Deacons

St. Lawrence the Deacon

Paul describes the qualifications of deacons in 1 Timothy chapter 3.

Baptist churches are democracies. The church elects the deacons after recommendations by the congregation or pastor. The pastor is NOT in control of the church the members are except in Baptist churches that are called "independent" and are not affiliated with a large convection like the General Baptist or Southern Baptist. This is done so the pastor can not take too much control of the church. But the church members can vote to remove a deacon. These types of things are done at business meetings in the church.

Yes. All vicars have had to undergo several years' training in theology and ministry and are usually first ordained as a deacon, and then a year later are ordained as a priest. Before they become a vicar in their own right, with their own parish, thay also serve three or four years as an assistant vicar known as an 'assistant curate' under a training vicar, but throughout this time they are still ordained as a priest.

Holy Orders

If I understand the question correctly, you are asking if the Roman Catholic priesthood is the direct successor of Melchizedek, the first priest mentioned in the Bible.

The answer is...not really. In Roman Catholic theology, Christian priests are often presented as being the successors of Old Testament Jewish priests. This is a theological interpretation, however, and it is not historically true. The popular conception of Catholic priests being intermediaries between God and man resulted from a complex set of logical and linguistic misinterpretations made by Christians in the centuries following the completion of the New Testament.

The English word "priest" is a contraction of the Greek word "presbyter." Presbyter simply means "elder." The words "presbyter" and "bishop" were used interchangeably in the New Testament, referring to the same office. In the second century, the word "bishop" started to be reserved for the senior pastor in a city.

A presbyter is simply an elder, a senior leader in the Christian community. There is no hint in the New Testament of a "sacrificial" ministry on the part of the elders. A completely different Greek word was used to refer to the Old Testament priests who offered sacrifice.

As theologians began to speak of the Eucharist as a sacrifice, Christians started to take this poetic comparison as a literal statement. As a result of this logical category mistake by early Christians, the word "presbyter" started to take on the connotations of the Old Testament priesthood. Over the course of the centuries, the presbyter came to be regarded as an intermediary between God and man who offered sacrifice to God in the form of the Mass.

Because this definition of "priest" has been codified in Roman Catholic dogma during the Council of Trent, it is the official Catholic position. It is not, however, historically or linguistically sound. The Roman Catholic definition of the priesthood is a barrier in ecumenical relations between the Catholic Church and other denominations. The Church has tried to back-peddle on some of these dogmas, however, by clarifying some teachings regarding the sacrificial nature of the Mass, such as affirming that Christ was sacrificed only once on the Cross, and the Mass merely presents that one original sacrifice.

It depends upon the particular denomination of church. I can give you the procedure for the Church of England (and other Anglican churches worldwide): A deacon is the lowest of three orders (deacon, priest, bishop) within the church. The first step is to talk with the diocesan vocations advisor who will give you information and discuss your calling. The first thing he or she will ascertain is whether or not he thinks you have been callled by God, by your answers to questions, manner and so on, or are just thinking of it as some sort of 'career move'. If the advisor is satisfied you are being called then he will pass you on to the Diocesan Director of Ordinands (DDO). You will meet with the DDO several times to talk through issues surrounding your calling. He will prepare you for further exploration with the Bishop's examining Chaplains. You will see two of these - experienced people (they can be ordained or lay) who will chat through your calling, spirituality, suitability etc in more depth. They will then pass on their recommendations to the bishop. If positive, the bishop will then meet with you and chat to you also, clearing up any issues raised by his examining chaplains. If he is happy then he will officially sponsor you for selection. Then there follows a three-day residential selection procedure where you will be expected to make a presentation, lead discussions, and have at least three in-depth interviews. If the selectors agree with the bishop, then you will be accepted for training. Training will take around 2 years full time or 3 years part time. During the training you will be taught theology, bible studies and so on, and put on placement in a local church. At the end of your training you will be presented to the bishop for ordination. This first ordination will be to the 'diaconate' - in other words you will be ordained a deacon. Although some ordained deacons stay deacons for ever, most, after a year of further on-the-job training, are presented to the bishop again for a second ordination, this time to the priesthood. Both deacons and priests in the Church of England wear clerical ('dog') collars, and have the title 'Reverend'. Unlike the Roman Catholic Church, the office of deacon or priest in the Church of England is open to men and women. Deacons can undertake most of the duties of a priest, but they are not authorised to give a blessing at the end of a service, pronounce an absolution after a prayer of confession, or conscerate the bread and wine at the Communion service. They can, however, visit the sick, baptise, preach, officiate at weddings and funerals and so on. The third level of ordination (that of bishop) is only received by a few who are chosen by royal decree (the Queen being the 'supreme governor' of the Church of England, under its head Jesus Christ). The Church of England has just this past week (July 2008) voted to allow women to become bishops and so there will be women bishops appointed within a few years from now.

No. Deacons are authorized to perform fewer functions than a priest, and can be married.

Since the fourth century, it has been a discipline of the Church that ordained men could not be married after ordination, though they could be ordained if already married. This applied to all three orders (bishops, presbyters, deacons).

While some orders have since been restricted to celibates (bishops in the East, presbyters and bishops in the West), the idea remains that an ordained minsiter may be married only once.

This is rooted in the scriptural requirements for the offices of bishop and deacon (1 Timothy 3; Titus 1), which says they must be married only once.

Exceptions are sometimes made for ministers with young children, whose wife has died.

The first deacons were Stephen, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus.

The chain, or chains should end in a loop or some sort of end. You hold the end or loop in your left hand, and the chain or chains (about half way down) in your right hand as you swing it. To just hold it, just hold the end. If you are walking in a procession, you would hold the end in your left hand while swinging it gently back and forth and hold your right hand open against your chest.

If you are hanging the thurible up, you should probably pull the top up so that it doesn't just sit on the top and get too hot to do anything with.

Deacon is not a title associated with attorneys, but is a minister in Chrsitian churches.

Esquire, usually abbreviated as "Esq." has become a courtesy title for those licensed to practice law, though it originally indicated the office of squire, just below knighthood. It is more common for attorneys to display their academic postnominal letters, such as John Smith, J.D., or Jane Doe, L.L.M.

Yes they have deacons.they are before becoming priest.The elders mostly we called the Bishops and the Pope.

Deacon is the first of the Major Orders (Deacon, Priest, Bishop) in the Roman Catholic Church. There are two types of Deacons: 1) Transitional, who are only ordained, usually for a year, before they are ordained to the Priesthood, and 2) Permanent Deacons. Deacons perform weddings, baptisms, are Ordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, and may read the Gospel and preach a homily at Mass. They were a stole across their chest on a diagonal and a Dalmatic (a tunic like vestment similar to the priest's Chasuble.)

The Pastor.

One who is responsible for all 'administrative' duties of the Church.