In 2002, the most recent International Theological Commission document argued: women deacons were not the same as men deacons; the church's tradition clearly distinguishes priesthood and
diaconate; this is something the magisterium must decide.
The permanent
diaconate is not in competition with the priesthood; it's a supplement and complement.
The following is a list of this year's candidates for the
diaconate:
Primarily a top-down approach (emails and a reminder phone call directly to each diocese
diaconate program director) was used to recruit a large national sample size representative of varied regions.
For much of Anglican history, the
diaconate was seen simply as a step toward priesthood, but more recently it has been championed as a distinct ministry in its own right--one especially directed toward "those living at the margins of systems and society," as the report puts it.
The publication of Vagaggini's work appears to be designed to reinvigorate discussion on the possibility of ordaining women to the
diaconate in the Roman Catholic Church.
In the present: when was the
diaconate rejuvenated, and why?
Her books include "Women Deacons: Past, Present, Future" (with Gary Macy and William Ditewig) and "Women in Ministry: Emerging Questions about the
Diaconate" (Paulist Press).
In 1846, William Alfred Passavant, pastor of First Lutheran Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, visited Kaiserswerth, where he became convinced that American churches should establish the same type of female
diaconate he observed there.
of the Sacred Orders of the
Diaconate, the Priesthood, and the Episcopacy is the imposition of hands; and that the form, and the only form, is the words which determine the application of this matter." (4) The gender of the ordinand is not part of the determination of matter or form.
He added: "The ordination to the
diaconate of nine students from Maynooth College is a source of joy for the staff and students."
