy of Charity – James Keating

Spiritual sustenance can bedrawn for his or her vision ofleadership by following thereality of Christ’s owndiaconate

‘Whoever serves me mustfollow me, and where I am,there also will my servant be.The Father will honorwhoever serves me’ (Jn 12:26) D

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11 International Theological Commission, From the DIakonia of Christ to the Diakonia of theApostles (Chicago: Hildebrand, 2003), section 109.

12 I am accepting a position that clergy ought not to be directly involved in governmental affairsor the partisan political order. I find it difficult to see how a deacon could remain free topreach the Gospel while adhering to a political party platform as a public official.

13 J. Ratzinger, Journey Towards Easter (New York: Crossroad, 1987), pp. 97ff. 14 Owen Cummings et al., Theology of the Diaconate (Manwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2005), pp. 87ff. 15 St Thérèse of Lisieux, Story of a Soul (Washington, DC: ICS Publications 197), pp. 194.

a bishop’s commission. Such a commis-sion configures the deacon to Christ’s pub-lic ministry of service. When prayerfulknowledge of this rhythm of participationand commissioning inhabits the Director,then the ‘inspiration’ that is asked of himor her will be authentic. Such inspiringleadership will be born out of his or herappropriation and internalization of thediaconal mystery and not simply gleanedfrom the competencies needed to organizeand maintain his or her diocesan office.

The Diaconal Mystery: Presiding atthe Liturgy of CharityWhat does it mean then to say that theunique characteristic of diaconal spiritual-ity lies in his call to preside at the liturgy ofcharity? Meditating upon this question isvital in order to construct a firm founda-tion upon which to establish diaconal for-mation and spirituality. Understanding theliturgy of charity as a metaphor of the litur-gy of the Eucharist facilitates a clearerunderstanding of the identity of the dea-con in popular ecclesial imagination. Thedeacon presides over the work of charity as

compared with the more familiar sensethat the order of priest presides over theLiturgy of the Eucharist. In trying to graspthe nature of the diaconate we can con-template its mystery more effectively bybeholding its core spiritual efficacy around

the act of a deacon’s presidency at theliturgy of charity. The deacon does notpreside at the Eucharistic liturgy; rather,he intones, in the dismissal rite of theMass, the initiation of the liturgy of char-ity, charging all to ‘go in the peace ofChrist to love and serve the Lord’. Thispresidency is not a juridical one, but ratherone of moral and spiritual collaborationwith the mission of the laity. This collabo-ration is unique in that the deacon para-doxically embodies an official ecclesialpresence within a lay lifestyle.

Charity, as a virtue, is the participation ofpersons in the work of Christ loving HisChurch, specifically as they continue Hiswork in and through their choices to pro-mote human welfare. Those who partici-pate in the Eucharist are asked to interior-ize this mysterious self-offering of Christ sothat the truth of His actions can come todefine and empower their own. In this waythe ‘real presence’ of Christ continues intime by way of self-sacrificing love and obe-dience to the truth of the judgments ofconscience. All who worship the Father atthe Eucharist are called to incarnate theSon’s loving presence among those inneed. The deacon, however, has beencalled to Holy Orders so that an ecclesialand hierarchical symbol is maintainedwithin the world, thus giving hope that thechurch is always being sent to the poor.Unlike the priest, the words of the deacondo not institute the real presence of Christin the Eucharist. In fact, the deacon uttersno words in the ‘liturgy’ he presides over,except in the silence of his heart as it com-munes with the mystery that has claimedhis life, ‘[I] did not come to be served, butto serve’ (Mt. 20:28).

The deacon unveils the real presence ofChrist not in the manner of a priest at thealtar but in his eager availability to servethe needs of all. By doing so the deacon issustained by an intimacy with the mysteryof Christ in His promise to be really


Presiding at the Liturgy of Charity – James Keating

mental cast. In these acts by this cleric,grace is communicated in a characteristicway, in a way that establishes the hope thatcharity will never become ‘extinct’. By hisministry of charity the deacon endeavorsto keep the heart alive so as to pump bloodinto the preaching of priests and into thecourageous witness of the laity in culture.The deacon director ought enter this mys-tery of the ‘sacrament’of charity andemerge to give the deacon and deaconcandidates a clear vision of the hope theybring to the world by embodying a charitythat is sourced in God’s fidelity, a charitythat they carry within their very order. The

diaconate is, in a sense, an enfleshing ofthe virtue and gift of charity so that it willbe present somewhere in the Church at alltimes, giving hope. As Pope Benedict XVInoted in Deus Caritas Est:

‘[T]he exercise of charity becameestablished as one of [the Church’s]essential activities, along with theadministration of the sacraments andthe proclamation of the word; love for[the poor] is as essential to her as theministry of the sacraments andpreaching the Gospel. The churchcannot neglect the service of charityany more than she can neglect thesacraments and the word’16 .

The Pope notes later in the encyclical thatthe church presides in charity 17. There ismuch talk about the unique contributionof the work of the deacon, the specific actthat he performs that no one else can.What unique powers does he bring to hisministry that a priest or bishop does not18?Could the unique contribution of the dea-con be that he presides at the liturgy ofcharity in and through the power of ordi-nation and the sending by the bishop? Thebishop and priest preside at the Eucharist,and from such they are called to charity.Alternately, the deacon presides at theliturgy of charity, and so he is called toassist at the mysteries of the Eucharist.Christ is present through the deacon whenhe publicly ministers to the needy in a waythat preserves and continues the same lov-ing act of Christ. To so minister is toembody a deacon’s obedience to the mis-sion given him by the bishop. The Directoris called to enter this mystery of presidingat the liturgy of charity so that he or shecan progress in holiness but also to devel-op a vocabulary of such presiding in orderto invite the candidates and deacons toclaim this reality as their own. The direc-tor will primarily enter this mystery of pre-siding through the contemplation of theservant mysteries of Christ. From thisstance of listening the director will thendiscern what is central to the spiritual for-mation of the deacon and call those in for-mation to respond to it. By doing this thedirector configures him- or herself to theend of his or her ministry: the formation ofmen who understand, appropriate, andlive out the characteristic mark of the dia-conate. This characteristic mark is a min-istry of charity resulting from participationin the mystery of Holy Orders. It is notsimply service or charity that distinguishesthe deacon’s way to holiness, but a serviceand charity contextualized in obedience to



The diaconate is, in a sense,an enfleshing of the virtueand gift of charity so that itwill be present somewhere inthe Church at all times,giving hope

The deacon does not presideat the Eucharistic liturgy;rather, he intones, in thedismissal rite of the Mass,the initiation of the liturgyof charity, charging all to‘go in the peace of Christ to love and serve the Lord’

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service as its essence19 the deacon’s directconcern for those in need (i.e. intellectual-ly, spiritually, and charitably) is but oneexpression of the communion of servicerendered by other clergy and laity together.All who are invited to the banquet and par-ticipate in its graces are ‘compelled’ by thebeauty of such divine self-giving to tran-scend the leanings of the ego and think ofthe needs of others. When such a com-munion of service is based upon intimacywith the mystery of Christ all of our freelychosen moral and religious behaviors andcommitments invite the world to be evan-gelized. In rendering this service to the

poor, the deacon and those who ‘assist’him at the altar of service create an iconfor others to contemplate and behold. Inthis contemplative beholding during theliturgy of charity, we have something akinto Eucharistic adoration or the silence thatenfolds the elevation of the Host duringthe Eucharistic prayer. Those in the midstof secular concerns are drawn into thesight of another giving of himself withoutconcern for reward. When others with vul-nerable hearts view this diaconal service, arush of grace may enter their hearts,transforming them from gazers to partici-pants in the liturgy of charity. The deaconcan lead the laity into service, and he canlead priests into service as well.Alternately, other church members, bothclerical and lay, can inspire the deacon to

receive his vocation more fully by encour-aging him to listen for the sound of thosewho have no voice. In such humility, thedeacon appropriates and models the truenature of church as communion: forChrist to truly alive among us as One whoserves. Such truth is beautiful and whoev-er witnesses to it must be heeded; for whatis being revealed is the very nature anddignity of the human vocation. Insti-tutionally, however, it falls to the deacon toinspire the rest of the body of Christ thatsuch iconic service to those in need willalways be fixed somewhere in the nave ofculture where the liturgy of charity is cele-brated.

SummaryThe Director of the diaconate is calledupon to organize, manage, and lead theoffice that coordinates deacon life andministry. This position calls for its directorto enter into the truths of the diaconal lifeas these inhere in the dispositions to lis-ten, discern, and respond to the needs ofthe poor in charity. Beyond this, theDirector is invited to share his or her ownlove for the diaconal mystery – that life ofinterpenetration between the mysteries ofthe altar and the transformation of cul-ture. From within knowledge of this mys-tery and love for its effects upon theChurch and society, the Director drawsnourishment for his or her own soul. Fromthis sustenance, the Director guides his orher candidates into the deepest of all dia-conal realities: the commitment to presideat the liturgy of charity for the welfare ofthe whole church. �



present: ‘whatever you do to the least ofthese you do to me’ (Mt 25:45). The dea-con encounters and unveils the presenceof Christ in his commitment to assist,enable, and help further the dignity of thedeprived. In light of Mt 25: 45 we see thatChrist has identified Himself with thepoor. God eagerly desires to share this lovewith and for His people to benefit those‘who need a physician’ (Lk 5:31-32). Thedeacon’s ministry is a direct embodimentof this divine desire to share Christ’s self-giving life with all. At the dismissal rite theEucharist ‘processes’ out of the churchdoors in the hearts of parishioners not asan inert memory of a ritual that engagedonly their time, but as a living call fromChrist to go to the poor and bring hope. Inso doing, the people extend theEucharistic presence of Christ by way oftheir service to the needy.

The altar and the needs of the many areintegrated in the ministry of the bishop’senvoy, the deacon. The deacon presides bydistributing the fruit of the Mass; thedivine life within him that called him toorders now inspires, directs, sustains, andenables his outreach toward the poor.Christian hope and charity find a ‘home’within official ecclesial ministerial struc-tures by way of the deacon witnessing tothe virtue of self-donation born of theEucharist, an action at the very core of themystery of Christ. This service, of course,is spiritual, holy, and not simply the resultof ‘natural’ virtue or the fruit of a motivat-ing ethics lecture in a university. No, thisservice is the deacon’s form of Christ act-ing in him (in persona Christi). The dea-con does not share in the priesthood.Since he shares in Holy Orders, however,he receives a portion of the mystery ofChrist’s own actions. Though not Christ’ssacrificial self – offering in priestly thanksgiving, the deacon receives the portion of Christ’s own action whichinsures that the love of many will not growcold (Mt 24:12).

The deacon’s presiding in charity withinsecular realities can be likened to the para-ble of the great feast (Luke 14:15ff). Inthis story the deacon is told to go to thepoor, and fill the house of the Lord withpeople who will feast on His banquet. Thedeacon embodies an invitation from God,‘if the people will not come to me andreceive the grace of communion at wor-ship then I will go in search of them and‘compel’ them to come’. The compulsionin this case, however, is not a physical vio-lence, but a compulsion by way of beauty.United with the One in whose name hesearches for the poor, the deacon canbreak the hearts of those who witness thebeauty of love raptly attentive to humanneed. The beauty of witnessing love inaction calls people to the Banquet of theEucharist, selfless love carrying intima-tions of the incarnation. There is a diako-nia of the whole church. All who receivethe Mystery in Holy Communion are sum-moned to ‘go in Peace to love and serve theLord’, but the deacon publicly stands forthe Church in his comings and goings inthe nooks and crannies of secular culture.

It is this public identity born of his callfrom Christ and confirmed by the bishopthat makes his presiding at the Liturgy ofCharity effective and iconic.

The Laity and the Deacon’sMinistry of Presiding: aCommunion of ServiceThe deacon is the ‘helper’ or assistant toboth priests and laity. In a church that has



It is this public identity bornof his call from Christ andconfirmed by the bishop thatmakes his presiding at theLiturgy of Charity effectiveand iconic

Church members, both clericaland lay, can inspire thedeacon to receive his vocationmore fully by encouraging himto listen for the sound of thosewho have no voice D

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The recent Synod in Rome on The Wordof God in the Life and Mission of the

Church has provided the occasion for usall to consider more deeply our mission asMinisters of the Word. Certainly, it is anopportunity to reflect on this in relation tothe Diaconate. Both as a priest and havingsome responsibility for a programme of for-mation for the Permanent Diaconate, ithas been timely for my own reflections.

In the Catechism of the Catholic Churchthere are ten paragraphs under the head-ing The Holy Spirit, Interpreter ofScripture (CCC. 109-119). These para-graphs provide a very useful framework fora reflection on the Diakonia of the Word.They contain a number of key principles,which taken systematically, can suggest aseries of steps that will help to ensure that

we are interpreting Sacred Scripture withthe mind of the Church. The key ideas orprinciples can be summarised as follows:the dual authorship of the Scriptures,human and divine, leads to two intercon-nected approaches that enable us to graspboth the literal and the spiritual senses ofScripture – both senses are essential forour engagement with the living Word ofGod. Next, three hermeneutical principlesare proposed, and finally, there is a sum-mary of the ancient tradition of the foursenses of Scripture. The remaining sec-tions of this article will explore the impli-cations of these paragraphs for the min-istry of the Word in both the formation andthe life and ministry of the Diaconate.

The Dual Authorship ofScripture – human anddivineOne of the great fruits of modern scripturescholarship is that the human authorshipis being taken much more seriously.Linked to questions and debates about theprocess of inspiration, recent magisterialdocuments have asserted again and againthat the biblical authors are real or gen-uine authors, and not, as more traditionalart suggests, like dictation machines, sim-ply writing down the words whispered intheir ears by the Holy Spirit. Their writingis a genuine willed act, while the guaran-tee of inspiration is that what they havewritten is what is also willed by God. Theprimary implication of this is that our firstenquiry must be to discover what thehuman author willed and intended. It is inthis enquiry that we are to draw as fully aspossible upon the researches of scholars,using the historical-critical method, tolearn what we can about the content, gen-


Paul Watson

res, modes of feeling, speaking and narrat-ing, which make up the world of thehuman author, whether it be the authorsof the Old or New Testament books.

However, this is only the starting point, forthe Catechism goes on to say that sincethe Scriptures also have God as theirauthor, then “Sacred Scripture must beread and interpreted in the light of the

same Spirit by whom it was written”.Following Dei Verbum, the Catechism nowhighlights three criteria for interpretingScripture in accordance with the Spiritwho inspired it. These are:

� Be especially attentive to the contentand unity of the whole Scripture

� Read the Scripture within “the livingTradition of the whole Church”

� Be attentive to the analogy of faith –the coherence of the truths of faithamong themselves and within thewhole plan of Revelation.

It is these three criteria that lead us, onthe foundation and basis of the intentionof the human author, to discover the sensewilled by God. Clearly, this suggests thatwhile what is intended by the humanauthor is also willed by God, what is willed

by God can also go beyond what wasintended by the human author. This keytruth follows from the underlying under-standing of the nature of Revelation.

The Literal Sense ofScriptureRevelation is essentially grounded in histo-ry because God revealed Himself throughthe events that made up the life of the peo-ple of Israel. Before the interpretations ofthose events were written down to becomethe Scriptures, the reality of revelation,God Himself, was mediated throughevents. In a very real sense, it is the facts,the events of Israel’s history, and in theNew Testament, the fact of Christ and theevents of His life, that are the vehicle ofGod’s self manifestation. Although theevents, and their revelatory significance,are set down in writing, it is the case thatthe writing, the Scriptures do not, indeedcannot, exhaust the revelatory meaning ofthose events. As the author of the Gospelof John records at the end “there weremany other things that Jesus did; wereevery one of them to be written, I supposethat the world itself could not contain thebooks that would be written” (John 21:25).

The first consequence that follows fromthis for our ministry of the Word is that itis important to know and be familiar withthe history of Israel and the history of thelife of Christ. The first meaning of the lit-eral sense of Scripture is the actual histo-ry and the events that go to make that his-tory. What makes that history a vehicle ofrevelation is that it was a history in whichGod participated, a history shaped byGod’s action. The faith of Israel and thefaith of the early Church was precisely


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In the autumn of 2008 there took place inRome the Synod on the Word of God inthe Life and Mission of the Church.Following from this Monsignor PaulWatson reflects on our understanding ofrevelation and the scriptures. He is apriest of the Archdiocese of Birminghamand Director of the Maryvale Institutethere. The institute offers a BA honoursdegree in Diaconate Ministry which, incollaboration with the Ogilvie Institute inAberdeen, comprises the academicformation for those training to bepermanent deacons in the dioceses ofScotland.

The Holy Spirit, Interpreter of Scripture

The dual authorship of theScriptures, human and divine,leads to two interconnectedapproaches that enable us tograsp both the literal and thespiritual senses of Scripture

Since the Scriptures also have God as their author, then “Sacred Scripture must be readand interpreted in the light of thesame Spirit by whom it waswritten”

Word will remember that his narration ofthe Scriptures and his opening of theScriptures for the people also take place ina liturgical context. The Liturgy is itself anevent charged with the divine presence.The Liturgy is, first and foremost, God’sown action today – an action in which Godinvites us to participate. It is God who initiates the Liturgy, not ourselves. We are servants within the Liturgy, not itsmasters.

The Unity of the Old andNew TestamentsThe Catechism invites us all, and surelyparticularly invites ministers of the Word,to “be attentive to the content and unity ofthe whole Scripture” (CCC.112). Laterparagraphs (CCC.128-130) amplify thissentence further and quote a saying of StAugustine – “the New Testament lies hid-den in the Old and the Old Testament isunveiled in the New”. These two sen-tences, no doubt familiar to us all, containan extraordinary profundity, into whichperhaps their very familiarity can some-times prevent us from delving. Perhaps we

pass over them thinking that we alreadyunderstand that Jesus fulfils the OldTestament, and that the Old Testament isa type or a preparation for Christ.

Among modern authors, perhaps no-onehas helped to unearth the depths of the

unity of the Old and New Testamentsmore than Henri de Lubac, especially inhis masterful study Medieval Exegesis.Drawing upon the insights of countlessFathers of the Church and Medieval saintsand scholars, de Lubac shows that theunity of the two Testaments is not just asimple fact of history – that Jesus fulfilsprophecies of the Old Testament. UsingPatristic and Medieval commentaries onsuch incidents from the Gospels as theMarriage Feast of Cana and theTransfiguration, he shows that the histori-cal Fact of Jesus has a transforming,indeed transfiguring effect, upon thewhole of the Old Testament. As many com-mentators declared, Jesus changes thewater of the letter of the Old Testamentinto the wine of the Spirit. In his Gospel,Luke is the only evangelist to record thatMoses and Elijah are also transfigured.The implication is that in the presence ofJesus, and because of the presence ofJesus, the whole Old Testament is transfig-ured. The events, the laws, the persons,the wisdom and the cultic sacrifices andfestivals are transformed from the letter,which contain partial and progressive rev-elation of God, and which call for aresponse of faith and obedience to God,and become, in the transforming presenceof Jesus, charged with a new and definitivesignificance. They all – events, laws, sacri-fices, persons – become prophecy; theybecome prophecy of Jesus himself. AsJesus is revealed in the events of his life,he gives new meaning to everything in theOld Testament. At the TransfigurationMoses the law-giver becomes himselfprophecy. Pope Benedict’s book, Jesus ofNazareth,1 begins with this very truth.Moses is a prophecy of Jesus in that he isthe one who prefigures the One whoknows God ‘face to face’. Elijah theprophet, also becomes prophecy at theTransfiguration – prophecy which prefig-ures the One who will bring down the


The Holy Spirit, Interpreter of Scripture – Paul Watson

their recognition that the events were theclothing of God’s self revelation. To be intouch with God and his revelation meansto be in touch with the events of salvationhistory.

An additional dimension is to be aware alsoof the place in history from which the orig-inal human author is viewing the events.This is particularly true of the OldTestament, since the place from which theauthor is writing reveals a perspective andan intention. To take the most extremeexample, the author who put together thefirst chapters of Genesis, recountingCreation and the Fall, was probably writing

in the context of the Exile – a time whichis very late in Israel’s history. Similarly, theauthors of Deuteronomy and Chroniclesare retelling the events of the Exodus andSinai Covenant from a later perspectiveand in the light of later events.

The deeper truth at stake here is that theevents of Israel’s history, because they areevents in which God participated, arecharged with divine meaning. This mean-ing is not exhausted in the first telling.Later re-tellings in the light of later eventsbring forth further aspects of the divinemeaning. All of this meaning contains rev-elation and puts us – the readers – intouch with the living Word of God.

The same truth applies to the Gospels.The events of Jesus’ life and teaching are

also charged with divine meaning – withthe self-revelation of the Second Person ofthe Trinity. The four Gospels, written bydifferent authors, with different contextsand different perspectives, all contributeto the manifestation of the divine meaningwith which the events are charged.

Ministers of the Word must therefore besteeped in the history of Israel and in aknowledge of the life of Christ (PopeBenedict’s book “Jesus of Nazareth” alsoemphasises this point), and at the sametime, must learn to see that history andthose events of Jesus’ life, through the eyesof the authors. The events, seen throughthose authors’ eyes, are the means bywhich we today make contact with God’srevelation. There is all the differencebetween a knowledge that takes us backinto an event of the past – what theCatechism describes as “the letter thatkills” or “a dead letter” and a knowledgethat allows God, through those events andthrough those authors’ eyes, to speakdirectly to us today. The minister of theWord must know and appreciate the dif-ference between these two realities. Hemust become skilled and practiced inexperiencing the living Word, not merelythe dead letter, and must be practiced inopening this living Word for his hearers.

It is worth remembering too, especiallywith regard to the Old Testament, thatmuch of the Scripture was known andexperienced as revelation through its nar-ration and proclamation in a cultic con-text. Readings of Israel’s history becamethe occasion of renewed contact with thedivine charge, the divine voice, in the con-text of liturgical celebrations – whether itwas in the Temple, celebrations of thePassover and other Festivals. Such con-texts make it clear that, far from being anattempt to go back into a past event, thenarrations were to facilitate in the presentthe divine and living mystery which thosepast events contained. The minister of the



The events of Israel’s history,because they are events inwhich God participated, are charged with divinemeaning. This meaning isnot exhausted in the first telling

It is God who initiatesthe Liturgy, notourselves. We areservants within theLiturgy, not its masters

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1 London: Bloomsbury 2007.

The Senses of ScriptureThe last of the twelve paragraphs in theCatechism (115-119) list and brieflydescribe the four senses of Scripture – theliteral sense and the spiritual sense, thelatter being subdivided into the allegorical,moral and anagogical senses.

We have spoken of the literal and the spir-itual senses already. It remains for us toexplore a little the subdivision of spiritualsenses, for these too must be tools in thekit of the minister of the Word.

Once again, de Lubac’s great work is aninvaluable resource for us. MedievalExegesis2 is now available in English trans-lation, as is also de Lubac’s preliminarywork History and Spirit: the exegesis ofScripture according to Origen3. Both worksare rich in their exposition of the spiritualsenses.

The Allegorical Sense – the Catechismsays simply: ‘We can acquire a more pro-found understanding of events by recog-

nising their significance in Christ …’.Beneath this simple sentence is a way ofunderstanding the whole New Testament.For there is little in the New Testament –the Gospels, the Letters and the book ofRevelation – that has not already taken upOld Testament themes, images, persons

and events, and interpreted them accord-ing to their Christological significance. Atthe heart of this process is the very mys-tery of the Cross. As Pope Benedict asremarked: how was it that anyone couldinterpret, what was at first seen only as acriminal’s death for the scandalous chargeof blasphemy, in terms of the holiest eventin Israel’s liturgy – the Day of Atonement,when the high priest entered the Holy ofHolies with the blood of sacrifice? Hisanswer is that Jesus himself, notably at theLast Supper, gave his death this interpre-tation. His death turned the cult of theTemple into the shadow or type of the real-ity of Jesus’ passing through the veil.Throughout the New Testament, theauthors have described the events ofJesus’ life, death and resurrection in OldTestament terms, thus making the OldTestament into the allegory of the New.

Or rather, the literal sense of the NewTestament is the allegorisation of the Old.

The Moral Sense – a key insight in deLubac’s writings is that there are two lev-els of Moral Sense in the Scriptures – evi-dent throughout the tradition of theChurch. There is a simple level – relatedto the literal reading of Scripture. This isthe simple moral virtue that we can findthroughout the Bible incarnated in thevarious characters of Scripture: for exam-ple, the faith and obedience of Abraham,the meekness of Moses, the humility ofDavid, the fortitude of Joshua and theJudges, the wisdom of Solomon andDaniel etc. In the New Testament, all ofthe moral virtues are perfectly manifestedin Jesus, and also seen in Mary and thosecommended by Jesus – the faith of Jairus,the friends of the paralytic etc. There ismoral teaching also in the ten command-ments and in the Prophetic and Wisdom



divine fire from heaven. The discontinuitybetween Elijah and Jesus is that the divinefire that Elijah called down was a firewhich consumed and destroyed, while thedivine fire brought by Jesus is the fire ofdivine love and compassion (or “mercy” asit is described in the Magnificat). After theTransfiguration, the disciples invite Jesusto call down (Elijah’s?) fire from heavenupon the Samaritan town. Jesus refuses,then, a little later in the Gospel, speaks ofthe Good Samaritan who is ‘filled withcompassion’.

In paragraph 112 of the Catechism thereis a very significant dual mention of theheart of Jesus, opened since his Passoveror Passion. There is also a quote from StThomas Aquinas’ Exposition on thePsalms (21:11) – “The phrase ‘heart ofChrist’ can refer to Sacred Scripture,which makes known his heart, closedbefore the Passion, as the Scripture wasobscure. But the Scripture has beenopened since the Passion …”. It is Jesusalone who opens up the obscure depths ofthe Old Testament. And this occurs at thetime of His Passion. It would appear thatthere are two distinct elements here, ascertainly Luke testifies. The first is Jesustransforming the Old Testament intoprophecy (at the Transfiguration – or atleast the Transfiguration reveals that atransformation has taken place). The sec-ond, again in Luke, is that, at the moment

of his death, the veil of the Temple is tornfrom top to bottom – the veil that separat-ed sinful humanity from the presence ofGod. Once opened, Jesus passes throughthe veil into the Father’s presence –‘Father, into your hands I commend myspirit’. At the Transfiguration, Moses andElijah have become united with Jesus,bound to Him as prophecy to fulfilment, sothat when the disciples look up while onthe mountain, they see ‘no one but ONLYJESUS’. In his death, as He passesthrough the veil into the Father’s pres-ence, Jesus takes the Old Testament(Moses and Elijah) with him. Jesus hasnow definitively become the unity of theOld and New Testaments. The Old is nowone with Him forever; its true meaning isnow disclosed – its true meaning is toreveal Jesus. To put the cap on this, as itwere, Luke finally recounts the incidenton the road to Emmaus – AFTER the pas-sion and resurrection. Now Jesus canexplain to the disciples that the whole ofthe Scripture (the Old Testament) is refer-ring to himself.

The minister of the Word must be one forwhom this disclosure of the unity of theOld and New Testaments in Jesus hasbecome a reality. We are not to be likethose who read the Old Testament with aveil covering our minds – as Paul declaresin 2 Cor 3. Rather, Paul says, ‘when a manturns to the Lord the veil is removed’. Forus too, in the Cross of Jesus, there is anopening of our minds and hearts. ‘And weall, with unveiled face, beholding the gloryof the Lord (sic. presumably as we readthe Old Testament), are being changedinto his likeness from one degree of gloryto another;’ (2 Cor 3:18). Like St Paulhimself, our conversion is not simply aconversion to Jesus, but also a conversionto the spiritual reading of the OldTestament – to seeing Christ revealed inevery page: ‘For this comes from the Lord,who is the spirit’ (2 Cor 3:18).



“The phrase ‘heart of Christ’can refer to Sacred Scripture,which makes known hisheart, closed before thePassion, as the Scripture was obscure. But theScripture has been openedsince the Passion …”Thomas Aquinas

‘We can acquire a moreprofound understandingof events by recognisingtheir significance in Christ …’

2 Edinburgh: T&T Clark 2000.3 Henri de Lubac & Anne Eglund Nash. History and Spirit: The exegesis of Scripture

according to Origen (San Francisco: Ignatius 2007).

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The Apostleship of the Sea benefitsimmensely from the ministry of a num-

ber of deacons who visit seafarers onboardtheir vessels whilst in port. It is a ministryI would heartily recommend to those read-ers living within reach of a port. It’s a min-istry to be encouraged too, for there is ashortage of personnel available to ministerto seafarers. It is my hope that this itemmay be of some encouragement not leastbecause seafarers, whilst having similarconcerns to the rest of the human racehave the added stress of separation fromloved ones, family and church. There is aloneliness that can come about all too eas-ily in the life of a seafarer and contact withsomebody in the ministry can be a ‘lifeline’... a brief time of friendship with a stranger

who is trustworthy and endeavouring to bea witness to the Gospel.

Ministry among mariners has a long histo-ry and the seasoned sailor will spread theword among his younger contemporariesof the worth of missioners; it is often thecase that a missioner will be sought outsoon after arrival in port.

Should your location and other considera-tions allow it, please do consider ministryamong seafarers, the rewards will be great.For almost two years I enjoyed theimmense privilege of chaplaincy in mar-itime ministry with the Apostleship of theSea, which is an official agency of theCatholic Church in England and Walesand in Scotland.

The Apostleship has an ecumenical part-nership with the Mission to Seafarers whokindly share office accommodation andthe use of mission chapels with AOS per-sonnel. I was based in Newport, SouthWales, and from here visited ships as farwest as Swansea. A tremendous variety ofvessels visit these docks. In terms ofdimensions and crew numbers about 10%of the vessels I visited would weigh in at200,000 to 250,000 tons. These vesselsbring huge amounts of coal and iron ore tothe deep water harbour at the Margamsteel plant, Port Talbot – and would typi-cally be manned by a crew of 25 souls. Athird of the vessels are of between 45-55,000 tons and will be manned by up to28 seafarers; while two thirds will besmaller vessels of between 6- 25,000 tonswhich require from seven to about 17 sea-farers to operate safely. The South Walesregion is placed forth in the U.K. for inter-national crews – that is shipping that isother than European in port of origin. Thismeans that one can expect a vessel fromalmost anywhere in the world. Crews arepredominantly from China, Russia, thePhilippines, Korea, Indonesia, Burma,


Richard Withers

In this journal we are including articlesabout different forms of diaconalministry which are carried out in thename of the Church, but not necessarilycarried out by permanent deacons.Richard Withers has helped with andworked for the Apostleship of the Seaand is now a first year student for thediaconate in the Archdiocese of Cardiff.

Chaplaincy among seafarers:some stories

Literature generally, as also in the teachingof Jesus and the New Testament letters.

But de Lubac identifies also what he callsa ‘mystical’ moral meaning. By this hemeans that by virtue of our being united toChrist by charity. The virtues prefigured inthe Old Testament and perfectly presentin Christ are being actualised again todaywithin each Christian soul. This is not theresult of moral exhortation, but of beingconformed to the image and likeness ofChrist himself. To reiterate Paul’s words:‘we … are being conformed to his likeness,from one degree of glory to another’ (Cor

3:18). It is a work of the Spirit to make areality in us, those very realities, especiallythe virtues, which were first revealed inIsrael and perfected in Jesus. Once again,the Liturgy is the primary location for thisinterior transformation.

The Anagogical Sense – this followsfrom what was said about the Moral Sense.The interiorisation of Christ’s virtues – acommunicatio idiomatum (communica-tion of idioms) between Christ and theindividual soul – is a temporal project. Weare gradually being conformed, day by day,as our lives progress. However, there is asense also in which Christ himself is animage and a prefigurement of the TotusChristus in heaven. The Totus Christus isthe whole Christ – head and members – asHe shall come to be in the parousia. TheAnagogical sense is also mystical, in that

our contemplation of Christ in Scripture(Old and New Testaments) lifts us into aglimpse of the heavenly reality – the wholeChrist final and perfected. Many keythemes of the Bible, especially Marriageand Bridal themes, Jerusalem, theTemple, the Promised Land, Israel and, ofcourse, Christ Himself, become doorways– in the broadest sense, sacramental signs,of the heavenly reality, which is the goal forwhich we long and look for in hope.

The three senses can be summarised asbuilding Faith (allegorical sense), Charity(Moral sense) and Hope (anagogicalsense). It is not an exaggeration to say thatthe whole Tradition of the Church is noth-ing short of the unfolding of the four sens-es of Scripture throughout history. Theframework that these few paragraphs ofthe Catechism provide for a minister of theWord is itself a Diakonia of immensevalue! �



The three senses can besummarised as buildingFaith (allegorical sense),Charity (Moral sense)and Hope (anagogicalsense)

There is a loneliness thatcan come about all tooeasily in the life of aseafarer and contact withsomebody in the ministrycan be a ‘lifeline

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get a chance to go ashore and relax a little.Evening time provides a good time to visitcrews, the stevedores are finished work,and the crews are at their most relaxed.One might well find oneself relaxing withthem in the crews mess. Most of the offi-cers on board speak some English, theyneed to in order to make their way up theprofessional ladder, and they are normallyon hand and happy to interpret for thecrew members who are not so familiarwith the English language.

It is not unusual to be on board for an houror two conversing with perhaps a dozen orso seafarers sharing a wide ranging con-versation in an effort to learn of each oth-ers culture, political and governmentalsystems, standards of living, typicalincome, domestic expenditure, taxation,family life, education, leisure, pursuits…

all manner of details of particular interest.Many are happy to talk of God and areinterested to hear of my faith. I wouldmake reference openly regarding God onfirst meeting with crew members, invokinga blessing to begin with. It wouldn’t do for ‘God’s man on the dock’, (a referenceonce made by a certain fresh faced cap-tain) to miss an opportunity to witness!Occasionally a Captain from the formerEastern Block will draw me aside to speakregarding how uncommon it is to hearsomebody on his vessel speaking this way.Until quite recently of course, dependingon which part of the USSR one lived in,you would have to practise your faith withthe utmost care. Many a Russian sailor hasshared with me how his great-grand-par-ents, grand-parents and parents hadshared their faith with the younger mem-bers of their families. A Russian officer


India, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Lithuania,Romania, Ukraine, Turkey, Greece, Spain,Portugal, Poland, Sri-Lanka and Iran ;there are very few British seafarers thesedays, the above mentioned nations canprovide labour at far lower costs.

Cargoes and their origin vary tremendous-ly: Coal imported from Brazil and Russia,iron ore from Goa and Canada; wood andsteel products from as far as China, Russia

and Scandinavia; railway engines fromNorth America; fertiliser from Egypt andcontainerized cargoes of anything at allfrom anywhere in the world! Rarely did Isee the same vessel more than once andeven then, should one come across thesame vessel twice, it’s not at all likely to bemanned by the same personnel. Seafarersgenerally join ships at different times andplaces depending on the details of theirindividual employment contracts. It is rarethat one finds a vessel manned by a crewentirely of the same nationality.

Newport is one of the ports on the globalcircumnavigation schedule of the Chinese/ Polish joint venture shipping companynamed Chipolbok. Several times a year aship of this company will visit Newportwith a mix of general and containerisedcargoes. Her previous ports of call will

have been New Orleans, Corpus Christi orHouston, having previously traversed thePanama Canal, called at a west (U.S.)coast port or two and originated in China.From Newport she will depart to Jeddah,then on to Dubai, Bombay, Singapore,Korea, Japan and finally reaching onceagain her port of origin in China… only toleave two days later to begin yet anothercircumnavigation. Twice around the worldtakes nine months. This is the typicallength a contract for the average seafarer,who in the case of these vessels will beprincipally of Chinese or Polish origin; agood number of cadets are in evidence onboard; these particular vessels provide fora uniquely varied training in seamanship… general cargo vessels being seen as thetoughest test of all for seafarers.

I made mention of the above voyage todraw attention to the particular needs ofseafarers on different types of vessels.Container ships can load and unload veryquickly. Thirty tons at a time is lifted on oroff in a matter of minutes, while bulk car-goes are lifted off and onto a vessel inmuch smaller quantities in a similar timeframe. Hence container vessels are in andout of port often within twelve hours.Depending on their shift some of the crewmight have time to take a short walk onterra firma, whilst the other shifts willeither be working or sleeping. Other typesof vessels may spend days in port enablingthe crew members to take more extendedleisure time; an all too rare luxury in thelife of a seafarer these days.

Since 9/11, America and Arabia havebecome ‘closed’ to visiting seafarers, theyare seen as a security risk. Happily theU.K. hasn’t taken this viewpoint and forseafarers particularly on these circumnav-igation voyages, (with a U.S. port their lastport of call and Jeddah, Arabia their next),Newport offers an opportunity to take awell deserved break. The vessels willextend their time here so that all the crew


Chaplaincy among seafarers: some stories – Richard Withers Chaplaincy among seafarers: some stories – Richard Withers

I would make referenceopenly regarding God onfirst meeting with crewmembers, invoking ablessing to begin with. It wouldn’t do for ‘God’sman on the dock’, to missan opportunity to witness! D

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Fr John Cole, currently parish priest in Tredegar (Cardiff Diocese) celebrating Mass on board a bulkcarrier, in Newport dock

spotted Tintern Abbey and wished toexplore and have the obligatory pho-tographs taken. We drove on toMonmouth. As the sun began to set wewalked over the ancient bridge with itsstone arch and I drew their attention tothe town cross which had been recentlyrenovated. They took some photographsand then noticed the nearby church. Theywent on ahead to explore it whilst I stud-ied the cross. Moments later I strolled overto the Church to find them sat in silence

gazing at the architectural features andstained glass window beyond the sanctu-ary. They were tremendously grateful forthe trip and indicated that they had beenenriched spiritually. Rural splendour andsacred places … such a contrast from amerchant ship which I compare with afactory, metal all around, the constantthrobbing and humming of engines andgenerators accompanied by the often over-whelming characteristic odour of whatevercargo is in the hold. Seafaring has its diffi-culties on many different levels for theindividuals concerned.

A particular Christian individual comes tomind whose habit it was to seek the Lordonce his vessel was secured on a quay wall.His name was Roshan and he was aCatholic merchant captain from SriLanka. I met him in Swansea and he

wanted to share his witness to the Lord inhis life. He began by explaining that what-ever part of the world he had found him-self in he had never in many years, failedto receive the Lord in Holy Communion.And Swansea proved no exception. He hadmade his way towards the nearest spire hecould see, on the evening of his arrival.The first church was indeed a Catholicchurch, but the religious sister whoanswered the door that evening had to tellhim that a priest was no longer in resi-dence. She pointed him in the direction ofthe next nearest Catholic Church. After afew wrong turnings and enquiries as to thecorrect directions, he found himselfknocking on the presbytery door of StDavid’s church in the centre of Swansea ata late hour. He prayed that the Lord wouldhelp him after having received no reply tohis first knock on the door. After furtherknocking to no effect he reluctantly turnedto leave only to see the Parish Priestbehind him – he had been out walking.(Unknown to Roshan he could not havemet a more generous and gracious individ-ual in Swansea than Fr Luke WaringO.S.B.). Invited into the church Roshanknelt before the tabernacle and receivedthe Lord (from the hand of a stranger andbrother in the faith) in yet another farflung place. Once in Japan, where, as hisvessel manoeuvred onto a quay, he imag-ined he’d never find a priest, he thought,how could Our Lord be present for mehere? On tying up the agent boarded theship and his first and extraordinary wordsto the captain were “There’s a youngwoman waiting for you on the quay!”Roshan was surprised to hear this, for heknew no one in Japan! The young womanwas invited aboard; she was dressed inmodern casual clothing: T-shirt and jeanswith a small crucifix around her neck. Shewas a religious Sister with a chaplaincyrole enquiring of Roshan if he, or anyoneelse onboard, would wish to receive theLord! The following day a priest travelledby car some 50km to celebrate mass


once told me “They (politicians) caninform us of whatever they wish… butthey don’t capture my heart.” As he spokehe reached into the neck of his jumper,revealing an item of religious significance.

It is not at all uncommon to have aChinese crew member catch you up as youwalk along the quay side on leaving his ves-sel (or later at the Seaman’s Club) seekingprivate time in order to witness to Christopenly; perhaps something he senses he isunable to do in conversation on board hisvessel. Such an occurrence is likely to be awonderfully gracious and joyous time forboth seafarer and missioner. I keep somescripture in Chinese that I am able toshare with such seafarers. (The reader isprobably aware that there are great dispar-ities across the provinces of China regard-ing religious freedom). On one occasion Icame across a North Korean crew and wasgetting nowhere fast! (You can’t fault aman for trying)! So I visited the next shipalong the quay. Having had time on thissecond vessel I had to drive past theKorean ship to exit the quay. As I was dri-

ving four seamen attracted my attention asthey were descending the accommodationladder. I stopped and they ran over excit-edly (I was momentarily confused) theyspoke in good English as they voiced theirrelief at finding a missioner. They wereBurmese Christians, one Catholic andthree Baptists. They were serving a nine

month contract with this crew of atheists!Imagine their joy at having their firstrequest granted; that was, to visit achurch, meet a priest and receive a bless-ing. I’ll never forget that blessing. OurParish Church is located in the centre ofthe shopping area of the city. It was a fewdays before Christmas, the church wasclosed so I knocked the presbytery door. Tomy relief Fr John answered, and agreed, ofcourse, to the request to bless these souls.He stepped out onto the street and theseafarers immediately fell to their kneesamidst the throng of Christmas shoppers.It made a moving scene for me, the starkcomparison… a moment of the profound-ly spiritual amidst the spectacularly secu-lar. The memory of such occurrences arefood for the soul in times of trial on themissionary trail.

Frequently seafarers will note prominentchurch spires as they approach port andwhen their time comes to spend sometime ashore they will ask, “How do I get tothe church on the hill?” One imaginesthey seek what we seek in a church; timewith their God, in a building set aside forprayer, peace, tranquillity, restoration, rest… and for some (depending on their faith)an opportunity to receive the Lord.

Incidentally, I have found that in a similarmanner to most of us on holiday, seafarerswith a love of God will seek out that God inthe sacred spaces of the particular culturethey happen to find themselves in. A com-mon question is “Where’s the Icon?!”

I remember well five friends workingtogether in an Iranian crew – on anIranian vessel; they were cooks and stew-ards. They expressed a wish to do somesight seeing. Two of them spoke Englishwell and it became apparent that theywere serious Muslims. So we set off to visita local Mosque. The weather was warmand fine so I headed for the rural splen-dour of the Wye valley. My companions


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She was dressed in moderncasual clothing: T-shirt andjeans with a small crucifixaround her neck. She was areligious Sister with achaplaincy role enquiring ifanyone onboard, would wishto receive the Lord

Fr John agreed, of course, tothe request to bless thesesouls. He stepped out ontothe street and the seafarersimmediately fell to theirknees amidst the throng ofChristmas shoppers


onboard the vessel. Roshan needless to say,still praises the Lord for such lavish loveand concern for him. Now and again wemissioners find such a treasure as Roshanwho witness to us in turn and lift us up forthe next part of our own journey.

Before he left South Wales (his final dis-charge was in Cardiff) a local priest, FrGeorge Areekhuzy (who incidentally hasnephews serving as merchant mariners),was happy to consent to celebrating Massonboard and to bless the ship at therequest of the crew who had joined thevessel in China at the start of this voyageand contract.

I was greatly blessed in my ministry by thegenerosity of so many Religious, resource-ful friends and parishioners. A religioussister of the congregation of the Sisters ofSaint Joseph of Annecy donated many anitem of a religious nature and I was able topass on to Roshan a sizable statue of OurLady. Completion of his voyage was to beLisbon, Portugal. (“Near enough to Fatimafor a day trip,” I suggested). On his arrival

home he e-mailed me thanking me for thetime we had spent together and the giftsgiven. He had made the trip to Fatima andwas delighted to have collected a few sou-venirs from the shrine.

I quote from his e-mail….. ‘Believe me

Richard, the Lord has been taking me on ajourney that I never experienced in mylife. I am learning to surrender myself tothe Lord. I am learning to be God depen-dent rather than being self-sufficient.

My visit to the Fatima Shrine was an equalmiracle to my visit to St David’s(Swansea). It’s a marvellous story for me.I keep telling my church friends and rela-tions about it. They are overjoyed and sur-prised to hear. In short that visit was anicing on the cake. The final packing to thecake is still being done. That of course, isnothing but the book you gave me. It’s agem! I can’t tell you how much I am enjoy-ing it. I am carrying it in the car and read-ing in the night, in the afternoons and(excuse me for this), even in the toilet! Attimes it challenges me; at times it is ME inthe book. It is a great book!1’ His final para-graph reads, ‘Mother Mary’s statue thatyou gave me is on our dining table. It is atreasure for me. Believe me Richard, overthe past years of my sailing, when Ireturned home, I used to purchase a bot-tle or two from the duty free shop forChristmas or Easter. It was a must, if nota ritual. This time my bag containedMother Mary and all the items I pur-chased from Fatima shrine, not alcohol.What a difference, isn’t it?’

A powerful witness, isn’t it? One can’t helpbut feel humbled; such is the stuff ofchaplaincy – ministry of all kinds nodoubt. Perhaps unique to maritime chap-laincy is the literally ‘here today gonetomorrow’ nature of work with seafarers,and the possible brevity of contact withindividual seafarers. There can be a clarityin brevity; a firm hand shake – a blessing,the gift of a miraculous medal or someother object of devotion… any combina-tion of the above infact, maybe a triggerthat causes a soul to soar heavenward.

For sure chaplaincy with seafarers is won-derfully rewarding; there are so manybeautiful souls floating about on theoceans of the world, and likely just asmany to be gained for God. I once lived inthe Arabian Desert and I often recall thegentle answer to a somewhat naïve ques-tion I once asked of an old Bedouin as wesat cross legged on the ground, “Why doyou live in such a place?” I said whilst sift-ing a handful of desert dust. He repliedwith a sage like glance and smile, “If you

live close to nature you live close to God”.(Ask a garden lover and I imagine he/ shewould say the same.) So I can see why somany seafarers question the sanity of a lifespent day after day, year after year plough-ing through seemingly endless seascapes,perhaps some are yet to fully acknowledgethe challenging truth of their call to thesea– when you live close to nature you liveclose to God. They’ll shrug their shouldersand exclaim, “It’s in you; it’s in yourblood”. I nod agreement…God is captivat-ing. He created all. How could we not becaptivated; enraptured by the work of Hishand? Such an extravagant love lavishedon us. How bewilderingly beautiful andstrong, fragile and lovely it all is. Suchyearning He generates in us, calling us inour restlessness to a ‘desert experience’ –our hearts’ desire, amid this world of dis-tractions that we have fashioned.

‘Within such a relatively small, somewhatclosed community how do you handle thearrival of a new crew member (perhaps heis relatively new to seafaring), and is foundto be somewhat challenging?’ I put thatquestion to Uri, a young Ukrainian chiefofficer. He explained that nothing need bedone or said; they themselves know soonenough if they are going to enjoy the sea-farer life or not and more often than notleave after the first trip. This is borne outin my experience of meeting with crewsover the past couple of years. They ‘rubalong’ generally very well in full knowledgeof the multi- cultural nature of the envi-ronment; and among the many demandsof the job most of them recognise the needto watch out for each other. I rememberwith fondness the friendships I witnessedamong seafarers of different racial andcultural backgrounds. It is not uncommonto find for example, four nationalitiesamong a crew of seven souls! Of coursethe diversity of faith among crew membersis an essential element in the respect andcare they show each other. In inter-faithdialogue agreement on the ‘One God’ isquickly voiced and exhibited often enoughby the production of a small item of reli-gious significance. I have not witnessedbelievers being challenged by non believers(who may well be in the minority amongseafarers). On a dark night taking a shift atthe helm or on watch far out in the ocean,with only the pale moon and the stars forcompany; or tossed in the massive seas dri-ven by hurricane force winds propellingyour vessel down the Pacific Coast ofNorth America – how, one might question,can a seafarer not be acquainted with themystery that is God…in all things… every-where? I imagine a great deal of prayer –in – earnest takes place whilst at the helm!Many a seafarer must utter a word ofthanksgiving on safe arrival at the nextport of call. And I know from experiencethat many will seize the opportunity to par-ticipate in a time of prayer when a priest ormissioner visits their vessel.


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Perhaps unique tomaritime chaplaincy is the literally ‘here todaygone tomorrow’ nature of work with seafarers

1 Brenan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel: Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat- up and Burnt Out(Sisters, Oregon: Multnomah, 2000)

Of course the diversity of faithamong crew members is anessential element in therespect and care they showeach other. In inter-faithdialogue agreement on the‘One God’ is quickly voicedand exhibited often enough

quizzically and in response he shrugged ashoulder and said in a tired tone of resig-nation ‘We get what we can’. Here inSouth Wales I have been particularlyblessed with the friendship and kindnessof many priests who have made time totravel to vessels in order to celebrate Mass,hear confessions and give priestly counselwhen it has been required. It is a rare andgreat source of joy for a merchant marinerto meet with a priest who has come to cel-ebrate in his ‘home’.

A couple of final thoughts: a definition ofChaplaincy might have been more usefulat the beginning of this script, however(better late than never). Here’s one that Icame across recently, for which I have tothank Paul R. King of the Methodistchurch: Chaplaincy is a form of ministrywhich may be said to exist where one ormore representatives of religious organisa-tions are formally recognised in an institu-tion or context beyond the normal ecclesi-astical structures. I like the simplicity; itsits well as a needful counter balance towhat can sometimes seem a complex task.

Finally, a humorous tale from recent expe-rience. The occasion was a lunch timemeeting with a fellow chaplain of a differ-ent denomination. We were chatting gen-erally and got on to the subject of the vary-ing approaches one might adopt whenboarding ships. We agreed that with so

many different nationalities and culturalnorms to observe, it’s not uncommon inmoments of quiet reflection to find onesself laughing aloud at the gaffs and otherextraordinary occurrences. Before I hadchance to contribute my friend was almostmoved to a state of collapse as he recalledsome of his most recent comical moments.Amidst laughter I offered a few sentencesof my own, which caught his imaginationand off he went fantasising aloud, extrapo-lating regarding my approach. ‘So it’s sim-ilar to that of J.W.’s then, is it? You know,getting out … knocking the doors’ (in ourcase jumping on board) ‘surprising com-plete strangers, most of whom gaze on youin utter disbelief as you venture into a briefseries of split second assessments of inter-personal process regarding how best toproceed with this unsuspecting individual,who’s fallen prey… and who’s meagregrasp of English you are now exploiting tothe point where you decide to abandon itcompletely in favour of the light hearted,good natured – Bon Homie! – BEAR-HUG approach, which you know… (anindex finger stabs the air in my direc-tion)… may have an alarming effect!Catch them of guard don’t you?!’ It is suchmoments as these that can help immense-ly for this quayside ministry can be a lone-ly furrow. Thankfully God doesn’t onlywatch from a distance. He indwells … inall of us, and all things. �

I would like to recommend to you theecumenical chaplaincy course at St Cuthbert’s College, Ushaw, nearDurham. Email: [email protected] of possible interest to thoseconsidering Chaplaincy within theirworking environment… IndustrialChristian Fellowship is a nationalecumenical membership organisationsupporting and equipping God’s peoplefor their ministry and vocation in theworld of work. www.icf-online.orgFor further information on theApostleship of the Sea go towww.apostleshipofthesea.org.uk or call 02075888285.


Chaplaincy among seafarers: some stories – Richard Withers

From time to time when Catholics areamong the crew I am able to take a priestto their vessel having made preparationsfor the celebration of Holy Mass in a desig-nated area of the ship. When the priestarrives on board, word gets around andcrew members introduce themselves indi-cating that they would like to participate.Whatever their faith they come and enterinto a celebration of spiritual significanceperhaps experiencing community with anew and deeper understanding. Mass inthis context contains longer periods ofsilence in order that members of each faithmay have time to peacefully recall prayersthat they are familiar with from withintheir own traditions. The homily will focuson the One God, who is love and to whomwe belong. He knows us intimately andcalls us by name. It is He to whom we givethe honour, praise and glory, and he waitsfor us and will welcome us when we leavethis life, to be with Him in a new way.

At times in these peaceful moments onboard I look around the faces of those I’mprivileged to share a brief time with andnot infrequently it occurs to me that thismay be the last celebration these particu-lar souls will participate in; for paradoxi-cally the challenge of the unpredictablewill be a feature of the life of those whochose to live so close to nature … so closeto God. Twenty-five lives and ten vesselsare lost each month on the Oceans of theWorld. A grave statistic; the true cost ofglobal sea trade in the 21st century.

It is not at all common that Mass is said onboard merchant vessels. Recently aCaptain told me it was probably ten yearsor more in his experience. Previouslyanother Captain told me it had been twoand a half years and that he couldn’tremember what port it was in, but hecould remember that it was in SouthAfrica and in a Baptist Church! I frowned


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eviewRThePASTORAL

Chaplaincy is a form ofministry which may be said to exist where one or morerepresentatives of religiousorganisations are formallyrecognised in an institution or context beyond the normalecclesiastical structures

For a thousand years, the permanentdiaconate had no place in the Latin

Church. Undoubtedly, it is here that onemust look for the principal reason for thetheological deficit relative to the ministryuntil to dawn of Vatican II. It is, in fact, thismost recent Council which decided thepossibility that local churches should re-establish the permanent diaconate.(Dogmatic Constitution on the Church,Lumen Gentium 29b). The Fathers of theCouncil based their decision on certaintheological statements which, subsequent-ly, would clarify the restoration of this min-istry and at the same time would developthe theological basis of the diaconate,especially its clear and firm sacramentalstatus.1 In the following pages, after recall-ing the pastoral usefulness which hasaccompanied the restoration of this min-istry, I will present what, in my eyes, seemsto be the theological gain which has cometo us as a consequence of the sacramen-tality of the diaconate.

Missionary concerns andpastoral needs This is not the place to recall what led up,in the days preceding Vatican Council II, tothe contingent necessity of restoring thediaconate as a permanent role. Everythinghad shifted, as we know, with the formida-ble preoccupations in Germany duringWorld War II and, in France, at the end ofthat war. On the eve of the Council, amongthe ten preparatory Commissions three ofthem examined the possibility of restoringthe diaconate. Two of them took under con-sideration the shortage of priests, the pres-sures on the latter, and the usefulness ofsome assistance with the work of evangeli-

sation among non-Christians. But followingthe discussion of the central Commission,even if a small majority took account of thediaconate as a remedy for the shortage ofpriests, others accorded importance to theexperiment of establishing a twofold clergy,the presence of married deacons, and, sig-nificantly, the problems which this wouldpose for a celibate priesthood. While speak-ing, at this stage, of establishing the dia-conate, the Fathers of the Council wereactually speaking of something quite differ-ent: in fact, about priestly celibacy. Couldthe Latin Church undertake the ordinationof married deacons without putting priestlycelibacy at risk?

The debates of the Council quickly cen-tred on the schema of the TheologicalCommission whose 12th chapter touchedon the permanent diaconate. This text wasset out for discussion from the 4 October1963. The diaconate would certainly com-plement the hierarchy, notably in the eyesof the German bishops, but it would haveto be conferred on men already exercisingdiaconal functions with a view to helpingpriests, alongside the poor but also for pas-toral needs, especially in diaspora circum-stances. Reservations were maintained as


Alphonse Borras

This article is the first part of a paperwritten by Father Alphonse Borras, whois Professor of Canon Law at theCatholic University of Louvain and VicarGeneral of the diocese of Liège. It is asequel to ‘The Sacramentality of theDiaconal Ministry’ by Father DidierGonneaud which appeared in our firstissue. The second part of this paper willappear in our next issue.

Where are we?


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1 I have no hesitation in noting, following Didier Gonneaud, that a sound logical doctrinecentred on sacramentality will, however, be insufficient if it does not connect with a theologyof real experience, an understanding of the community, an affinity of the order of diaconatewith the theology of the local church, and a consideration of the relation of that church withthe world. See D Gonneaud (2003) ‘A lecture on the document of the InternationalTheological Commission: The Dioaconate: its evolution and perspectives’ in Nouvelle RévueThéologique, 125, pp.414-416.

Where are we?

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aged as being for celibate young men,reserving to the Pope permission to extendthe ordination to married candidates. Onthe basis of this text of the 21 September1964, votes were cast for the diaconate ofthe future, enshrined in No.29 of theConstitution on the Church: this descrip-tion of the diaconate garnered 2055 out ofa total of 2152 voters; the admission ofmarried candidates of mature age wasagreed by 1598 out of 2229 voters; thecontingency of accepting young men with-out an obligation of celibacy was acceptedby 1364 out of 2211 voters.

The promulgation, one year later, of theDecree on the missionary activity of theChurch brought to light different

emphases on the tasks committed to per-manent deacons: there is a move from thestress in section 29 of LG on the principalliturgical duties of the deacon – followingfrom which are tasks of charity and admin-istration – to an emphasis on duties con-nected to the preaching of the Word in therole of catechists, and, in the name of theparish priest and bishop, to duties of char-ity and works of welfare and care to under-privileged communities. These differencesof emphasis reveal tensions which werepresent from the beginning of the discus-sions of reactivating the permanent dia-conate. The impression which one comes

away with is of a diaconate directed totasks which until that time were assumedby priests or catechists.

For the historian Daniel Moulinet, the textpromulgated by LG 29 witnesses to hesita-tions and ambivalences among the Fathersof the Council: on the one side, the dia-conate could appear to the eyes of some asa prelude to the advancement of marriedmen to the priesthood; on the other, thequestion of its establishment stimulatedsome to re-evaluate priestly celibacy. Itremains the case, however, that theFathers of the Council viewed the ministryof permanent deacons as an aid to priestsin the service of charity. Their decision,nevertheless, enshrined consequences forthe future: these were to find their firstexpression in the Motu Proprio Sacrumdiaconatus ordinem, of 18 June 1967.4

Forty years later, the InternationalTheological Commission does not fail tonote, at the same time as it identifies twodistinct models – one as assistance topriests and the other as a diaconate ofcharity5 – those tasks on which emphasis isplaced as defining ‘primacy of urgency inthe life of the Church’, (if one may use theexpression of LG 29a). In the eyes of theFathers of the Council, writes the afore-mentioned Commission, the duty for pas-toral care of the faithful which makes upits different tasks, is ‘the determining fac-tor for the restoration of the permanentdiaconate in the local Church.’ (p.86) Thispastoral usefulness, which is the highestpriority is, definitively, ‘the care of souls’(cura animarum), and it becomes thedecisive element in the re-establishmentof the diaconate.

regards a married diaconate. In this waysome remedy was found for the shortage ofpriests and for stalling the haunting spec-tre of interfering with priestly celibacy, per-haps the first stage on the road to a mar-ried priesthood). In this way the Fathersconfronted the two reasons for the estab-lishment of the permanent diaconate: pas-toral need and doctrinal rationale.2

The conciliar debates on the re-establish-ment of the diaconate were symptomaticof the tensions existing among the CouncilFathers on their conceptions of the

Church, and the way in which they shouldrespond to the needs of evangelisation in‘the world of today’. “The restoration of thediaconate,” wrote L Collimbert, “ was oneof the stumbling blocks among different

tendencies.”3 That should not surprise usin the least, for subsequent events and thereception of the conciliar decision torestore it made us see the appropriatenessof the dossier in relation to other insightsof Vatican II, sympathetic to changesalready under way, perceived as ‘signs ofthe times’, a hope for the Kingdom alreadyin hand, an eschatological perspective ofhistory with the Church as the people ofGod in its womb, a sacrament of salvation,taking account of earthly realities, markedby the dignity of the baptised and thegrandeur of their vocation, and theirengagement at the centre of this world,Church and baptised anchored together ina triple function of prophecy, priesthoodand kingship of Christ.

Faced with the danger of the debates of theCouncil getting bogged down on theschema on the Church, Cardinal L-JSuenens called for an indicative vote on 5fundamental questions among which hehad the foresight to insert one on theestablishment of the married diaconate.This indicative vote was taken on 29October 1963. It returned 1588 voices infavour of re-establishment of the marrieddiaconate, from a total of 2120 voters.During the third session, a new text privi-leged the bond between the diaconate andthe service of the bishop which it envis-


Where are we? – Alphonse Borras Where are we? – Alphonse Borras

Some remedy was found forthe shortage of priests andfor stalling the hauntingspectre of interfering withpriestly celibacy, perhaps thefirst stage on the road to amarried priesthood

Fathers of the Council viewedthe ministry of permanentdeacons as an aid to priestsin the service of charity T

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2 40 years on, the International Theological Commission (ITC) has, rather, proposed 3 reasons:further to the two already given, it suggests “a confirmation, a re-enforcement, and a fullerincorporation into the ministry of the Church of those who de facto already exercise theministry of deacons”, without, however, seeing in this an architectural element creating “amore strict union between the sacred hierarchy and the worldly life of the baptised – this is,perhaps, the idea introduced in the proposal of this subject in the Constitution LumenGentium. See ITC ‘The Diaconate. Evolution and Perspectives (2003), p.86. As regards theidea of a ‘middle order’, the ITC reckons that it has not been retained, but that it is reflectedin the way forward indicated by LG 29: ‘the text speaks of deacons at the end of Chapter II,in terms of a degree inferior to the hierarchy, just before raising in Ch.IV the theme of thelaity.’ In Ad gentes (AG) it reveals the same line of thought. The expression ‘middle order’ hasbeen applied explicitly to the diaconate in the Motu Proprio Ad pascendum, 15th August1972. Cf.ITC, ‘The Diaconate’ p.103, No.82.

3 Collombert, L (2001) ‘The Re-establishment of the permanent diaconate. A look at itshistory.’, in Cahiers de l’Atelier, No.491, p.40.

4 D Moulinet, ‘La restauration conciliare (1959-64)’ forthcoming in Dumons, B & Moulinet, D(2007) Le Diaconat Permanent. Quarante ans d’ésperance francaise. Paris: Ed. du Cerf.

5 See ITC, ‘The Diaconate’, pp.89-92. Personally I speak of two extremes in the large canvas ofdiaconal features: assistance to the priest (the deacon as a ‘sub-parish priest’); and apostolicassistance (the deacon as ‘super-lay person’). Cf. Borras, A (2007) Le diaconat au risqué desa nouvaute. Bruxelles: Lessius.

this ‘ministry of the community’, in thisplace, the bishop is assisted by his priestsand deacons. It is here that there arises anecessary interdependence of each of thetwo orders, presbyterate and diaconate,with the fullness of the sacrament restingin the episcopate.

From one point of view, in imitation of thebishop who presides over the local church(as its ‘head’) and locates it in the com-munion of churches (as the hinge), theministry of priests images the sole andunique priestly mediation of Christ, thetrue pastor, the good shepherd par excel-lence. This priestly mediation summonsesthe whole Church and each of the faithfulto make a spiritual sacrifice of their lives(that is, in the Spirit) acceptable to God(cf. Romans 12:1-2).

From another point of view, deacons arenot ordained ‘with a view to priesthood, butwith a view to ministry’ (LG, 29a): they arenot ordained for presidency of the ecclesialcommunity and its Eucharist. They areordained ‘for ministry of the bishop’: not

for ministry which has the bishop as itsobject, but that ministry of which the bish-op is the subject, the titular principal head,the author (auctor) in the sense of its guar-antor. Now, this ministry has as its objectthe ecclesial community (cf. LG 20b) andmay be accounted ‘apostolic’, since it wish-es to safeguard and promote the ecclesialidentity of the church, in this place.

The triple diaconate The apostolic ministry to the service ofwhich deacons are ordained is, above all,that of which the bishop is in charge. Theyassist him and serve the people of God inthis place by exercising their duties inthree sectors or deaconries: the liturgy, theWord, and charitable work. Vatican II didnot make use of the conceptualisation oftria munera, that is to say the threefoldfunction of prophecy, priesthood and king-dom of Christ in His ecclesial body. Was itintending thereby to suggest a differenceof structure between, on the one hand, thesacerdotal order of priests and bishops,and, on the other, the order of deacons?9

For deacons, there is a question of a three-fold diaconate, which function to give atone indicating ‘in a general way, andthrough a brief but weighty expression’ thedomain for the exercise of diaconatewhich, in line with the text of LG 29a, ‘isfurther specified by the officia of charityand administration.10 It is in this way thatthe conciliar Fathers, before they voted onthe definitive text, clarified the meaning ofthe threefold diaconate.


Where are we? – Alphonse Borras

Deacons: “Ordained for ministry” Consideration will be given, first of all, tothe affirmation of Vatican II that deaconsare “ordained not with a view to priest-hood, but to ministry” (LG, 29a).Undoubtedly, there must be seen as inte-gral to the maxim an attempt made by theconciliar Fathers to provide a definitiveobjective necessary to the restoration ofthe diaconate, namely “with a view to min-istry, but without encroaching on what wasalready clear to Catholics, namely thatpriests who are bishops, and, according totheir rank, other priests are ordained forpriesthood.”6

Following Didier Gonneaud, it may beasked if, in default of not having rethought“the priesthood through to its root in order

to unfold how it may be called a practicalre-establishment of the diaconate” theFathers of the Council did not see in theirstatement a doctrinal affirmation set tolimit “the priesthood in order to create aplace for ministry.”7 Is this dual formulanot a strategy of the conciliar Fathers toaffirm with clearly indisputable authoritythat this was the least they could formu-late on the originality of the diaconate,whose restoration they were envisaging?Does not the apparent clarity of this state-

ment have a function to involve ratherthan to explain, to move rather than tomake it understood?

Ordination dedicates the baptised to thecare of the ecclesial Body in its entirety,whose unity Christ assures through theHoly Spirit, which communicates thedivine life. Flooded by Trinitarian love, theChurch relies on the paschal mystery ofChrist, who has loved us to the extreme.Such is the ‘diaconate’ of Christ in hishumanity, that of the Son who has becomethrough his filial obedience even unto deaththe servant of the Father (see Hebrews, 5:8-9; Phil. 2:7), and whose “origin of the gift ofhis life is the very person of the Spirit, whoreturns Him to the Father (Hebrews 9:14),because this same Spirit is at the origin ofhis incarnation (Luke 1:35).”8 The ‘dia-conate’ of Christ cannot be reduced to ser-vices rendered, not even to a character fora function of service, nor a fortiori, to anexemplary moral disposition; it is the fulfil-ment of his humanity given over in the actof his oblation. In signifying the initiative ofgrace, the apostolic ministry signifies atonce the superabundance of the gift of theSon to the Father in the Spirit (the ‘dia-conate’ of Christ) and the offering of Hishumanity turned towards the Father by hisparticipation in the Easter mystery (the‘priesthood’ of Christ).

This priestly mediation finds its signifi-cance, over against the community, by thebishop who, in the name of Christ and inthe Spirit, presides to the edification of theChurch, in this place and for the fashion-ing of the bond among the churches. For



The ‘diaconate’ of Christ cannot bereduced to services rendered, not even to a character for a function ofservice, nor a fortiori, to anexemplary moral disposition

There arises a necessaryinterdependence of each of thetwo orders, presbyterate anddiaconate, with the fullness ofthe sacrament resting in theepiscopate

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6 As underlined by the ITC, explicit allusions of Vatican II to the diaconate do not employ‘priest’ categories, but only those of ‘ministry’. SC 35d; LG 20c, 28a, 29a & 41d; OE 17; CD 15a; DV 25a; AG 15i & 16f, in ITC, The Diaconat, p.101.

7 Gonneaud, D (2004) “Pour le quarentienne anniversaire du rétablissement de l’ordodiaconal: reflexions autour d’une maxime doctrinale’, in NRT, 126, pp.556-557.

8 I am pleased to refer to the theological work of A Grau (2001) ‘Diaconate of Christ: From practical analogy to the theological category’, in Communio, 26/2, pp.29-51; 48-49.

9 According to Jean-Francois Chiron, the last Council wanted to make a clear distinction, in itsvery statement, between the office of deacon and that of bishops and priests. Cf. Chiron, J-F‘Diaconate and Ecclesiology’ in Dumons, B & Moulinet, D (eds) (forthcoming 2007) LeDiaconat Permanent. This corresponds also to the opinion of D Gonneaud: La Sacramentalitedu minister diaconal’, in RTL, 2005, 36, p.15 (translated in The New Diaconal Review 1(2008) pp.4ff.)

10 In the Synodal Acts of the Sacred Ecumenical Council of Vatican II, Vol.III, 3rd Period, Part I,No.260 one can read: ‘the offices of deacons are outline in a general fashion (modo generali)by a brief but weighty phrase, in a threefold domain of ‘service of the liturgy, of the Word, andof works of charity’, which one may then specify in more characteristic terms (quod deindemagis specificantur) as ‘through the offices of charity and administration.’

In the context of liturgy, deacons do notpreside over the ecclesial congregation,but they do contribute to what theChristian assembly lives by their fuller par-ticipation in the liturgy in order thus tomake their life a sacrifice agreeable to God.One should not be surprised, then, thatthey have, in certain ways, a role as ani-mators of prayer of the faithful, after themodel of deacons in the oriental Church.Concretely, in the Eucharistic service, theyremind the community that there is noEucharist without the washing of the feet.This, then, is the liturgical diaconate’s wayof safeguarding, along with the bishop, theauthenticity of the Eucharistic worship ofChristians.

In the context of preaching the Word, dea-cons are connected to several forms ofministry of the Word: public reading of theScriptures, and especially the proclama-tion of the Gospel; catechesis; encouragingthe faithful; comforting afflicted people ofall kinds; preaching, and particularly giv-ing the homily, and so on.11 The 1983 LatinCode of Canon Law says that it belongs to

deacons to be at the service of the peopleof God by the ministry of the Word, incommunity with the bishop and his pres-byterate. (Canon 737) Whatever aboutregional and temporal variations, deaconsassume the diaconate of the Word in orderto safeguard its apostolic integrity, and toenliven, by their example and zeal, theauthentic Gospel and witness of the com-munity of the faithful, who may recall,thanks to them, that Christ has come inorder to serve and not to be served, that isto say, to give his life for the multitude.(Mark 10:45)

Deacons also have a particular role in cat-echesis. In virtue of their ordination theyare, along with other ordained ministers,guardians of the apostolicity of the faithwhich they profess in their guardianship ofthe quality of their teaching and their con-tribution to the liturgy, as well as in theirpersonal lives and their charitable works insociety. In catechesis, deacons will haveheartfelt concern to encourage others whohave a catechetical role; they will developtheir competence and commitment, so asto focus their action by directing it to theprincipal Sunday liturgy and to their dailywitness to the Gospel.

As regard the diaconate of charity, whichbelong, in the first instance, to the bishop,deacons will exercise it in a way that willsecure its Christ-like value. They are notsimply social workers: solidarity with thepoor is not of itself exclusive to Christians.It is a moral duty upon all people. Deaconshave a further obligation to witness to



positioned in such a way as to contribute tothe enculturation of the faith. They offi-cially carry an immediacy of witness to theGospel; and they create an opportunity forthose who go about their daily affairs toquestion the Gospel and to liberate, ‘in theactivity of daily living’, the charge of hope.12

Within this perspective, their liturgical roleof receiving the offerings of the faithful forthe celebration of Mass (the ‘offertories’)and the sharing with the poor (which hasbecome known as ‘the collection’) recallthe unbreakable bond between the sacra-ment at the altar and the sacrament ofbrotherhood. It is in this way that deaconsserve “the mysteries of Christ and of theChurch”, according to the lovely formulaof Ignatius of Antioch repeated by VaticanII.13 Their contribution to the apostolicministry exists within the Eucharist,where Christ makes his Church present inthe Easter mystery as celebrated in truth.Indeed, this is a matter of a duty for eachbaptised person, but deacons –though infirst place the bishop and, following him,the presbyterate – are charged with safe-guarding it.

The supremacy of service In communion with their bishop and thepresbyterate, deacons serve the apostolicidentity through this threefold diaconate.This last word translates exactly the ‘dom-inance of service’ for deacons.14 Thismight suggest a difference, namely, of

Christian charity flowing from the gift ofChrist’s love for humanity. This love ofChrist for us as part of the Father’s lovetransfigures our love, our solidarity withothers, our concern for others in need. Toguard the apostolic identity of the deacon’scharity, is to witness to Christ the Servantwho gave his life for his friends. (John15:13-15)

In this way, by the evangelical quality of theexercise of their tasks, deacons willencourage their brothers and sisters in thefaith to take the Gospel seriously. By theirexperience as partners and in family life,they represent the quasi-totality of dea-cons, and by their professional standingand connected social relations, deaconsare at a crossroads of life, where theybecome objects of attention by reason oftheir pastoral authority. The ministry ofdeacons, by its embededness in daily life, is



The ministry of deacons,by its embededness indaily life, is positioned in such a way as tocontribute to theenculturation of the faith

Deacons have a furtherobligation to witness toChristian charity flowingfrom the gift of Christ’slove for humanity

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11 This diaconate of the Word has taken different forms in history: it is clear that in the pre-Nicaean Church, where the community came together once a week, on the Sunday, for theEucharist, around the Communion table and with the presidency of the bishop, it was thebishop and not the deacon who delivered the homily. The deacon’s role was to lead thefaithful in prayer. In the Merovingian period, when, in rural communities to whom the bishophad not yet been able to send a priest whose upkeep was the responsibility of the locallandlord, a deacon would assume the role of prayer-animator of the Christian body: he woulddeliver the homily and proclaim the Gospel, or, more precisely, he would read on mostoccasions a commentary by the Patristic Fathers.

12 As H Legrand has emphasised, the restoration of the diaconate opens up the possibility ofbetter articulation between the social spaces and ecclesiastical space: ‘deacons are positionedto make the life of the Church more familiar to many people and, above all, to draw on theirexperience and cultural capital so as to be able to reject the effects of general de-clericalisation on the ministry of the Word, on the way of celebrating baptisms andmarriages, and on the process of decision-making within the Churches.’ Cf Legrand, H‘Bulletin of Ecclesiology:. The diaconate: renewal and theology’, in Revue des Sciencesphilosophiques et theologiciques, 1985, No.69, p.102.

13 Lumen Gentium 41d: ‘At the mission and grace of the Sovereign Priest ministers of a lowerorder participate in a special way, and first of all deacons, who should, in serving themysteries of Christ and his Church, keep themselves pure from all vice, seek to please Godand be to the people instruments of every possible good.. Cf.Timothy 3:8-10; 12-13.

specific theology of diaconate.”16

The tasks or the ‘duties of charity andadministration’ determine the threefolddiaconate. Principle to the role of deaconsis the diaconate of charity which coloursthe diaconate of the Word and of the liturgy. In other words, in their contribu-tion to the apostolic ministry of which thebishop, as the supreme head, has charge,deacons attest to the evangelical identityby showing, in their following o Christ theServant, that charity will not pass away.(See I Corinthians 13:8)

The sacramentality of thediaconate: central to theSacrament of Orders The ordained ministry, which includesdeacons, comprises an assembly of tasksto be carried out for the benefit of theecclesial community. In the eyes of manyin the modern culture it is difficult tograsp the difference between what‘makes’ a deacon and those main func-tions carried out by a lay person. Onekeeps coming back to the classic themeof powers (potestates) to which the mod-ern mentality with its sensitivity to effi-ciency, efficacity and performanceaccords a new importance: what can a

deacon do that cannot be done by a layperson?17

By the imposition of hands accompaniedby an epiclesis and a prayer of consecra-tion, baptised candidates are invested witha ministry by ‘an ordination’. The sacra-ment of orders is tied to institution byChrist, witnessed to and handed down bythe apostles. Through this sacrament, thebaptised are placed by the Church, and byreason of choice, and at the bidding of theTwelve by Christ at the same time as theyare empowered by the grace of service tothe Church, with the authority of Christand gathering of the Holy Spirit.

In the succession deriving from theApostles, the bishops – and their collabora-tors in the ministry of the Church – do not



underlining a discontinuity in the triplecharge of pastors and the threefold duty ofdeacons. The tria munera Of priesthood)does not exactly replicate the triple dia-conate. As regards the difference of pas-tors – bishops and priest – who exerciseconjointly the tria munera with theauthority of Christ (the three functions,that is, of prophecy, priesthood and king-ship – to teach, sanctify and govern) dea-cons will fulfil quite separately one orother of the tria munera.15

There remains, then, the tasks throughwhich this triple diaconate is made explic-it: Vatican Council II has given us two lists(LG29a & AG 16f). LG enumerates first ofall nine liturgical tasks of which two comedirectly from the context of the Word, andthen there follows a reference to ‘theduties of charity and administration’. (LG29a) H Legrand helps greatly in the clari-fication of this text. Basing himself on thewritten relatio presented to the Council inclarification of this passage of Lumen gen-tium, he discovers that before the vote thethreefold diaconate is viewed as a generalway of presenting the duties of deacons,which is then made specific in a morecharacteristic fashion as ‘duties of charityand administration’. “According to the willof the Fathers of the Council”, writes H Legrand, “the inclusion of a long list ofliturgical tasks, between the general charac-terisation of the diaconate and its specificdescription, is not part of the doctrine whichVatican II intended to teach concerning the



“the inclusion of a long list ofliturgical tasks, between the generalcharacterisation of the diaconateand its specific description, is notpart of the doctrine which Vatican IIintended to teach concerning thespecific theology of diaconate.”

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14 B Sesboue, ‘What constitutes the ministerial identity of the deacon?’ in Dore, J (ed) (1999)L’Eglise a venir: Melanges offerts a J Hoffmann. Paris: Ed. du Cerf, p.245. Zulehner, P M(2003) Dienende Manner: Anstifter zur Solidaritat Diakone in Westeuropa. Ostfildern. Morerecently, by the same author, ‘Dienende mannen: Diakens in Kerk en wereld vandaag’, in JVan der Vioet & R Vandebroeck (eds) (2006) Het Prrmanent Diocanaat op zoel naar zichzelf:35 jaar diakens in Vlaanderen. Anvers, Haalewijn, coll.: ‘Cahiers voor praktishce theologie’,No.6, pp.59-77.

15 Cf. D Gonneaud, ‘:Pour le quarantieme anniversaire…’ in NRT, 2004, No.126, pp.555-566.According to this author, the participation in the tria munera of Christ would not imply in thecase of deacons the strict or necessary operation conjointly. Neither does it imply, according tome, their separation. It is the articulation of them that is at issue. Deacons need not exercisethem in every case in unity with their pastoral charge which, in the case of the priesthood,bishops and priests, is determined by the munus regendi (duty of ruling), which is itselfinseparable from the munus sanctificandi (duty of sanctifying), which, in turn, presupposesthe munus docendi (duty of teaching) for the “building up of he Body of Christ” in ‘ordering’or in disposing the community in obedience to the Lord who presides over it.” Gagey, H-J,Dore, J & Medievielle, G ‘To cultivate a plurality of modes of participation in the life of theChurch’ , in Dore, J & Vidal, M (eds) (2001) Ministres pour l’Eglise. Paris: Bayard-Centurion-Fleurus-Mame-Ed. du Cerf., coll. ‘Documents de l’Eglise, pp.213-215. These authorsunderline the ecclesiality of the sacraments which belong in an intrinsic way to the acts ofgovernment. They conclude in their writing: ‘Because in the sacrament, it is a matter of theChurch as the Body and of the faith as an aggregate and a participation in the life of theBody, there is an intimate connection between ministry and government (munus regendi)and the ministry of sanctification (munus sanctificandi), (p.215).

16 H Legrand, ‘The Diaconate in its relation to the theology of the Church and of its ministers.Reception and future of the diaconate since Vatican II’, in Haquin, A & Weber, P (eds) (1997)Diaconat XXI siecle. Actes du colloque de Louvain-la-Neuve (1994). Bruxelles: LumenVitae/Paris: Cerf, p.10, making reference to Acta synodalia Vatican II, Vol.III, per.III, pars.I,pp.260-261. The author adds: ‘The letter G of the relatio confirms that there are hereempirical examples taken from the strength of law and the witness of history in whichauthority reserves to itself the possibility of modifying, restricting or amplifying the type oftasks given as examples and not as expressing the essence of diaconate.’ (p.10)

17 Curiously enough, the cultural context accords a renewal of interest to this question ofpotestates integral to the sacrament of orders. It is easy to understand now the wisereflections of the International Theological Commission: “Without doubt there is a too-restricted approach which reduces the sacramentality to the question of potestates.” (‘Le Diaconat’, p.83) But one may not omit the question of the capacity of deacons for tasksby virtue of sacramentality. Does that capacity reside in the how of the exercise of theobligations (munera) or in the personal qualities of the one who carries them out? “If, infact”, writes the ITC, “these functions can be exercised by a lay person, how do we justifythat their source may lie in a new and distinct sacramental ordination?” (Ibid.).

page book – with a bibliography of some 750items.

To facilitate closer familiarity with thisimpressive study those who have read aboutthe permanent diaconate only as it exists inEnglish-speaking countries – diverse as itsoperations may be even there – need to beaware of the special place German initiativeholds in the diaconate of the post-Vatican IIera and of certain strong features in its pro-file. Significant early French influences toone side, the German drive for a permanentmarried diaconate was the major force lead-ing to the call at Vatican II for a restoration– Germans prefer to say ‘renewal’ – of theancient diaconate.

The German initiativeIn this the main inspirational figure wasHannes Kramer (1929-2001), himselfalready a social worker, who drew manyinsights from the pre-existing GermanLutheran or Evangelical diaconate that haddeveloped from the middle of the 19th cen-tury and was dedicated to works of socialwelfare. What interested Kramer was notthe institutional character of the Lutherandiaconate – still centred at his time on com-munities of deaconesses and ‘brothers’ –but its underlying theology of lovingChristian service to those in need.

To this ideal – which was to be shared by thewhole membership of the church and notjust by the deaconesses and brothers – theLutherans had given the German nameDiakonie, deliberately evoking through thisname values that they associated with thediaconate of the early church and, in par-ticular, with the Greek word from the NewTestament, diakonia. In fact, the title ‘dea-

Here ???

Diakonie: Grundlagen für sozialeArbeit der Kirche

Author: Herbert HaslingerISBN: 978 3 8252 8397 1Pp. 456Date: 2009Publisher: Paderborn: Schöningh

Herbert Haslinger is a professor of PastoralTheology in the Catholic Faculty at theUniversity of Paderborn and has compiled aformidable ‘handbook’ on what Germantheology calls ‘Diakonie’. In German theolo-gy and church life Diakonie is quite simply,in the author’s phrase, ‘social work’ (p. 9).Thus Diakonie is not itself a designation ofthe diaconate (Diakonat in German) but inGerman theology – in Roman Catholic,Evangelical and Reformed circles – theterm is widely understood to designate theessential nature and role of the diaconate.Given the vast scope of the study, the fol-lowing comments will focus on intersectionsbetween Diakonie, the diaconate, and theancient Greek term diakonia which under-lies the two preceding terms, Diakonie and‘diaconate’. Here, I believe, we are con-fronted with significant issues affecting howwe are to proceed with developing a viabletheology for the modern diaconate.

Haslinger writes within the GermanRoman Catholic tradition. To call his vol-ume a ‘handbook’ is to borrow a commonGerman designation for such compilations.These are not mere itemisations of infor-mation but comprise a comprehensiveseries of expositions on aspects of thetheme and incorporate dialogue with lead-ing scholarship. In this case the author haspresented us with over 400 pages of text intwo columns across a large-page format –surely the equivalent of your regular 800-


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create the apostolicity of faith; they receiveit from the Church, they testify to it, theyguarantee it. This ministry of testimony ofthe apostolic faith is transmitted throughthe sacrament of orders, which validatesthe apostolicity of the ministry; the bishopsreceive the ‘ministry of the community’ inorder to exercise it with the help of thepresbyterium and the deacons. (cf. LG20b).18 The diaconate is, since then, the‘sacrament of the apostolic ministry’(CEC,No.1536). It has an integral part to play inthe ministry of the apostolic succession:deacons participate in their particular way(suo modo) in the mission of the apostlesand their successors as received fromChrist.

19

It is by means of this apostolic ministrythat, by his Spirit, the Risen Christ buildshis Church. Vatican II proposes, with afelicitous formula, that those who havereceived the Sacrament of Orders are“instituted to nurture the Church, in thename of Christ, by the Word and the graceof God.” (LG, 11b).

In order to serve the work of God whoreveals himself and the apostolic faith towhich he witnesses, the deacons, like allother ordained ministers, have beeninvested by the sacrament which takesover their whole life for the duration oftheir days, and in an irreversible manner –the gift of God is not made for repentance– in order to set the Church in a state ofmission. The Sacrament of Orders confersthe grace proper to each one for the ser-

vice of the Church, with the authority ofChrist who is Head of the ecclesial Body,which he calls together in the Holy Spiritby means of the Gospel and theSacraments.

Ministers of this unique priestly mediationof Christ, the bishop and priests, representthe free gift of God to his people and theoffering of the latter in return – thanks tothe sacrifice of Christ. Ministers of the‘diaconate of Christ’ who came not to beserved but to serve’ (Mark 10:45), thesedeacons are a sign of the diaconal vocationof the whole Church, which is his Body,

and they witnesses, in their way, to theauthenticity of the Eucharist, which theirvocation celebrates. �

Translated by Frank McHugh, ResearchFellow at St Mary’ s University College,Twickenham. The full paper was original-ly published in the Révue Théologiquede Louvain 38 (2007), pp. 3ff. and thistranslation appears with the permissionof the editorial team and the author.



Deacons are a sign of thediaconal vocation of thewhole Church, which is hisBody, and they witnesses, intheir way, to the authenticityof the Eucharist, which theirvocation celebrates R

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18 No more than the Council of Trent (see Session 23, De Sacr. Ordinis, Chs. 1 & 2 [DS1764-1765] and Canon 6 [1776]) does Vatican II enter into particular consideration of theinstitution of each degree of the Sacrament of Orders: it contented itself with saying that“Christ the Lord, in order to nurture the People of God and to give them continual growth,instituted in his Church a variety of ministries which work for the good of the entire Body”(LG 18a). A little later in the same Constitution, while speaking of priests, it adds: “thus, theecclesial ministry divinely instituted is exercised at different levels by those who, since ancienttimes, are called bishops, priests, deacons.” LG 28a, quoting the Council of Trent. DS, 1765 &1776.

19 ITC, The Diaconate p.102.

A German Catholic view of Diaconate and Diakonia

con’ also took its rise in German(Diakon/issa) – as in all European lan-guages – from the same source.

What is noteworthy about this – and,indeed, critical to this book and the con-temporary debates about the diaconate – isthat diakonia was understood to mean‘lowly, loving service to those in need afterthe manner of Jesus “who came not to beserved but to serve...”‘ (see Mark 10:45,where ‘serve’ translates a diakon- word). Itso happened that in the 1930s the deaconmovement was powerfully supported inlocating its theological foundation in thisconcept by the fact that scholarly opinion ofthe highest order, in the form of theGerhard Kittel Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, embraced the same estimation of diakonia, thus endowing theterm diakonia not only with respectabilitybut with far-reaching theological signifi-cance.

In this light, Haslinger’s title, Diakonie,itself already says a lot about the book for itsGerman readership. Readers will recognisethe notion of Christian social welfare con-veyed by the term – and made explicit inthe subtitle ‘Foundations for the SocialWork of the Church’ – but will also see con-nections with the historic churchwideLutheran ‘Diakonic Work’ (DiakonischesWerk), with the various institutions ofLutheran deaconesses and deacons, and,because of the book’s clear Catholic provenance, will be prepared for someengagement with the Catholic permanentdiaconate.

Diakonia and caritasIn fact, German Catholics may findHaslinger’s title eye-catching because since1945 the Catholic German bishops haveused a different logo to promote ‘loving ser-vice to those in need’. This has beenCaritas, the name of the social welfare armof the Catholic German BishopsConference. In the demanding situations

arising from the end of the Second WorldWar, and within a rather competitive envi-ronment of which church did what to meetthe emergent social crises, Caritas (a Latinword for ‘charity’) gave the Catholics arecognisable and attractive logo for theirendeavours, one which also served the pur-pose of distinguishing their endeavour fromthe Diakonie of the Evangelical StateChurches of the Lutherans.

In that pre-ecumenical era, of course, theCatholics did not yet have a permanent dia-conate so that a call for caritas in the nameof Diakonie would have had much lessappeal. Through frequent public invocationof ‘faith, hope, and charity’, however,Catholics were well aware of ‘charity’ as oneof the foundational requirements of being aChristian. As the post-war decades unfold-ed, and German wealth was restored, bothEvangelical and Catholic Churches adopt-ed increasingly professional standards inthe application of generous fundings tomeet needs in their own territories, inEastern Europe, and overseas in emergingpost-colonial situations. In the course ofthese impressive operations, however, thetwo churches flew the flags of – and wrotetheir cheques under the names of – either


A German Catholic view of Diaconate and Diakonia – Reviewed by ???? ???????????

Diakonie or Caritas. Within the one uni-versity, similarly, qualifications for participa-tion in Diakonie or Caritas are on offerthrough courses of study at separateProtestant and Roman Catholic faculties sonamed.

From Haslinger’s point of view, the choice ismoot. Either term would do; in fact, forhim, the terms are interchangeable. Thushe writes of ‘love/caritas’ in relation toDiakonie (p. 346):

This is a term that is closely associatedwith the implementation of Diakonie.So closely associated, in fact, that in itsLatin form caritas it also serves as acomprehensive designation for thewhole complex of social work that isundertaken for Christian motives.

Nonetheless, in addressing his options inhis opening discussions (pp. 15-19),Haslinger decided on a shift to Diakonie.This stands as a singular endorsement ofthe conventional German understanding ofthe Greek diakonia at the very time whenthe legitimacy of that understanding wasbeing seriously questioned, especially inLutheran scholarly circles associated withthe Diakonisches Werk, the national bodyresponsible for the implementation ofDiakonie.

Questioning the legitimacy ofDiakonieThe legitimacy of Diakonie as a notion rep-resenting values expressed by diakonia inthe early Christian Greek tradition had firstbeen raised in Germany in 2000 by Hans-Jürgen Benedict in the Göttingen journalPastoraltheologie under the title (to trans-late), ‘Do the Evangelical Church’s claimsfor Diakonie rest on a misinterpretation ofthe sources?‘ This charge of a misinterpre-tation – strongly pursued by Benedict – aris-es from Benedict’s concurrence with viewsargued ten years previously in my linguisticinvestigation Diakonia: Re-interpreting the

Ancient Sources (1990). One main out-come of the investigation had been that inancient times the Greek diakon- wordsnever expressed notions to do with lovinghelp of those in need. This outcome wastaken up that same year in F. W. Danker’sthird English-language edition of Bauer’sGreek-English Lexicon of the NewTestament (known as BDAG, 2000).

One year earlier in the first volume of theANDREP studies of the diaconate (Anglo-Nordic Diaconal Research Project) Sven-Erik Brodd, one of the leading voices in thecontemporary debate, concluded his surveyof ‘The Deacon in the Church of Sweden’with reference to the problematical situa-tion presented by the fact that a ‘concen-tration on the charitable task of the deaconhas been shown not to be in accordancewith the New Testament and the EarlyChurch’ (p. 137). And he predicted there,‘It seems reasonable to expect that this willbe the focus of future debates’. In fact, ayear later, in the second ANDREP volume,Brodd broached the debate in extensiveconsiderations of ‘Caritas and Diakonia asPerspectives on the Diaconate’; he wrote onthe basis that ‘caritas and charity on theone hand, and diakonia and diaconal workon the other, are not synonymous’ (p. 63).Accordingly, he rejected the German modelof the diaconate founded 150 years previ-ously on the notion of Diakonie (p. 64).

It is true that some critiques have ques-tioned aspects of the re-interpretation ofdiakonia, perhaps principally the critiqueby Ismo Dunderberg in his contribution toDiakonische Konturen (2003, under a titletranslated as ‘Mediation instead ofCharitable Activity?’). These critiques arealong lines that cannot be followed up here.Nonetheless, a major new work of 2007 byAnni Hentschel, Diakonia im NeuenTestament, would seem to have brought thedebate to a definitive end. Quite apart fromsummarily dismissing the critiques offeredin Diakonische Konturen (p. 21), Hentschel’s



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This determination provides the basis forthe book’s protracted review of the history,theology and praxis of Diakonie. At thisearly juncture, however, Haslinger pointsthe reader to a much later section of thebook (pp. 347-50) for an evaluation of mydifferent views on diakonia.

The literature he cites there includesBenedict and Hentschel as well as myself,and the discussion proceeds under theheading ‘”Agency”[Vermittlung] instead of‘Service”?’ After noting some leading fea-tures of the semantic range of diakonia inmy description – especially the fact that theterm does not connote benevolence, neigh-bourly love or helping – Haslinger reportsthe recent broad impact of this re-interpre-tation upon theology of the diaconate within

the Evangelical Church. The impact culmi-nates in Benedict’s call for an alternative tothe current theology of the diaconate as thearm of the church’s social work. Such a callnegates the validity of Haslinger’s relianceupon the German notion of Diakonie as thefoundation of the Roman Catholic dia-conate. Accordingly, he is required to debatehis position vis-à-vis the new consensusdeveloped around the investigations ofBenedict, Hentschel and myself. Clearly thetwo-and-a-half pages he devotes to this taskare going to be inadequate.

Haslinger presents his reservations in regardto the new consensus – including somerebuttals – in five brief points. In none of this,however, is it apparent to me that he hasengaged any of the exposition, exegesis orargumentation in the three books listedagainst my name (p. 348). Similarly in

regard to Hentschel. His one reference toher work is to more than 90 pages of heranalytical comment on Paul’s usage of thediakon- terms and elicits from Haslinger justsix or seven lines of comment. In a similarspace he questions the reliability of my claimthat early Christian usage was of a piece withHellenistic usage, a matter that can only bediscussed and determined against a broadrange of text, none of which his own presen-tation extends to at this point of debate.

One passage in particular about the Son ofMan ‘come to serve/diakon-’ (Mark 10:45)Haslinger presents as exhibiting essentiallythe values associated with the GermanDiakonie, namely, as ‘an explicit rejection oflordship ... an attitude of lowliness leadingto service ... the signature of the theologicalidentity of Jesus’ (p. 349). Contrary to thisclassically ‘diakonic’ reading of the passage,Hentschel’s exegetical treatment and myown entirely concur in identifying thediakonia of Jesus as his commitment tocarry out his Father’s will. An understand-ing of this passage is critical to any theologyof diaconate and, indeed, of ecclesial min-istry as a whole. Over thirty years ago it wasprecisely the exegetical problems presentedby this Markan passage that required me totake my research broader afield into classi-cal and Hellenistic Greek-language back-ground to the usage.

In my view Haslinger’s failure to engagedirectly at the exegetical level with the re-interpretation of the diakon- words leaveshis championing of Diakonie exposed tocrippling criticisms. The traditionalGerman Diakonie colours his account ofthe history of welfare work (pp. 21-71),especially in regard to its supposed begin-nings in Acts 6:1-7. His other extensive sec-tion devoted to Diakonie in the biblical text(pp. 205-302) progresses under the samesemantic limitations. Here, because of hisunexamined assumption that Diakonie/diakonia is an alternative expression forChristian love/caritas, Haslinger supports



work is important on the ground that it isonly the second extended and detailedsemantic examination of diakonia inancient Greek sources since 1935, the dateof the Kittel Theological Dictionary.Manuel Guerra (‘Diáconos helénicos ybíblicos’, 1965) covered limited ground, andvirtually all other comments simply mirrorthe views in Kittel. Against this backgroundwe can say that Hentschel has presented uswith a remarkable scholarly congruencewith the semantic outcomes of my 1990volume.

At the same time we need to be aware thatHentschel was not addressing directlyissues attending the modern diaconate.Her focus was strictly exegetical in regard tohow diakonia functioned semantically. Intwo subsequent publications, however,Hentschel has spelt out what she sees asthe implications of her study for a diaconateconstructed on the notion of Diakonie.Concluding her contribution to a collectionof non-technical essays (Diakoniefibel2008: 20) she put together the followingrather diplomatic words (my translation):

In the 19th century the offices of dea-coness and deacon were founded on anew notion named Diakonie.However, this notion has much less todo with Greek terms in the Bible thanpeople thought. If we look at the devel-opment from a scholarly biblical per-spective we find certain errors of inter-pretation. At the same time we canadmit a positive element to these mis-understandings in that they strength-ened the emphasis on love of neigh-bour. In spite of this, the idea thatDiakonie demanded of its practition-ers a kind of humility stemming fromsubmission and self-abnegation is farfrom the meaning of any biblical text.

In an academic paper summarising theimplications that her linguistic investigationcarries for our understanding of the modern

diaconate (Pastoraltheologie 97.9/2008:290-306) Hentschel wrote under the title(her translation), ‘Do We Find a CaritativeDeaconry among the Early Christians?’Her response was an emphatic negative.

Haslinger’s rebuttalIn the light of such recent developments,the timing of Haslinger’s option forDiakonie would appear to be unfortunate.Nonetheless, the option was taken in faceof alternative opinions arising from areconsideration of the ancient Greeksources by Benedict, BDAG, Hentscheland myself. These opinions add up to thefact that Diakonie is a 150-year old mis-nomer. The term has now surely run itscourse. In Haslinger’s presentation,nonetheless, values attaching to Diakoniepass like a thread through the long discus-sion of Christian social welfare and of thestory of the diaconate; at certain phasesthe values are woven into full-bodied state-ments of the essential character of thepermanent diaconate (pp. 178-81; 348-50). Indeed, from the beginning Haslingerinsists on claiming an essential linkbetween the Diakonie of the modernGerman diaconate and the meaning of theoriginal Greek term diakonia. He writes(p. 17, my translation):

Without question the term diakonia isto be translated as ‘service’ [‘Dienst’,with reference here to the KittelTheological Dictionary] ... stemmingfrom an original meaning of the pro-fane Greek verb ‘to wait on tables’.From this developed a broad under-standing of service in the sense of avail-ability for or activity in relation to thedaily needs of others; in addition thisactivity is mainly thought of as carriedout with a particular attitude of humil-ity... In the New Testament diakoniaexpresses the essence of Christian faithso clearly that the term often serves asa code word for the principle ofChristian existence.



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In my view Haslinger’s failure toengage directly at the exegetical levelwith the re-interpretation of thediakon- words leaves his championingof Diakonie exposed to cripplingcriticisms

Living the Mystery:Monastic Markers on the Way

Author: Dom Hugh Gilbert OSBISBN: 9780852446928Date: £9.99Price: 2008 Publisher: Gracewing

Let not the awesome title of this ‘multum inparvo’ volume alarm the prospective reader.This collection of monastic conferences andhomilies may at times be profound, at timeschallenging, but it is presented withoutrecourse to theological obscurity or ecclesias-tical jargon. Indeed, it may be better regard-ed as a personal encounter with the author,who offers many interesting reflections,based upon his own experience, than a statu-tory guide around preconceived spirituallandscapes. There is clarity, stylistic beautyand lightness of touch in this book, which willsurely act as a stimulus to the practical spiri-tuality so many of us seek.

The work’s subtitle, ‘Monastic Markers onthe Christian Way’, is helpful in some mea-sure, though the presumed objective of theAbbot is the hope that folk outwith the clois-ter may readily share and delight in theinsights on offer. It is extraordinary how easi-ly we are persuaded to ingest all sorts of ref-erences and quotations from writers andthinkers of many eras – from the ChurchFathers to Soren Kierkegaard to Jean Vanier.

The prologue and epilogue are charmingMarian cameos, whilst the body of the vol-ume progresses under the headings ‘Rooted’,‘Growing’, and ‘Bearing Fruit’ respectively.There is no need, however, slavishly to followthe chapters in that order. Some may preferto dip into the contents at random.

Dom Gilbert communicates particularlywell where the topic is personal: the occasionof Br Daniel’s Solemn Profession or of BrAdrian’s Golden Jubilee or, above all, thehomily given at the Requiem Mass for DomMaurus Deegan.

The Abbot’s erudition, though it comesthrough constantly, is never oppressive, andhis deep understanding of monastic life andliturgy is illuminating without a hint of con-

descension. He has a signal ability to relatethe wisdom and compassion of a monk to thespiritual highs and lows of the laity and cler-gy in their ongoing lives.

There is a special universality in the sec-tions ‘The Christian Way’ (Pt 1), as neat apeek into ascetical theology as could bewished. ‘The Little Foxes’ (Pt 2), paragraphswhich will be of help to many in examinationof conscience (often a taxing period of spiri-tual gymnastics!), and ‘The Spiritual Senses’(Pt 3), a longer chapter which works us hardbut will reward our perseverance, though justoccasionally Dom Gilbert puts us down withlinguistic ruthlessness, e.g. ‘By grace, these(senses) are purified and ‘elevated’, transfig-ured and transposed, relocated, as it were, inthe spirit, and thus returned, at least inchoa-tively, to their healthy, paradisiacal state, inpreparation for their ultimate beatification’.The author describes his material as‘attempts to say something while we wait,about ‘the gifts that lie within our compre-hension’. But if they help stir a fresh sense ofthe goodness, truth and beauty of thesegifts….. Their author will feel ‘blessed him-self’. The Abbot need have no fear; for he hasgiven us spiritual reading that is racy,resourceful and uplifting.

Canon Bill Anderson


his vision of the diaconate through lengthyreflections on passages about Jesus’ greatcommandment of love and about Jesus’healing and liberating activities. Strangely,however, he appeals only onceto a passage –apart from Mark 10:45 – that includes adiakon- term. This passage is the parable atMatthew 25:31-46, where Haslinger fails toidentify the specific role of that term in thisnarrative setting. diakon- there (which hetranslates as ‘help’) is not a term equivalentto serving the needs of the hungry, thethirsty, or the naked, but is a courtly termappropriately addressed to the king in thelanguage of a king’s entourage – valets, but-lers and cupbearers – who can think only ofanticipating the king’s every next whim.The term is not expressing the notion that

‘service is the quintessential element’ (p.265) of a disciple’s way of life.

Towards a resolution The rest of the book – which, from theauthor’s viewpoint, is, indeed, its substance– is a sophisticated exposé of sociological(pp. 73-162), ecclesiological (pp. 163-204)and pastoral (pp. 303-411) dimensions ofChristian social work in today’s world.Understandably, this main part of his dis-cussion Haslinger conducts with close ref-erence to conditions in Germany and with-in the ambit of Roman Catholic experience.In the process these pages expose whatthoroughly singular assumptions aboutDiakonie, diakonia and the diaconate havedeveloped in Germany. But the pages alsostrongly remind those in English-speakingchurches who favour an essentially ‘carita-tive’ diaconate of the responsibilities and

liabilities to which deacons and churcheswould thereby expose themselves. In addi-tion, and perhaps ominously, the pagesstand as a warning to all of the professionaltraining that would be required of deaconsif they and their churches are not to fall foulof those liabilities.

Above all, however, the book stands as achallenge to everyone involved in the dia-conate, whether bishops, directors, deacons,theologians or members of the Congregationfor the Clergy, to recognise that incompati-ble forces are playing out in the re-making ofthe diaconate. In the stance he adopts,Haslinger is certainly not alone in Germanor central European circles. To be aware ofthis one has only to browse ongoing issues ofthe journal Diaconia Christi that is pub-lished in Rottenburg am Neckar by theInternational Centre for the Diaconate. Itsreception of Haslinger’s work will be inter-esting to read. To judge by Klaus Kiessling’sreview – he is the journal’s current editor –of Algirdas Jurevicius’ search for the essen-tial character of the modern diaconate(40.1/2005: 75081), Dr Haslinger should bewell satisfied. And this in spite of the factthat he considers the German Catholic dia-conate to have compromised its call withhierarchical ambitions (p. 350).

Diverse, largely national formulations of thediaconate and, in particular, diverse under-standings of what diakonia means for thediaconate are increasingly introducing ten-sions into diaconal circles. Expressions ofconcern, of confusion, and even of disillu-sionment prompted by such issues arecommon on deacon websites. A way mustbe found past the tensions being createdaround the identity of the diakonia of dea-cons. The most pressing reason for this isthat an acceptable resolution of the ten-sions is likely to present the only opportuni-ty this century to create a diaconate thatmight usefully serve a church that has beenenduring a decades-long crisis in the provi-sion of ministry. �



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Book review

The Church and the World:Essays Catholic andContemporary

Author: John HaldaneISBN: pp. 215 + xiiDate: 2008Price: Publisher: Gracewing Press, UK,

From the age of ten or earlier, the predom-inant influence shaping the thinking andattitudes of young people in Britain todayis the peer group of youngsters the sameage. It is therefore a fight for every parentand every Catholic parent to have muchinfluence. And the situation is dire – inone random class of 12 year olds, with norecent immigrants, when asked how many

believed in God, 10% said they did and90% said they didn’t. Since then, theimpact of preoccupation with sex and ofsecular propaganda on the media has goteven greater. This is the background with-in Church and Catholic school now work. Meantime, over 40% of young people go onto university or have some period of higher education. Most of these and most of the rest pick up the remainder oftheir information from the media and theinternet.

In this setting, they often appear to be ina vacuum, with parents leaving the job ofproviding intellectual food, appropriateaccording to the level of the children con-cerned, to schools, and the schools provid-ing very little, while for the most part thehomilies presented in the Church to thecongregation of sitting targets are empty ofteaching content.

This is the situation in which Haldane,Professor of Philosophy and Director of theCentre for Ethics, Philosophy and PublicAffairs at the University of St Andrews,with his broad background in philosophyand art and design, presents his set ofthoughtful pieces from newspaper andjournal articles, mostly quite recent –showing how the tradition of Christianhumanism can be brought to life.

Activity in good causes must not bemade a substitute for the renewal of a per-son’s soul or, especially in this age ofexpansion in higher education, a substi-tute for time spent in the intellectualrenewal of thinking about the fundamen-tal issues of human life and discoveringthe richness which faith has to offer inplace of the barrenness of secularism.

He makes it plain that Catholics have anintellectual resource in Catholic writing ofthe past which is simply not being tapped.Sixty years ago, George Orwell, knowntoday by lots of young people because of hisbooks Animal Farm and 1984, wrote that“It would be to put it too crudely to say thatevery poet in our time must either dieyoung, enter the Catholic Church or join

Listen to the WordCommentaries on selectedOpening Prayers of Sundays andFeasts with Sample Homilies

Author: Daniel McCarthy OSB ISBN: 978-0-9516162-1-5 Date: 2009Price: £7.99Publisher: The Tablet PublishingCompany, London

In recent years The Tablet has been publish-ing weekly reflections on the OpeningPrayers at Mass for each Sunday by FrDaniel McCarthy, a Benedictine Monk fromSt Benedict’s Abbey, Atchison, Kansas. Hehas been studying at the Pontifical Instituteof Liturgy in Rome and now teachers at thePontifical Beda College. The collection cov-ers a whole liturgical year. As regular readerswill know Fr McCarthy compares the cur-rent English translation of each prayer withthe Latin original – what is particularly wel-come is that he does this without anypolemic or ‘point-scoring’, avoiding valuejudgements about the quality of the current

official translations. He draws on the histori-cal antecedents of the prayers – from theearlier Roman Mass, the Ambrosian rite orother sources. The reflections form a valu-able source for preachers. Appended to thecollection is a collection of sample homilieson some of the prayers by Fr McCarthy andFr James Leachman from Ealing Abbey.

Continuing liturgical discussions shouldhelp us appreciate the wealth of theology inthe ‘ordinary form’ Missale Romanum, ofwhich the third edition appeared in 2002.This is best done with some awareness of theLatin texts, and Fr McCarthy explains thesewell for readers who on the whole have noknowledge of Latin. The collection is alsovaluable for readers from the rest of north-ern Europe as they will be able to comparethe Latin texts with the translations inDutch and other languages. At present FrMcCarthy is covering in The TabletPostcommunion prayers so presumably afurther volume will appear in due course.

Ashley Beck


What should Deacons read? – Ashley Beck

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Book review Book review

On 14 September 2008 at St John’sSeminary, Wonersh, thirteen young

men set out on their formation program tobe prepared for ordination to the diaconate.Unlike our predecessors we were notembarking upon a course simply agreed byour dioceses and taught by the Church, butwas the first intake of a new FoundationDegree in Pastoral Ministry supervised andawarded by St Mary’s University College,Twickenham. This is an exciting new devel-opment. A Foundation Degree is a vocation-al qualification which can only be taken bymature students who have a background inthe area that they wish to study. We qualifyunder this heading because of the time wehave all spent working in our parishes andbeing involved in Church activities. TheFoundation Degree is taught on a part timebasis over two years. At the end of which anaward is made. In other areas of study thestudent has an option to stop at that pointand receive their Foundation Degree.However built into the scheme is the option,during the third year of formation, of con-verting this into a full BA honours degree.

The Course is taught on the modular sys-tem. The modules over the three years willcover all of the areas which a Deacon willneed to be familiar with. The first yearmodules are as follows;

� PM 101 – Foundations for the Study of Theology

Basic tools for the study of theology, thedevelopment of a confident language todescribe the ‘things of God’; theology as areflection on pastoral practice; Catholicunderstanding of revelation as outlined inVatican II’s constitution Dei Verbum; useof basic learning resources and skills.

� PM 102 – Foundations for the Study of Scripture

Further work on Dei Verbum to look atCatholic approaches to the study of scrip-ture. Examples of Biblical exegesis; trainingin the use of resources for the study of scrip-ture; overview of different ways of studyingthe scriptures in parishes and prayer-basedapproaches such as lectio divina; Introduc-tory work on using scriptures in homiletics.

� PM 103 – Foundations of the Sacraments and Liturgy

Basic concepts of sacramental theology;Basis of Catholic liturgy: study of Vatican II’sconstitution Sacrosanctum Concilium; studyof infant baptism and confirmation; Liturgyof the Hours.

� PM 104 – Foundations of Philosophy and Moral Theology

Study of the human person, use of reason,doctrine of Creation; Catholic concept ofNatural Law; application to specific moralissues relating to sexuality, procreation andthe sanctity of human life; fundamentalconcepts in Catholic social teaching.

� PM 105 – The Diaconate in the context of the threefold ministry

The sacrament of Holy Order; study ofteaching and issues surrounding the min-istry of the deacon; basic teaching aboutthe priesthood and episcopacy; the min-istry of the pope as universal pastor.

� PM 106 – Foundations of Religious Studies

Catholic teaching about ecumenism andthe ways in which it has developed;Catholic teachings on relations withadherents of other faiths.

Deacons as bachelors In this journal we will be including regular

articles on diaconal formation, by bothteachers and students. Neil Mercer is a firstyear student from the diocese of Arundeland Brighton. He is married with twochildren and practices for the Criminal Bar.


the Communist Party, but in fact theescape from the consciousness of futility isalong these lines.” Haldane cites JaroslavPelikan, then a Lutheran theologian (although later Eastern Orthodox), as writ-ing in 1959 “the road to Rome has oftenbeen the road to synthesis of faith andintellect which appeared impossible any-where else.” Haldane then continues “thatroad has not yet closed but is increasinglyless well known, ….” And indeed, to manytoday, the Catholic Church has becomeintellectually invisible. And, as he argues,this is much more true in Britain than inmost parts of Europe, and certainly than inAmerica.

This he ascribes to the notable degree towhich Catholics in Britain have becomeindistinguishable in their life-styles fromthe surrounding society. In particular, theirlack of Catholic formation compared withtheir predecessors of years ago has hugelyweakened their capacity to argue for theirfaith, and indeed their own perception ofits reasonableness. The natural law tradi-tion of moral thinking which opposes anyextra-marital intercourse and which

grasps the fundamental connectionbetween marriage and the having of chil-dren has been lost to their knowledge,despite its coherence as explained byHaldane in Essay 17.

The weaknesses in intellectual forma-tion have removed any sense of the rea-sonableness of faith over a much widerfield, in ways indicated in Essays 11 and 12

along with the careful discussion of evolu-tion in 13, with the long tradition of expo-sitions of the Christian faith which showits coherence within itself and with therest of our knowledge.

When what counts as a right is deter-mined by the majority rule this tends toundermine all intermediate structuressuch as the family, educational institu-tions, churches and faith groups. But thisconception of right (besides being far awayfrom the idea of right prevalent in 1948,when various declarations of rights weredesigned precisely to prevent the statefrom taking all power to itself) constitutesonly one option in moral thinking, in a wayexplained by Haldane in Essays 16, 17 and20 If structures intermediate between theindividual and the state are weakened,whether the state is controlled by the ruleof the majority or by a dictatorship, thepossibility of real pluralism or independentthinking is lost. Each individual is thenprojected naked to the forces of the peergroup, the majority view and the state.

The remedy is demanding. If the salt haslost its savour, what use is it? What theChurch needs is not easier standards forthe entry and formation of the clergy, bothdeacons and priests, but more demandingstandards, and freeing priests frombureaucratic tasks,`would give peoplemore sense of the point of being a priest.And for the laity, they need to recognizethat every Catholic has a vocation.Catholic schools cannot achieve what theyare meant to achieve if Catholic parentsdo not play their part. And whether in thehome or at work, every Catholic has hispart to play. The message is the same fromthe first essay to the last.

David Braine, Honorary Research Fellow in theDepartment of Philosophy at the

University of Aberdeen


Neil Mercer

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Book review

He makes it plain thatCatholics have anintellectual resource inCatholic writing of thepast which is simply notbeing tapped

At Last All Powerful MasterIn October 2000 the Irish EpiscopalConference decided ‘in the light of thepastoral needs of the Church in Ireland’that the time was right for the restorationof the permanent diaconate. The NationalDirectory and Norms for Ireland receivedthe approval ad experimentum of theCongregation for Catholic Education inJuly 2005. It was the ‘dawn of an era’ butwe were still a long way from ‘sunrise.’

Over the next three years the EpiscopalConference continued to explore how theIrish Church might proceed with this newdeparture in ministry. Some clergy as wellas members of the lay faithful felt that thiswould be a step backwards, while otherswondered whether we in Ireland were yetready for such a move. It soon became

apparent that many of the concerns whichwere being expressed in relation to thediaconate were, in reality, questions aboutministry in general, and not specific to thediaconate. These included questions aboutpartnership in mission, about leadershipand service, about the role of women, andabout the place of ordained ministry with-in the wider framework of the mission ofthe Church.

A two day workshop on ministry wasorganised, for key people in each diocesewho would have a role in the promotionand development of ministry. The work-shop was intended to be the first stage in aCatechesis which would facilitate a renew-al of ministry and which would situate thediaconate appropriately in its relationshipwith priesthood and lay ministry. Dr. StijnVan den Bossche (Netherlands) exploredthe theme To be called… . At the veryheart of Christianity. He was joined by Dr.Susan K. Wood who spoke on Lay andOrdained Ministry. Other guest speakersincluded representatives of the diaconatecommunity in the Archdiocese ofSouthwark. Against that background, Ihad the opportunity to present thatNational Directory and Norms for Irelandand to suggest how they might be imple-mented.

It was significant that when, in the Springof 2008, Archbishop Martin of Dublin andBishop Christopher Jones of Elphinannounced their intention to establish thepermanent diaconate, they each present-ed it as one among a number of new ini-tiatives in ministry. Deacons will have theirown place in the ministry of the Church,and they are not there to take the place ofanyone else.

Will there be anyApplicants?During my eight years in vocations min-istry, I grew accustomed to questions suchas ‘how many have you got?’ My stock

Something stirring in Ireland One of the most important developments

in the permanent diaconate in northernEurope in recent years has been theprocess of restoring the permanentdiaconate in Ireland. Kevin Doran is parishpriest of Glendalough in the Archdioceseof Dublin. He holds a PhD in Philosophyfrom the Angelicum University andcurrently serves as Diocesan Director forthe Permanent Diaconate


Kevin Doran

Deacons will have theirown place in the ministryof the Church, and theyare not there to take theplace of anyone else

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How are the new modulestaught? There are ten formations days and twostudy week-ends each year. The startingpoint is the reading list, which is extensiveand covers each module. Backgroundreading is essential before attempting toget stuck into a module. There are lecturesdelivered by well known and scholarly cler-gy and others, inter alios, Fr Ashley Beck(Dean of Studies), Abbot LaurenceO’Keefe OSB, Fr Cameron-Mowat SJ, FrMichael Cullinan, Fr Bill Wilson, FrGerard Bradley, Fr Peter Edwards, MrsJoanna Hale, Professor John Morrill,Canon Peter Collins and most recentlyBishop Pat Lynch SS.CC. Lecture notesare provided and along with audio record-ings posted on our web site. Essays are setwhich must be returned by the next ses-sion. We are each assigned a personaltutor, usually a priest or deacon who livesnear to the student, whom we meet oncea month in order to get our essay intoshape and hopefully avoid howlers.

In addition to essays we must write sum-maries of the lectures and are set portfoliotasks. Portfolio tasks are an important partof the Foundation Degree philosophy. Weare set a task to do each week, which mightbe, for example, to think about baptism andrecord our thoughts that week on our port-folio sheet. The most difficult of the assign-ments, and time consuming, are the dread-ed ICT presentations. The group here real-ly divides into those who use “Power Point”at work or have children of school age athome and those who don’t. We are set atitle for a talk and then must deliver it as ifto a parish gathering (rather than thirteenboisterous middle aged men intent onheckling and devising real stinkers of ques-tions from the floor). All of this is assessedand marked using the University’s markingsystem and papers. Dr. Anthony Towey,Head of the School of Theology, Philosophyand History at St. Mary’s is a frequent vis-itor to the Seminary on formation days.

Our second year will be similar; howeverthe structure of the third year is still beingworked out. How does significantly step-ping up the academic side of theFormation Program affect the students?Our group is an eclectic lot, there are GPs,Senior Management, TelecommunicationEngineers, Ex Police, Painters andDecorators and a Barrister. Some of thegroup have primary degrees, others don’t.The Foundation Degree is designed to betaken by people who did not go Universityfirst time around, and is not meant to beintimidating. It does however foster learn-ing and intellectual rigour.

How does this new course leading to BAdegrees benefit the Diaconate Formationprogram? It does so in many ways.Deacons perform many tasks in theirParishes, many of which can be done bylay people without any difficulty. But thereare areas of diaconal ministry which areclerical and are seen as such. Priestsspend many years in the seminary as fulltime students before emerging with theirBachelor of Theology degrees and being letloose on congregations to preach andteach. The very essence of the Diaconate,married men with full time jobs, precludesthis. But a full and rigorous training is nev-ertheless necessary for the deacon. A part-time degree course run and awarded by afully fledged, though Catholic, universitysquares this circle.

The award of a BA (Hons) at the end of hisformation validates this process in a trans-parent way and empowers the Deacon toface his congregation, most of whom maystill be confused as to his precise role andstatus, with the full authority of ordainedclergy of the Catholic Church and backedby the academic standing of St Mary’sUniversity College. This is why thirteenmarried young men in their forties andfifties are hoping to become Bachelors atSt Mary’s Twickenham. �


This weekend was facilitated by a teamfrom Accord, the Catholic marriage careservice. We were also very fortunate tohave the generous participation of CanonRobert and Mrs Anne Deane of theChurch of Ireland, who shared their ownexperience. The focus of our third week-end was on spirituality and liturgy, and thefourth weekend was an invitation to reflectat an affective level on leadership and rela-tional issues (power and service; successand failure etc.), under the guidance of Dr.Johanna Merry. Just before Easter we havescheduled a weekend retreat at Knock

(Cnoc Muire), the national Marian shrinein the West of Ireland.

EvaluationThe propaedeutic period was intended tobe a time of discernment, for the appli-cants, for their wives and families and alsofor the two dioceses involved. For that rea-son, it seemed to make sense that, whileapplications were considered carefullybefore the programme began, the evalua-tion proper would take place at the end ofthe propaedeutic period, and would be fol-lowed by a formal recommendation to thebishop.

With the help of Accord we have devised amulti-faceted process. Applicants will havea series of individual interviews, with apriest, a psychologist and a lay-person witha significant background in ministry. Theywill also participate in a group process,

which will help to evaluate their capacityto express themselves coherently andappropriately and to listen respectfully. Inorder to assess their capacity to read,reflect and write, they have each beenasked to write an essay on Diaconate as aministry of service in the Church.

WivesAs part of the evaluation process, we haveasked all the wives to come and meet usagain. This time, they have taken part in asmall focus group of four or five women,followed by an individual interview withthe diocesan director and the psychologist,in which each woman has had the oppor-tunity to speak more personally about herhusband’s desire to offer himself as a can-didate, and how she feels and thinks aboutit. The participation of the wives in thepropaedeutic year has been crucial to thewhole process, and it seems to haveworked well.

FormationDuring the past year, various options inrespect of the formation programme havebeen considered. Final decisions have yetto be made. One concern, which I thinkwe share with the Church in other coun-tries, is how we can provide a serious the-ological formation, together with the ele-ments of spiritual, pastoral and humanformation, taking account of the fact thatour candidates are, for the most part, mar-ried and in full employment. A thousandhours of lectures and seminars over athree year period would be the equivalentof a full-time degree programme. Thedevelopment of the formation programmeis still ‘a work in progress.’ �


answer was ‘how many did you send?’Archbishop Martin made it a condition ofacceptance onto the propaedeutic pro-gramme for the permanent diaconate,that each applicant would have the rec-ommendation of his parish priest. He alsoasked priests only to recommend men

whom they could envisage, following aperiod of formation, as effective partnerswith them in ministry.

We began our propaedeutic period inOctober 2008, with sixteen participants.

We were joined by eight applicants fromthe diocese of Elphin, which is in the Westof Ireland. There was, within the wholegroup of twenty four men, a wealth ofexperience in all walks of life, and a significant history of service to theChurch, both in the liturgy and in the min-istry of charity.

The Propaeduetic PeriodThe weekends were challenging and sub-stantial without being heavily academic.Each weekend involved a period of guidedpastoral reflection, the celebration of theEucharist and the Liturgy of the Hours.The first weekend focussed on vocationand ministry, in the Scriptures and in thehistory of our two dioceses. The wives ofmarried applicants were asked to partici-pate in the second weekend, when thefocus was on how one might fruitfullycombine marriage and ordained ministry.


A thousand hours oflectures and seminarsover a three year periodwould be the equivalentof a full-time degreeprogramme

He also asked priests only torecommend men whom theycould envisage, following aperiod of formation, as effectivepartners with them in ministry

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Inviting AuthorsNew Diaconal Review welcomes readers tosubmit articles with a view to publication

� They should be in keeping with the journal's aims, andmindful of pastoral implications. Ideas or topics for articlescan be emailed to the editors... Tony Schmitz [email protected] or Asley Beck [email protected] are happy to comment on their suitability and adviseabout word length.

� Guidelines for house-style can be found on the ThePastoral Review website, www.thepastoralreview.orgunder 'Contact us'.

� Articles should be emailed to: [email protected] or [email protected]

eviewRTheDIACONAL

Jerusalem for “the service of the saints”.9

As for the use of the words cheirotonia,cheirotesia, ordinatio there remains adegree of incertitude in respect of the useof these terms.10

2. Data from the New Testament The first and most fundamental relevantdatum from the New Testament is that theverb diakonein designates the very mis-sion of Christ as servant (Mt 10,45 andparallels; cf. Mt 12,18; Acts 4,30; Phil 2,6-11). This word or its derivatives also desig-nate the exercise of service by his disciples

(M 10,43 ff ; Mt 20,26 ff; 23,11; Lk 8,3;Rom 15,25), services of different kinds inthe Church, notably the apostolic serviceof preaching the Gospel, and other charis-matic gifts.11

The words diakonein and diakonos arevery widely used in the language of theNew Testament.12

The diakonos can signify the servant whowaits at table (e.g. Jn 2,5 et 9), the servantof the Lord (Mt 22,13; Jn 12,26; Mk 9,35;10,43; Mt 20,26; 23,11), the servant of aspiritual power (2 Cor 11,14; Eph 3,6;


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Chapter Two DIACONATE IN THE NEWTESTAMENT AND IN PATRISTICLITERATURE

I Diaconate in the New Testament

1. Difficulties related to terminology In contrast with the abundant use of theword presbyteros, the word diakonos is vir-tually absent from the Old Testament. Inthe rare instances where the worddiakonos is attested in the Septuagint, itmeans messenger, courier, or servant.1

The Latin (Vulgate) Bible rendered it in ageneral sense by the word minister or,transliterating the Greek word in a more

specific sense, by the word diaconus. Butthe terms minister, ministerium, minis-trare also correspond to other Greek termssuch as hyperetes and leitourgos. Thrice inthe Vulgate we find the use of diaconus.2

In all other cases it is rendered by the wordminister.3

Apart from the words diakoneo, diakonia,diakonos, Greek could choose between thefollowing words: douleuo (to serve as a ser-vant), therapeuo (to be employed as a vol-unteer) latreuo (to serve for payment), lei-tourgeo (to be charged with public office),hypereteo (to govern).4 It is significant,anyway, that the verbal form diakonein isunknown in the Septuagint, the functionsof service being rendered there by theterms leitourgein or latreuein. Philo usedit only with the meaning of “to serve”.5

Josephus was acquainted with it in thesense of “to serve”, “to obey” and “sacer-dotal service ”.6 In the New Testament, theword douleuo indicated service of a com-pletely personal kind: the service of chari-ty. In the language of the Gospels7 as wellas at Acts 6,2, diakoneo means “table ser-vice”. Making a collection the proceeds ofwhich Paul would take to Jerusalem is aservice of this type.8 The Apostle goes to


Tony Schmitz

The NDR presents the next instalment ofa fresh (and for the first time complete)translation from the original French intoEnglish of The International TheologicalCommission’s important researchdocument called The Diaconate –Perspectives on its Developmentpublished in 2002. Here the German andLatin footnotes have been translated forthe first time. Tony Schmitz is a deaconof the Diocese of Aberdeen and co-editor of the New Diaconal Review.He is Director of Studies for the nationalformation programme for deacons inScotland. He thanks Abbot Hugh GilbertOSB of Pluscarden Abbey for his helpwith the German footnotes. Thefollowing is only the first part of theSecond Chapter.

Diaconate in the New Testament

1 Neh 1,10: “They are your servants and your people whom you have redeemed by your greatpower and by your strong hand.”; 6,3: “So I sent messengers to them to say …”; 6.5: “Sanballatsent me his servant …”; Prov 10,4a (LXX); 1M 11,58; 4M 9,17; Esther (Greek) 6,13.

2 Phil 1,1; 1 Tim 3,8.12. 3 Cf. E. Cattaneo, I ministeri nella chiesa antica, testi patristici dei primi tre secoli, Milan 1997,

33f; J. Lécuyer, Le sacrament de l’ordination (ThH 65), Paris 1983, 131. 4 H.W. Beyer, diakoneo, diakonia, diakonos, in: ThWNT, Vol. II, 81-93. 5 De vita contemplativa 70 et 75. 6 Antiquitates VII 365; X 72. 7 Lk 17,8; 12,37; 22,26; Jn 12,2. 8 2 Cor 8,19.

9 Rom 15,25. 10 “The meaning of the laying on of hands in Acts 6,6 and 13,3 has been much disputed, but

the stress laid on this gesture in both texts makes it difficult to see it as a mere act of blessingand not as an ordination rite… The usual verb to denote the election of a minister by thecommunity is eklegein, Latin: eligere. The verb cheirotonein may have the same meaning, ‘tochoose by stretching out the hand’ (Didache. 15,1), but it becomes a technical term for theappointment, i.e., the ordination of a minister, in Latin: ordinare. In this meaning it issynonymous with kathistanai, Latin: instituere. Another synonym is procheiridzein. It is lessusual and sometimes denotes the aspect of election and appointment by God. All these verbsare synonymous with cheir(as) epitheinai, but whereas the former group denotes the juridicalaspect, the latter lays emphasis on the liturgical act. Moreover all the terms of the formergroup can be used for an appointment/ordination which does not include an imposition ofhands, but there is apparently a preference for cheirotonein/cheirotonia, as they arecomposed with cheir-, when the imposition of the hand (or of both hands) is included. A firstattempt for such a distinction is made by Hippolytus, Trad. Ap. 10.” J. Ysebaert, TheDeaconesses in the Western Church of late Antiquity and their Origin, in: Eulogia, Mélangesoffertes à Antoon A. R. Bastiaensen (IP XXIV), Steenburg, 1991, 423.

11 Rom 11,13; 12,6ff; 1 Cor 12,5; 2 Cor 4,1; Eph 4,11ff; Heb 1,14: “leitourgica pneumata”; Acts 21,19; Col 4,17.

12 “‘Office’ in Jesus’ sense must always be ‘diakonia’. Scripture chooses this word in order todefine the essense of ‘office’, and does so consciously and expressly, not in any senseaccidentally. The Greek language had at its command a whole range of possibilities forexpressing ‘office’ in human society and in the religious realm (archai, exousiai, archontes).The New Testament chose none of them, but opted for a designation that was customaryneither in the Jewish nor in the Hellenistic world.” E. Dassmann, Ämter und Dienste in derfrühchristlichen Gemeinden (Hereditas 8), Bonn 1994, 37.

communities attached to a synagogue?But, at the same time, they wanted,through the laying on of hands, to safe-guard the unity of the Spirit and thus toavoid a schism.17 Commentators on Actsdo not explain the significance of this lay-ing on of hands by the Apostles.

It could also be that the Apostles intendedthe Seven to be at the head of the“Hellenists” (baptised Greek-speakingJews) to accomplish amongst them thesame work that presbyters accomplishedamongst “Hebrew” Christians.18

The reason given for the designation of thechosen Seven (the murmuring amongstthe Hellenists) is in contradiction to theiractual subsequent activity as described byLuke. We simply hear nothing about ser-vice at tables. In respect of the Seven,Luke speaks only of the activities ofStephen and of Philip – or, more precisely,he writes only of Stephen’s discourse inthe Jerusalem synagogue and of his mar-tyrdom, as he also writes of Philip’s apos-tolate and baptismal ministry in Samaria.19

What of the others?20

In the churches entrusted to the apostoliccare of St Paul deacons appear alongsidethe episkopoi as exercising a ministry thatis subordinate to, or coordinated with,theirs (Phil 1,1; 1 Tim 3,1-13). In theapostolic writings themselves there isalready frequent mention of deacons withthe bishop, or else of the bishop with thepresbyters. On the other hand, historicalsources that cite all three together – bishop,presbyter and deacon – are rare. �


Diaconate in the New Testament – Tony Schmitz

Col 1,23; Gal 2,17; Rom 15,8; 2 Cor 3,6),the servant of the Gospel, the servant ofChrist, the servant of God (2 Cor 11,23);even pagan authorities are in the service ofGod (Rom 13,4); deacons are servants ofthe Church (Col 1,25; 1 Cor 3,5). Wherea deacon belongs to one of the churches,the Vulgate does not employ the word min-ister, but retains rather the Greek worddiaconus.13 It is this fact that demonstratesclearly that we are not dealing with theinstitution of the diaconate in Acts 6, 1-6.14

“Diaconate” and “apostolate” are some-times synonyms, as in Acts 1,17-25, where– on the occasion of the appointment ofMatthias to the eleven apostles – Petercalls the apostolate “part of our service” (v.17: ton kleron tes diakonias tautes) andspeaks of service and of apostolate (v. 25:ton topon tes diakonias kai apostoles,which can sometimes be found to betranslated as: “the service of the aposto-late”). This text in Acts also cites Ps 109,8:“Let someone else take over his office (ten

episkopen)”. The question thus arises: Arethe following expressions equivalent, ornot: diakonia, apostole, episkope? In theview of M. J. Schmitt and J. Colson “apos-tolate” is “an editorial clause qualifyingand correcting ‘diakonias’.”15

Acts 6,1-6 describes the institution of “theSeven”16 “for serving at table”. Luke givesus the reason for this institution – tensionswithin the community: “The Hellenistsbegan to complain (egeneto goggysmos)against the Hebrews because in the dailydistribution their own widows were beingoverlooked.” (Acts 6,1) We do not know ifthese “Hellenist” widows belonged to thecommunity, or not, in view of the strictregard for ritual purity. Were the Apostleshoping to send the rebel “Hellenists” awayfrom Jerusalem and out to the provincesbecause their preaching in the synagoguewas the cause of much provocation? Was itfor that reason that the Apostles chose“the Seven” – a number corresponding tothe number of magistrates in provincial


Diaconate in the New Testament – Tony Schmitz

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13 Phil 1,1: “cum episcopis et diaconis”; 1 Tim 3, 8.12: “diaconos similiter… (sicut episcopi)…diacones sint… .”

14 a) “This fact shows that the origin of the diaconal office is not to be found in Acts 6 … . Thediakonos is at the service not only of his community, but also of his bishop.” H. W. Beyer,ibid., 90. Cf. M. Dibelius, Bischöfe und Diakonen in Philippi (1937) Das kirchliche Amt imNeuen Testament (WdF CDXXXIX), Darmstadt 1977, 413ff. b) E. Schweizer, Das Amt. Zum Amtsbegriff im Neuen Testament, in: Gemeinde undGemeindeordnung im Neuen Testament (AThANT 35), Zurich 1955, 154-164: “With fewexceptions there is only one word – diakonia – to designate what we call ‘office’, i.e. theservice of an individual within the community. The New Testament thus consistently choosesa word which is completely unbiblical and non-religious and never entails any associationwith some special dignity or position. In the Greek Old Testament the word has only aprofane meaning. … In the development of the Greek language the basic meaning of ‘servingat table’ was broadened to the more generic meaning of ‘serving’. It almost always suggestssomething inferior, though it can also, in Hellenism, describe the attitude of the wise beforeGod (though not vis-à-vis his fellow men).” K. H. Schelke, Dienste und Diener in den Kirchender Neutestamentlichen Zeit, in: Concilium 5 (1969) 158-164; J. Brosch, Charismen undAmter in der Urkirche, Bonn 1951. Cf. B. Kötting, Ämt und Verfassung in der Alten Kirche.Ecclesia peregrinans, Das Gottesvolk unterwegs I (METh 54, 1), Münster 1988, 429; G.Schöllgen, Die Anfänge der Professionalisierung des Klerus und das kirchliche Amt in derSyrischen Didaskalie (JAC, Ergbd 26), Münster 1998, 93.

15 Cf. J. Colson, Ministre de Jésus-Christ ou le Sacerdoce de l’Évangile (ThH 4), Paris 1966, 191. 16 It was Irenaeus of Lyons (Adv. Haer. 3,12,10) who was the first to call ‘the Seven’ ‘deacons’.

17 “The number seven after the pattern of the seven members who usually comprised the local‘committee’ in Jewish communities. These were called the ‘seven of a city’ or ‘the seven bestmen of a city’, while the individual members were called ‘shepherds’ or ‘presidents’. H. L.Strack-P. Billerbeck, Kommentar zum Neuen Testament aus Talmud und Midrasch, Vol. II,Munich, 1969, 641.

18 E. Haenchen, Die Apostelgeschichte, Neu übersetzt und erklärt, 12. neubearb. Auflage,Kritisch-exegetischer Kommentar, Göttingen 1959, 228-222; E. Dassmann, Ämter und Dienstein den frühchristlichen Gemeinden (Hereditas 8), Bonn 1994, 232: “We have no precisedetails as regards the origin of the diaconal office, since it is clear that Acts 6 describes notthe appointment of deacons but of representatives for the Greek-speaking element of theearly Christian community.”

19 Cf. Acts 8, 12.26-40 and 21, 8 where Philip is called “the evangelist”: “The next day we leftand came to Caesarea. Here we called on Philip the evangelist, one of the Seven (Philippoutou euaggelistou, ontos ek ton eptai), and stayed with him.”

20 “The Nicolaitans had as teacher Nicolas, one of the Seven who were the first to be ordaineddeacons by the Apostles. They lived unbridled lives. (Nicolaitae autem magistrum quidemhabent Nicolaum, unum ex VII qui primi ad diaconium ab apostolis ordinati sunt: quiindiscrete vivunt.” Adv. Haer. I, 23; Harvey I, 214. Hippolytus, Philosophumena VII 36;Tertullian, De praescriptione, 33. For the contrary view, cf. Clement of Alexandria, Strom. II 118,3 and III 25,5-26,2.

In respect of the Seven, Lukespeaks only of Stephen’sdiscourse in the Jerusalemsynagogue and of hismartyrdom, as he also writesof Philip’s apostolate andbaptismal ministry inSamaria


THURSDAY, 7TH MAY (start 9.00)Robert Dodaro (Preside dell’Augustinianum) –

Adelbert J. Denaux (Decano Fac. Teol. Catt.Utrecht/Tilburg) Saluto ai partecipanti

John N. Collins (Seaford [Melbourne]), A Monocultural Usage: diakon-Words inClassical, Hellenistic, and Patristic Sources(relazione di apertura).

Margherita Cecchelli (Roma), Aspetti diapprofondimento sui problemi del servizioassistenziale (relazione di apertura).

Prosper Grech (Roma), Diaconia nel NuovoTestamento (relazione di apertura).

Afternoon (16.00)Section A: Augustine and JeromeSylwester Ja_kiewicz (Radom),

Il diacono catecheta in base all’opera Decatechizandis rudibus di sant’Agostino

Francesca Maria Catarinella (Foggia), Storia didiaconato negli scritti polemici di s. Agostino

Paul Rigby (Ottawa), Augustine’s Embrace of theClerical Ministry

Emanuele Di Santo (Messina), La critica dell’Ambrosiaster e di Girolamoall’arroganza dei diaconi romani

Francesco Corsaro (Catania), Girolamo e il diaconato romano al IV secolo

Ivan Bodrozic (Spalato), Girolamo e la disputa sullasuperiorità tra il sacerdozio e il diaconato

Section B: Female DiaconateGiovanna Martino (Napoli), Il diaconato femminile

nella chiesa primitiva: note di esegesi patristicaJuana Maria Torres Prieto (Cantabria), Mulieres

diaconissae. Algunos ejemplos paradigmáticos enla Iglesia oriental del siglo IV

Rosa Maria Parrinello (Torino), Ruoli e funzioni del ministero femminile: il caso delle diaconesse (V-VII secolo)

Ilaria Trabace, (Bari), Le diaconesse in area Cappadoce

Paola Santorelli (Napoli), Radegonda diaconessa:una consacrazione singolare (Ven. Fort. Radeg. 12, 28)

Anne Burgsmüller (Sasbach), Diakonin Radegundis (520-587) - demütigeDienerin und mutige Predigerin

Moira Scimmi (Milano), Le antiche diaconesse nellastoriografia del XX secolo. Problemi di metodo

FRIDAY, 8TH MAY (Start 9.00)Sezione A: EastAthanasios Henein (Atene), La place de la Diaconie

dans la tradition patristique CopteRoberto Alciati (Torino),

Diaconi e diaconie nel monachesimo egiziano: la testimonianza di Cassiano

Peter Bruns (Bamberg), Der Diakonat im Synodicon Orientale

Mariachiara Giorda (Torino), Monachesimo eistituzioni ecclesiastiche in Egitto tra il IV e il VIsecolo: la figura del diacono come intermediario

Ilaria Ramelli (Milano), Teosebia in ministerioEcclesiae: un esempio di diakonia nellaCappadocia del tardo IV secolo?

Alistair Stewart-Sykes (Sturminster Marshall),Deacons in the Syrian Church Order Tradition

Marco Bais (Roma), L’armeno sarkawag (diacono) ealcuni suoi corrispondenti (trans)caucasici

Section B: John ChrysostomYsabel de Andia (Paris),

La diaconie des pauvres chez Jean ChrysostomeRoberto Osculati (Catania),

L’autorità civile “diacono di Dio” (Romani 13, 1-7) in Giovanni Crisostomo

Arianna Rotondo (Catania), Il diaconato nell’interpretazione di GiovanniCrisostomo (Atti 6, 1-6)

Margaret Schatkin (Boston), Diakonia and theChristology of St. John Chrysostom

Section C: The Most Ancient ChristianMatteo Grosso (Torino),

Il “diakonos dell’errore” nel Codex TchacosFrançoise Thelamon (Rouen), Statut et fonctions

des diacres d’après les Histoires ecclésiastiquesBart J. Koet (Utrecht),

Can the Use of the Word diakonoi in John 2 Teachus Something about the Diaconate?

Anni Hentschel (Höchberg), Paul’s Apostleship andthe Concept of ________ in 2 Cor

Dan Batovici (Bucarest), Diverging EcclesialFunctions in the Second Century: Shepherd ofHermas and Ignatius of Antioch’s Diaconia

Lisania Giordano (Catania), Diakonia ecclesiastica ecivile nei primi secoli cristiani

Afternoon (16.00)Section A: Greek authorsFederico Fatti (Perugia), «Noi che gli siamo legati da

ogni punto di vista» (Bas. ep. 51): Basiliodiacono

Mario Girardi (Bari), Il lessico della diaconia inBasilio di Cesarea: fonti e rilievo

Felix Albrecht (Göttingen), Diaconus Christi. Heronvon Antiochien und die Diakonatskonzeption der(Pseudo-) Ignatianen

Judith Marie Gentle (Steubenville), The BlessedVirgin Mary as the Model of Diakonia Accordingto the Christological Writings of St. Cyril ofAlexandria

Oleh Kindiy (L’viv), The Christological Notion ofDiakonos in Clement of Alexandria

Alexandre Faivre (Strasbourg), «Diacres des mystèreset diacre de nourriture et de boisson» (Ignace,Tralliens 2-3), les enjeux de l’infériorisation desdiakonoi dans une triade ministérielle

Giovanni Antonio Nigro (Bari), Diaconi e diaconessein Epifanio di Salamina: un rapportoproblematico?

Section B: Latin authorsDaniela Turcato (Padova), Il concetto di ministerium

nell’antropologia di TertullianoLaurence Gosserez (Grenoble), La figure de saint

Laurent dans le Peristephanon de Prudence (Pe., II)

Gianluca Pilara (Roma), Caratteri e funzionidell’ufficio diaconale nell’opera e nel disegnoecclesiale di papa Damaso I

Rocco Schembra (Catania), Ruolo e funzione deidiaconi nell’opera di Cesario di Arles

Philippe Blaudeau (Paris), Liberatus de Carthage oul’historiographie comme service diaconal

Section C: Various topicsWilliam T. Ditewig (Saint Leo [Florida]), Possible

Second Temple Antecedents of The Seven (Acts6): The Mishnah and The Yerushalmi

Cyril Brun (Rouen), La délégation participative de l’episcopé

Mario Cimosa – Gillian Bonney (Roma), Lo sviluppodel significato del linguaggio diaconale(“servizio-servo”) dal mondo orientale-greco-romano al mondo giudaico-cristiano

Antoni _urek (Tarnów), “Diacono defectu presbiteri”– il carattere del servizio del diacono nella Chiesalatina nel V-VI s.

Michaela Zelzer (Wien), Il diacono Nonnoso di Molzbichl (Carinzia)

Geoffrey Dunn (Virginia [Australia]), Deacons in theEarly Fifth Century: Canonical Developmentsunder Innocent I

Maria Brutti (Viterbo), Diacono e diaconia in Flavio Giuseppe

Chiara Della Putta (Padova), Il concetto di diakonia in Epitteto

SATURDAY, 9TH MAY (Start 9.00)Section A: Archeology, Epigraphy and

IconographyAlessandra Milella (Roma), Pauperibus

sumministrantur alimonia. Le distribuzionialimentari a Roma tra tarda antichità ealtomedioevo: aspetti giuridici e implicazioniarchitettoniche

Lucrezia Spera (Roma), Regiones divisit diaconibus.Il ruolo dei diaconi negli apparatiamministrativi della Chiesa di Roma

Antonio Enrico Felle (Bari), Diaconi e diaconissaetra Oriente ed Occidente. L’apporto delladocumentazione epigrafica

Umberto Utro (Roma), Immagini di diaconinell’iconografia paleocristiana

Mary M. Schaefer (Halifax [Canada]), Art HistoricalEvidence (5th-12th Centuries) for Women’sOfficial Ministries in Rome

Section B: PhoebeAdolf Martin Ritter (Neckargemünd),

Das Problem der Phoebe in Römer 16, 1.2Romano Penna (Roma), Febe, diacono della chiesa

di Cencre (Rom 16, 1-2)Corrado Marucci (Roma), Il diaconato di Febe

(Rom 16, 1-2) secondo l’esegesi moderna

Plenery Section (11.00)Giulia Piccaluga (Roma),

Il diacono sullo sfondo delle religioni del mondoclassico

PONTIFICAL LATERAN UNIVERSITY INSTITUTUM PATRISTICUM AUGUSTINIANUM

in col laboration withUNIVERSITY VAN TILBURG FACULTY OF CATHOLIC THEOLOGY

XXXVIII INCONTRO DI STUDIOSI DELL’ANTICHITÀ CRISTIANA*7-9 MAY 2009

Diakonia, diaconiae , diaconate semantica e storiaRome - Augustinianum 7-9 May 2009

Via Paolo VI, 25 - 00193 Roma

— P R O G R A M M E —

N.B. For the publication of the contributions, pleasesend your manuscript (10 pages, including notes,text and CD) by September 2009, the Secretaria

“Incontri” ([email protected]).

Thanks to UniCredit Banca di Roma, “Laura Biagiotti” and the Savelli family.

Segreteria “Incontri” – AugustinianumVia Paolo VI, 25 - 00193 Roma (Italia)

Tel. 06/680069 - Fax 06/68006298

*The 14th Meeting of Scholars of Christianity