What is the gender of deacon?

Answer 1

In English there are no masculine or feminine forms. English uses gender specific nouns for a male or a female, such as male and female.

The gender specific noun for a male member of the clergy is deacon.

The gender specific noun for a female member of the clergy is deaconess.

Answer 2

The ministry of the diaconate is made up of people. Men who hold an office in the diaconate are generally referred to as deacons and women as deaconesses. However you may hear women referred to as deacons also but you'll not likely hear men referred to as deaconesses.

Therefore in it's most discrete usage a deacon is male in it's gender usage and a deaconess is female.

Generally you'd use the term deacon for both male and female if you did not need to use the term in a context that required gender distinction. Eg: "There were 23 deacons in the congregation".

If you were speaking to a woman you could correctly ask "are you a deacon?" because it is evident that you are talking to a woman without needing the "ess" for gender distinction.

However if you wanted to summon a deacon for a particular task where a female deacon is needed (eg: to assist in a situation where a male deacon would be inappropriate) then you'd ask for a deaconess to ensure that you got a female deacon.

Answer 3

There is no "masculine of deacon"; all deacons are male in the Catholic Church. Deacon is the lowest of the three Orders of the clergy, and only men can be ordained to the clerical state.

Answer 4

Deaconess.