It is crucial to point out at this time that the authority of the bishop, which the deacon, as
well as later priests, is derived from scripture. Throughout the New Testament, reference is made
to those who would be collaborators of the twelve and St. Paul, those called by the Holy Spirit.
“For as in one body we have many parts, and all the parts do not have the same function.”
(Romans 12:4 NABRE) Various references are made to leaders of the Church or evangelists,
pastors, teachers or other representatives (cf. Ephesians 4:11, 1 Corinthians 12:28 NABRE).
Scripture refers to these men as being sent by the initiative of the Apostles, by the power of the
Holy Spirit, sent to His Church by our Lord Jesus Christ. Authority granted to them and His
Church by Jesus Christ, Lord of this world. 17
As the Church grew, deacons began to wield more power. Early church tradition limited
the number of deacons to seven for each city. Fabian, the bishop of Rome in the third century
divided the city into seven districts or deaconries. A deacon was given administrative governance
of each district, the most famous of which was deacon Lawrence, martyr of Rome. (Deacon
Lawrence it is said went to his death, as his bishop did after distributing the church treasury to
the poor instead of handing it over to Roman government authorities.) 18 This gave the deacons in
each city broad power. Deacons determined the membership of the worshipping community and
to all those who misbehaved a deacon was summoned to render judgement. By the third and
fourth century, deacons will be the guardians of order in the Church. They were to take care of
the afflicted, and stand guard at the gate, making sure no one came or went during the Liturgy.
They were the ministers of the altar, preparing and caring for the sacred vessels. When it came to
17
International Theological Commission 2002. “From the Diakonia of Christ to the Diakonia of the Apostles,”
Accessed May 21, 2018
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/cti_documents/rc_con_cfaith_pro_05072004_diaconate_en
.html
18
Cf. William Ditewig. The Emerging Diaconate, 71.
13