The Catholic Married Deacon in today's Church

 A theological reflection on the nature of the office of Deacon, and the role it can play in the Church and in the world, in the light of my own experience of 7 years Diaconal service.

GARY STONE

(Chaplain Gary Stone is a deacon of the Military Ordinariate and is married to Lynne ,his wife of 27 years. Together they have parented four children and one grandchild .Prior to his ordination Gary served for 26 years as an infantry officer in the Army, including the command of a Peacekeeping Force in the Iran-Iraq war .He currently serves at Enoggera barracks ,Brisbane)

Introduction

In Nov 1992, ecumenical theologian (now Bishop) Michael Putney published an article in the Australasian Catholic Record, on “Deacons in Australia-Restoration of a Permanent order”.

Michael concluded his article by saying that significant changes were already occurring in the church in this area, and that it was time for the voices of deacons themselves to be heard.   At the time I was one of three candidates in formation for the diaconate in the Military Ordinariate , under Michael’s supervision at Banyo Seminary. I was blessed in being able to proceed to ordination in 1994 and have subsequently served three years in parish based ministry in St Johns Wood – The Gap in Brisbane, and four years in Army Chaplaincy at RMC  Duntroon , and with the 7th Brigade and 2/14th Light Horse Regiment Brisbane,  including operational service in East Timor and Bougainville.

This paper will seek to offer a reflection on the nature of the office of deacon based on examination of the primary sources that saw the diaconate restored in the Catholic Church, and a reflection on how this ministry has been realised in my own life experience. I introduce myself as a married deacon as my life and Christian witness and service flow from the grace of both these sacraments .  As this essay will  indicate, the grace and dignity  of marriage , coupled to holy orders , provides its own particular charisma , which I joyfully and gratefully celebrate as part of my identity as God’s servant in the world.

Historical background

The diaconate as an order of ministry can be traced to the earliest origins of the church.  One of the basic characteristics of the ministry of Jesus and the New Testament Church was the notion of diaconia – service.  Whilst all God’s people were called to serve in a general sense, from the earliest times some were called, set apart , and commissioned as “diaconos” – servants of the servants of God  .

The diaconate as an order needs to be studied within the development of the three-fold apostolic ministry of Bishop, presbyter and deacon and their relationship to the laity. Within the early church these forms of ministry developed gradually with their functions being modified to meet the needs of the people of God.

The Acts of the Apostles (6 .1-6) records the appointment of seven helpers to assist the mission and ministry of the “twelve”. This event is widely recognised as the formal origins of diaconal ministry.  Whilst the text indicated the motivation for their appointment was to assist in the distribution of food, clearly they performed a wide range of functions.  Acts 7 records the lengthy testimony and witness of Stephen, which would later serve as a basis for the deacon’s service in ministry of the word.

Deacons were very prominent in the early church. Timothy 3 8-13 describes the qualities required of a deacon- sincerity, good character, and ability to speak boldly- following upon the qualities of a good bishop.  In writing to the church in Philippi, St Paul addresses” the saints of the city together with their Bishops and Deacons” (Phil 1.10)  The titles also appear in the Didache (150)  “ elect yourselves episkopi and diakonai worthy of the Lord”.  Clement of Rome, writing in about 100 CE  reports that the apostles established bishops and deacons in the various churches (1 Clement 42).  Ignatius of Antioch frequently refers in his letters to the deacon as an assistant to the Bishop and as an imitator of Christ.

James Barnett in “The Diaconate”, (Seaburg, New York,1982),  provides a comprehensive study of the history of the diaconate.  He reflects on the how the period from Ignatius (100 CE) to Gregory the Great(600 CE) was described by some historians as the Golden Age of the Diaconate.  Deacons assisted Bishops directly in each of their functions – liturgical, administrative and pastoral.  Deacons prepared people for and administered the sacraments of Baptism and Marriage.

They preached and taught both within and without liturgical services.   Some deacons on occasion must have presided at Eucharist, as this faculty was recorded as being withdrawn at the Council of Arles (314 CE).

Barnett records that deacons also exercised a significant pastoral ministry.  They distributed alms to the needy, comforted the distressed and conducted visitation beyond the close proximity of the church precincts.  Archdeacons, as the principal administrative advisor to a Bishop exercised great power, dominating the clergy and exercising control over large regions of the church. By contrast, presbyters were initially much more limited in function, being more a council of elders who gave advice to the Bishop.  Hippo latus (200 CE) indicates that the presbyters developed great anxiety about the power and authority exercised by deacons and a deepening tension grew between the two orders.

At the Council of Nicea (325 CE) it was decided to limit the powers of deacons.  The presbyter was given precedence superior to the deacon, was delegated authority to preside at the Eucharist in the absence of the Bishop, and as the church grew in numbers was given pastoral leadership of distinct communities within the Bishops areas of responsibility.  With the presbyter now assuming responsibility for the established and “ gathered “ communities, deacons were tasked by Bishops to focus more upon the Church “scattered” operating in areas beyond established structures.  This geographic marginalisation, whilst providing an important function (one embraced passionately by Deacon (St) Francis of Assisi), in time also led to a decreased interest in diaconal service in a church that increasingly began to focus more inwardly on itself. The presbyterate was seen as a much more attractive way to serve the church, particularly as it also provides the faculty to celebrate Eucharist, which had previously been the preserve of the Bishop.

By 600 CE, diaconate and indeed the concept of diaconial service, had become a period of charitable service to the marginalised, to be completed early in ones ministerial career. Most deacons proceeded to presbyteral ordination, to provide Eucharist to developed communities.  It needs to be noted that at this point in church history, celibacy was not mandatory, and most of the clergy, including Bishops and priests, were married. 

Diaconate as a transitional order continued until the 2nd Vatican Council.  . During the Council, Carl Rahner (Theological Investigations Vol 19, London, Darton , Longman and Todd, 1983,  p85) argued convincingly that the distinctive order of deacon needed to be restored in the post war church. He highlighted the distinctiveness of diaconal ministry as an office in its own right, of people who were gifted and called to permanently and professionally assist the Bishops who directed the church. His reflections were significantly influenced by the reality that in so many places in the world, Lay people as catechists and leaders of communities without a resident pastor, were fully engaged in diaconal ministries, and it was appropriate that these people should be afforded the grace of sacramental ordination.  At the same time, there were many places within the church were ministry was not being provided and there was little or no prospect that ordained ministers would otherwise be available to assist in the mission of the church.

Lumen Gentium 29 (A Flannery ed Vatican II, New York, Costello, 1985, p 433) details the decision of the Council to restore the diaconate as a permanent order, and records and commends the part the order could play.  Episcopal conferences were given the freedom to decide how they would implement restoration in their particular churches. The Australian Episcopal Conference had its norms for restoration approved in 1970.  Since then 46 married deacons have been ordained in Australia. Worldwide there are approx 24,000 married deacons, with more than 10,000 in the United States. The number of deacons is increasing exponentially at the moment, particularly in churches that are experiencing significant shortages in the number of male celibates offering themselves for priestly ministry.     The Catholic Leader   ( Queensland Times , Brisbane,5 Aug 2001)  reported the ordination of 100 married deacons in a single ceremony in Jan 2000 by  Mexican Bishop Samuel Garcia, for his diocese of San Cristobal  where 38 priests attempt to serve 1.2 million Catholics  .

Theological critiques of Diakonia in the Church today

It is appropriate to reflect upon the distinctive notion of diakonia to see the role that the deacon can play.   In the broadest sense, the whole church as the people of God and the body of Christ is sent to serve in the world (Matt5.13-16).   The Church instructs its members that they must permeate and transform the world ( Ad Gentes 21) Christians should rightly follow the model of Jesus who came not to be served, but to serve (Mark 10 .45).  This broad function of service is described in the New Testament by derivatives of the term “diakonia “.

In recent years, John Collins  has conducted exhaustive research into Diakonia (Diakonia, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1990, and Are all Christians, Ministers? Melbourne, Dwyer, 1992).  A primary issue he raises is a clarification of the essence of Diakonia. He considers that the terms of ministry and diakonia have been trivialised, by those who consider that all service in the church is  ministry and all Christian’s are ministers.  He proposes that ministry is only diaconal when it is requested of an individual as a duty to be performed on behalf of and with the authority of the church, in the pursuit of the church’s mission in the world. The notion of being called,  commissioned and blessed for this ministry was central to the early church’s utilisation of deacons.

James Barnett affirms this approach- “ the Church has always sought to confirm by order, those whom God has chosen.” (The Diaconate – A Full and Equal Order, New York Seabury, 1981, p85)  He points out that a basic characteristic of those exercising ministries in the New Testament church was that they were sent (apostallein) and they served (diakonein).  Jesus himself modelled this as he stood in the synagogue and read from the prophet Isaiah “ He has sent me to proclaim...(Mark 9. 3) He also describes himself as one who serves (Luke 4.2)

This has particular application in today’s world and church.  There may be a wide ranging number of people who offer forms of service but those who offer service on behalf of the church do so with both the grace, blessing and authority of it, and are  also accountable to it.  This is not meant in any way to diminish the need for all Christians to engage in service, but to recognise that there are particular functions, both Sacramental and sacramental that are formally part of the Church’s exercise of its leadership function and achievement of its mission.

Gerard Kelly and Richard Lennon  ( The Australasian Catholic Record, April 1995 p131) wrote about the possibilities and challenges for the utilisation of the diaconate in the Australian Church.   They saw a distinctive and positive ministry that deacons could provide as a “prophetic voice”; “ empowering others to live their baptismal call of service”, and by “ pointing beyond the church itself to the world”.

Significantly they described the appropriateness of the deacon being married , with his ministry being at the interface between church and world

Most recently, Avril Keely,   ( The Australasian Catholic Record, July 2000, p299)   has critiqued Collins writings and reflected upon the diverse views of ministry within the church today.  She calls for further reflection upon the relationship between diaconate and priesthood and diaconate, and upon the co-existence of the sacrament of marriage in the deacon’s life.   She affirms the fundamental position that “the deacon is an agent of the bishop in pursuit of the Church’s mission in the world.”  I will attempt to offer a response to her invitation.

My experience of diaconate

On 9 Dec 94, Military Bishop Geoffrey Mayne, laid hands upon my head and prayed:

“ Lord send forth upon him the Holy Spirit, that he may be strengthed by the gifts of your sevenfold grace to carry out faithfully the work of ministry... may he excel in love, in concern for the sick and the poor...may he lead your people to imitate his purity of life.... may he give to the world a witness of pure conscience.”

Earlier in reading from the rite of ordination he had charged me with the following mission:

“Help your bishop as a minister of the word, of the altar, and of charity.... Bring God’s word to believer and unbeliever alike, preside over public prayer, baptise, assist at marriages and bless them, give viaticum to the dying and lead the rites of burial.”

In the final element of the ordination rite he presented me with the Book of the gospels:

“Receive the gospel of Christ, whose herald you now are. Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you preach.”

In preparation for my ordination ritual I selected the following readings from those recommended in the rite:

Jeremiah 1 4-9:   “I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.... I will put my words in your mouth”

Ephesians 3 7-12:  “I have been made servant of the Gospel...Entrusted with grace to proclaim the treasures of Christ and how that mystery is to be dispensed.”

Luke 10 1-9:  “Jesus sent them (the 72) out ahead of him in pairs ahead of him to the towns and places he was yet to visit... Go into the houses ...offer the greeting of peace.... cure those who are sick.... tell them the Kingdom of God is very near to you...”

That Sacramental commissioning and those readings have been foundational in my discernment of what God has been calling me to do.  My ministry since then has been an extraordinary one, to say the least, but it has very much been a realisation of the prayers and directions that I received at my ordination.

During my first three years of ordained ministry I was primarily involved in parish ministry, in a collaborative situation with a Parish priest and associate pastor.  We worked very well together as a team. I appreciated the opportunity to be mentored by an experienced pastor, and I was given a range of responsibilities consistent with the various giftedness available in the team. .

I presided at many baptisms, marriages and funerals, and preached at weekday and Sunday masses. The parish was already replete with lay ministries (60 different groups), for which the clergy provided spiritual direction and encouragement. and the identification, training and appointment of follow-on leaders. By virtue of my broad experience in the world and my marriage and experience of family life, I was designated as the supporting cleric  for those groups engaged in baptism and marriage preparation, family life and youth . I  was able to facilitate an increase in  the number of youth ministries from three to five .  My   wife and I were the “ parent couple” for the very large  Antioch group. I also assisted in Chaplaincy to the state high school and  inter church collaboration.  I served as a director of the local Christian Radio station.  At the same time I was involved in part- time Army Chaplaincy and was able to use my parish base as  both the place of prayer support and personal nurture for my evangelising mission in the military, and a place of "koinonia" ( communion) to which I could bring the lost and scattered sheep I came across in the market place of the world.

I received a disproportionate number of requests for baptisms ,marriages  funerals and counselling because I was a married Deacon. The most common approach was along the lines of : “I  know Father would do a good job, but we haven’t been involved closely with the church for some time and we thought you as a married man would understand our situation better”.    Father would have understood, as .he was an outstanding pastor ,but without them even meeting him,  his “office”  was perceived by  some on the margins of church to be distant from their experience.  Broadly speaking,  the priests ministered primarily to the active parishioners and I found myself ministering primarily  to many who had limited connections with the church.  I loved it !   I empathised with their family and economic circumstances and shared how my wife and I had dealt with the struggles of life . I prayed with them and gently and  lovingly welcomed  them to connect or  reconnect with God and his church.

The essential difference I saw in practice between priestly ministry and diaconal ministry is that the deacon has a particular  ability to minister to the” church scattered” , while the priest is necessary  and has the faculties  to minister to the “church gathered” .  ( Not to say that priests cant minister well to the “scattered”, but if there are only a limited number of priests , they will be needed to sustain the Eucharistic communities)  I see one of my roles on behalf of the Bishop as to bring  people to those Eucharistic communities.

My experience form 1998 to 2001 has focussed primarily in ministry  in the world ,`particularly as a full time Chaplain  in the Australian Defence Force.    Whilst I have  valued  the collaborative assistance of  priests who have assisted in provision of  Sunday Eucharist in  barracks ,  my operational and exercise  deployments and day-to-day ministerial activities have been without the presence of a priest.  Currently I serve in the Army’s 7th Brigade of some 5,000 soldiers as the only Catholic chaplain, in a team with  Anglican and Protestant Chaplains    Within the community of military clerics, my brother deacons and I have been received positively by those Chaplains  that are priests, as an equal. The particular charisma of our graced experience of sacramental marriage and our lived experience “in the market place “ has been affirmed by soldiers and Chaplains alike, as unique contributions we bring to our Military Ordinarite's overall ministry.

I have very much seen myself in Chaplaincy as an agent of my Bishop, carrying through his pastoral plan ,” that Gods Kingdom may come” .    I have been his representative in that segment of the world for which he is responsible.   I have exercised my ministry directly as a minister of the Bishop.  I have not recently been in a situation of working for or with a priest.  Rather I have been given faculties in my own right to act as pastor for those persons in the military units for which I have had responsibility.  In “the world” of the military , my ministry has primarily been an evangelising one and it is particularly suited to diaconal ministry.

I  have continued to preside at many baptisms and marriages. I have had particular opportunities for preaching and teaching, and ministry with those needing a community to belong to. Many of these people are unchurched or have been in rebellion against some earlier church experience. Ministry has needed to commence with introducing them to a relationship with God and forming a small Christian community in their work environment. Many of these people have said that they have felt particularlye comfortable approaching me as a married deacon because of  my  ongoing “worldly” experience of marriage and  raising a family. A comment is invariably made that in providing married deacons “ the church has finally come its senses over the value of marriage in ministry” !!  The reality that they haven’t a priest to go to because of the chronic shortage of them, must not be overlooked . In deference to my brother priests, I  must say that most of them offer outstanding counsel to people that approach them. Indeed they offer an objectivity those immersed in life drams might overlook. My personal preference would be to work collaboratively in this mission field with a priest,  however none are presently available for my current mission station!

This unavailability of sufficient priests has meant that the majority of our deployed military forces, myself included , do not have access to Eucharist, Reconciliation or the Sacrament of the Sick. Despite the theological poverty of this, we still  celebrate Liturgy of the Word  with Holy Communion, and prayers for all occasions.  Whilst this must seem extraordinary that men going into battle do not have the full support of the Sacraments of the Church, at least with the introduction of deacons our bishop has provided them a Sacramental presence (in the deacon and in the Sacraments he can offer).  The fact that half the Catholics in the world have neither regular access to Sacraments  nor clergy, is a scandal I cannot comprehend the Church hierarchy continues to accept, and does little to change.  In the meantime , I can assure readers, that  our military community is very happy to have deacons!

The Charisma of diaconal ministry

The particular blessing that I believe the diaconate offers the church is a renewed perspective on “diakonos” in the world.  A deacon is a symbol of the potential for diakonos in the world through the witness of mature age men offering themselves for a deeper level of service through the Church..  In this regard my own ministry has focused on promoting the diakonos of others through my own example, and through pointing others to the diakonos of Jesus, who came not so much to build a church, but to embrace the world through the church..

In contemporary Australian society the need for the church to reach out into the world has never been greater .Few people are going to come to the church of their own volition .  We need to engage them and  invite them . The deacon offers a sacramental connection and bridge between the church and the world. He has had to have successfully journeyed the experience of work, marriage and family life to have been accepted for candidacy for ministerial formation. He has had to have demonstrated the successful integration of faith and life in the world (Canon Law requires that  the married deacon must have reached the age of 35 and have already displayed the qualities prescribed in 1 Timothy,  before he can be considered for ordination )

People at all distances from the church affirm the sacrifice and commitment that is involved in men such as myself ( and their families) forgoing otherwise successful careers to respond to this call in mid-life. In my case it involved the drop of two steps in  Army rank , and the loss of $30,000 in pay annually   They say this is a powerful witness to them of faith and hope and has challenged them to reflect on their own relationship with God .

My ongoing vision is to continue contributing to Christ’s  mission in the world

 –         to proclaim by word and action -  THE WORD of GOD, JESUS CHRIST.

–         To call people to deepening levels of relationship with God and church

–         To reach out and embrace those that are spiritually and materially poor in the world

Our world continues to try to live without good news.  Irregular relationships ,unforgiveness, valueless and unregulated living have led to a sociological disaster.  Australian Catholics are no longer the poor of this country – an unchurched sub-culture that is both materially and spiritually poor has emerged .  They do not know what they’re missing out on in a spiritual sense . Whilst we have traditionally offered to meet material needs through groups such as St Vincent de Paul,  by and large Church communities have focussed on their internal growth to the detriment of their mission in the world . This is changing of course in some areas of the church.  Most recently Archbishop John Bathersby of Brisbane has launched a number of initiatives in the area of evangelisation – one of them being an invitation for expressions of interest in married diaconal ministry .  I understand he has been flooded with applications!

I have been very conscious that my diaconal grace was not given me to simply work hard at service in the church. I believe I have been given that grace to pass on to others.  The primary thrust of my military chaplaincy has been to call, train and commission , with the encouragement and authority of my Bishop, Lay  Eucharistic Ministers from within my military society, to be agents of evangelisation and diakonos .  On my  recent departure from our peacekeeping mission in Bougainville , I commissioned  two Lay Eucharistic Ministers to continue to lead  the life of the Christian community there, in the absence of a Chaplain. They have been trained to give witness to their faith , to pray for and minister to`the sick and dying and dead ,and lead their fellow Christians in prayer and reflection,  as well as distributing Holy Communion  to those who desire it. This empowerment of a lay apostolate as an official outreach of our church into the world has been the most satisfying and successful aspect of my diaconal experience.  It has been successful because it has been a sacramental diaconal expression of the diakonos of Christ himself .  As I and other Chaplains continue to mentor and support these Lay ministers , I believe the sacramental grace of our ordination passes to them .  They minister not as individuals but collegially with us , just as I minister collegially through the blessing and support of my Bishop.

The other significant dimension to (married ) diaconal ministry is my co-equal sacrament of marriage . I receive grace through this sacrament as well , which God provides for the nurturing of my wife and family AND my ministerial witness .  In practical terms my wife is a partner in ministry, bringing her own gifts of love , hospitality and singing  to fill the gaps I have in these areas.  Together we support each other ( sent out as a pair- Luke 10) and live out the mystery of God in mutual love . Our experience of parenthood has been a personal delight (and challenge ) and has taught us as much  about pastoral care as  my seminary studies did,.  We are constantly challenged to reflect upon leading our family and to deal  with the contemporary dramas that family life in today’s world brings , in the way we perceive God the Father desires to lead the church.

Conclusion

At Vatican II Carl Rahner raised concerns about the inadequate provision of clergy in the world , let alone the church. In my own recent deployments in East Timor and Bougainville, I  have witnessed this scandalous shortage first hand,  where in places,  up to 20-30,000 active Christians are serviced by one priest.  Rahner levelled the accountability for the situation at the church leaders . “ Provision of sufficient numbers of clergy is imposed on  the church as a matter of divine law. Christians have the right to leaders of their communities and sacramental ministry . That is a not  a right that exists only when it can be fulfilled .”  ( Theological Investigations  Vol 19, London, Darton , Longman and Todd, p80)

The Australian Church has been generally slow  in embracing the diaconate, though some Bishops have acted courageously.  Over the last 7 years I have seen the speculation and concerns raised by some sceptics of  diaconate  to be lacking in both substance and practice:

-     Deacons have not cost the church any more than priests- indeed in  most dioceses they are self        funding.

-          Deacons are offering a similar level of time and availability for ministry as priests .

-          Deacons are not clericalising the laity , rather they are empowering them for ministry.

-          Male deacons have not enraged the feminists in their pursuit for equal status in the church. rather they have been embraced by them as another marginal group struggling for acceptance.

-           Rather  my experience and reflection have shown  that :

-      The diaconate has a strong foundational  basis in Church history-

-          A theology and practical norms for the restoration of the diaconate have been provided.

-          Deacons and priests  can provide complementary ministries which enrich the church.

-          Married deacons provide a particular witness and support to those married laity in the church

-      The diaconate has been successfully restored in a number of dioceses throughout the world.

-          The diaconate provides the church with a renewed perspective of mission to the world.

This essay has offered a reflection upon the diaconate from one actively engaged in it.  I  have attempted to present my positive experience of the Church’s initiative in this area, with a hope that the restoration of this ministry might be realised in the manner that the Second Vatican Council envisaged.

St Luke ( Acts 6.2) sums this up more simply:

“  It is not right that the ministry of the church be neglected due to insufficient pastors. We can and should choose those among us who are known to be full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, and put them in charge…”    

And we should find as the early church did that “ the Word of God  continued to be spread, the number of disciples  grew larger and larger, and greater numbers accepted the faith”  ( Acts 6.7)