Office of Diaconate in the Churches

Summary

Five Ontario church councils wrote this study report after a 1993 overture from Dunnville complained that divergent readings of Scripture had left the young federation without a unified approach to diaconal work; Synod St. Catharines commended it to the URCNA churches in 1997. The committee grounds the office in creation and in Christ the Servant, distills the diaconal mandate into the four points quoted below, and concludes that Scripture does not allow women deacons.

A historical survey traces the office from its early decline into a stepping stone to the priesthood through Calvin’s recovery of it in Geneva, and a comparison of the 1914 Christian Reformed and 1995 Canadian Reformed church orders shows the deacon’s task broadening from poor relief to promoting the communion of the saints.

The practical counsel is pointed: deacons belong at monthly council meetings, their task is local rather than global relief, and assigning them the church’s budget and administration damages their real ministry.

Excerpt

Since the Scriptures do not provide any other concrete revelation about the general task of the deacons, we conclude that the Word of God teaches that the mandate for the diaconate contains these ingredients as normative:

The office of deacon is a particularized and specialized expression of the office of all believers.
In their task and calling the deacons demonstrate, model, and teach the Saviour’s love for His own.
The primary objective of the particular duties and tasks of the deacons is to facilitate, promote and develop the communion of the saints.
The application of the diaconal mandate varies, depending on circumstances and need.

Office of Diaconate in the Churches

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