Remembering and Reclaiming Diakonia: The Diaconate Yesterday and Today

John Chryssavgis

The thin veil that lies on the left shoulder of the deacon reflects the wings of the angels. -- St. John Chrysostom

Here exactly is the book that we have long needed to help us rethink the ministry of the deacon in the contemporary Church. Scholarly yet accessible, it draws on the past to illuminate the future. It will prove of great interest not only to members of the Orthodox Church but to many in other Christian traditions. In an imaginative and moving way, the author draws on his personal experience of twenty-five years in the diaconate. + Kallistos (Ware) of Diokleia, Oxford University

One of the fundamental ministries constituting the eucharistic community as Church was from the earliest times the deacon. Together with the bishop and the presbyters, the deacons were regarded by St. Ignatius of Antioch in the beginning of the first century as an essential part of the structure of the Church. . . . To my knowledge, no other such study exists on the subject by an Orthodox scholar. I have no doubt that this invaluable study will enrich our appreciation of the ordained ministry in general. + John (Zizioulas) of Pergamon from the Foreword

We owe a great deal of gratitude to the Rev. Deacon John Chryssavgis for his in-depth study, Remembering and Reclaiming Diakonia. I personally found the text informative and enlightening, an honest appraisal of contemporary problems of the diaconate. The author sheds ample light on the existing confusion of the liturgical role and administrative responsibilities of deacons. I join Fr. John in praying that the revitalization of the diaconate may prove to be the basis of restoration for the entire hierarchical and ministerial structure. + Methodios of Boston

190 pages
Paperback
Published 2009
size: 9.0 x 6.0 x 0.6"
ISBN: 978-1-935317-03-6