The Mystery of Healing: Oil, Anointing, and the Unity of the Local Church
The Holy Sacraments of Baptism, Chrismation and Holy Communion
The Seven Sacraments of the Greek Orthodox Church
|
Our
Lord Jesus Christ gave us, through the Church, the means
and possibility to nourish and to complete the divine life in our
souls. But He also left us with a particular order under which these means
could best be distributed to men. Who was to approach men with these signs
and sacraments? In His sacraments, He bequeathed to us the fruits of His
redemption, and that redemption, having as its reason the way of man’s
returning to God, was to be entrusted to us in no chaotic manner, but
in an important and orderly manner. These sacraments are therefore for
the service of man; they bring man and God together. In a certain sense
they take over the task of Christ’s humanity. That “orderly manner,” however,
excludes no Christian, for the Christian ministry is an all-inclusive,
organic and sacred fellowship; it embraces all the members of the Body
of Christ. There are many scriptural metaphors which are used to show
this “priesthood” of all Christians; St. Peter calls them “living stones”
with which the spiritual temple is constructed. They are a “holy nation,”
and “a royal priesthood.” St. Paul also calls them stones with Christ
as the cornerstone. In their unity and life, Christ lives on earth as
the Church, as His Body of which they are members.
But within this “orderly manner” of the Church, there are those
who are called with a distinctive commission to “go and preach,” and to
“baptize.” Those that accepted this mission are no more important than
any other of the people of God but the difference is here one of purpose
and service. In I Corinthians (12:28-30) St. Paul tells us, “Are all apostles?
Are all preachers? Are all teachers?” This distinction, therefore, existed
from the beginning as one “among” the Church and “in” the Church, but
nevertheless set within the community as a type of “ambassador” for the
continuation of His saving mission on earth.
All this explanation is necessary because the function and purpose
for any of the offices of the clergy can only be understood when
the total “function” of the Church is understood.
These ambassadors within the Orthodox Church fall into three major
orders of clergy: Bishops, Priests (presbyters) and Deacons. Of the first
two, no one can deny importance. In the simplest form and without delving
into the history of these two offices, we can say that where the bishop
is, there is the Church and the priest is representing his bishop at his
assigned Church. In the early Church, there was a bishop in every Church
and it was only after the function of the bishop changed to a more administrative
one that the priest or presbyter began his present function as a “pastor.”
The Deaconate, however, is an order which is little understood
today in the Church. Many think that it is a “stepping-up” place to the
Priesthood. But it was never intended to be such a “means to the end”;
it is an “end” in itself—a distinctive order and function within the community.
We must bear in mind that the term “Diaconos” in the New Testament
signifies first of all those who are members of the fellowship of service.
To be a Deacon means to be a servant. Our Lord gave meaning to the importance
of “servanthood” when He said, “I am among you who serves” and “the Son
of man came not to be served but to serve.” But there is also an historical
development to the Diaconate. (Ep. 3:7 and Col. 1:23)
The Book of Acts (6: 2-3) describes the difficulties of
a growing Church which finds the origin of the Diaconate:
2 - Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples together
and said : It is not reason that we should leave the word of God and serve
tables.
3 - Wherefore brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest
report, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this
business.
It was, therefore, because the Apostles could no longer perform
all that was required of them that they appointed Deacons as well as Bishops
to preside over the founded Christian Communities. This, of course, is
still seen today when a Bishop serves with a Deacon; the Liturgy is performed
almost without the need of the Priest for now the Bishop is the presbyter.
The Deacon, therefore, is not a free agent; his ministry exists only because
of his relation to the Bishop and, therefore, to the particular community.
Canon 15 of the Council of Nicea (325 A.D.) because of the importance
of this understanding says “nor deacon shall pass from city to city.”
This of course is also held to the bishop and presbyter in order to insure
the proper relationship between any of the clerics and the community.
This idea was reiterated again in Canon 16 at the same Council and later
at length in 341 A.D. at the Synod of Antioch where only the bishop is
mentioned, but the understanding of this mystical marriage remains the
same. It is often true, however, that the Church, in its own interest,
had to make exceptions as in the case of St. John Chrysostom’s transfer
from Antioch to Constantinople. In any case, what is important to realize
now is that the deacon receives his authority from the bishop or priest
and from within a community.
In order to emphasize this dependent place of the deacon, Canon
28 of Nicea (325 A.D.) warns that “in some districts and cities, the deacons
administer the Eucharist to the presbyters, whereas neither canon nor
custom permits that they who have no right to offer should give the Body
of Christ to them that offer.” The canon further states that deacons should
remain “in their own bounds,” that they receive the Eucharist “according
to their order, after the presbyter” and finally that they should not
“sit among the presbyters.” The deacon therefore does not have the full
power of function of the presbyter or bishop. This is most clearly shown
by noticing that he is ordained following the consecration of the
bread and wine, whereas the priest is ordained before the consecration.
The power of consecration belongs only to the presbyter (or bishop).
The deacon’s ministry, although not with full power of function
as bishop or presbyter, remains a very important one. This function of
“service” found meaning in two ways. The first was that they had the responsibility
of gathering the offerings of the people and distributing them to the
needy whom the Church supported. This certainly was the primary reason
why the Apostles asked for Stephan and the first seven deacons. It was
here a ministry of charity, a moving as a type of social worker among
the people to find their needs and bring those needs to the attention
of the bishop. The second function of service was within the liturgical
needs of the community. It was here where the deacon accepted the gifts
from the people and prepared them in the Diaconicon (a separate room or
storehouse) for the Eucharistic gatherings and offering at the Liturgy.
In Orthodox Churches today the deacon still carries the bread at the offeratory
(Great Entrance) in remembrance of this function. During the Liturgy,
he stood among the people as a uniting agent in order to lead the people
in prayer. He directed them in the proper pastime and movement i.e. “Let
us bow our heads unto the Lord” and “Let us attend.” His prayers, in the
same understanding, were probably according to the immediate needs of
the people for his working among the people brought to him a knowledge
of who was sick and suffering, who was traveling and departed this life.
In a more universal way, however, as he usually does today, he asked for
“peace in the world” and for “union of all men.”
It is in this second area, the Liturgical, where the canons seem
more involved. This is probably because his function became more “liturgical”
than “social” and therefore this is where the guidance was needed. “Guidance”
is the reason for the canons,
The Council of Ancyra (Canon 2) shows that already as early as
AD. 314, the deacon’s Liturgical function was being fixed. It speaks about
“bringing forth the bread and cup” and “acting as a herald.” We can see
that he was bringing the sacrament to the people and was reading the Gospel
at the gathering. Today, of course, these are still done by the deacon
in the Liturgy. The deacon still calls the people: “With fear of God and
faith and love, draw near.”
We can see by Scripture and by these Canons what were the functions
and the reason for the functions of the deacon. There are many more canons
which make mention of the deacon, but more often than not, it is accompanying
the Canons which are to “guide” the bishop and presbyter also. This is
because in any order of the clergy, the gift, the charisma, is
basically the same and therefore each order, according to its function,
bears part of that responsibility for the total welfare of the Church.
The Church, therefore, guides through the Canons and speaks about all
three orders when it tells us about things such as their marriage and
chastity, their stability and humility, and finally, their ordination,
that is, who, how, when and by whom.
What I have been trying to show is that the deacon’s ministry can
give life to the Church for it brings together the spiritual, social and
economic activities of the Church. But this must be founded in love in
order to transform it all into something “offerable” to God. Perhaps it
is the lack of such love that has caused the decay of the diaconate. I
can offer no solutions to restore the diaconate as it was meant to be,
but one thing seems certain, this same lack of love in the Church has
caused the disunity between clergy and laity, the loss of the social dimension
of the Church, and finally, the lack of a real Liturgical understanding
as one of concelebration, as oneness in mind.
The Church cannot afford to be careless about this, but when the
depth of understanding its own function as the Body of Christ, “founded
in love and truth” is restored, perhaps then the diaconate will again
be restored.
From Word
Magazine
Publication of the Antiochian Orthodox
Christian Archdiocese of North America
September 1972
pp. 7-8
|
