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Hello, my fiance and I are seriously thinking about attending Divine Liturgy and seeing where it takes us.

I do believe that I may have a possible calling to the diaconate, and was therefore wondering what it entails to be a Deacon in the Byzantine rite. How is it different from the Latin rite? What does the preparation include, etc? Also, would it be necessary for us to formally switch rites?

If God is truly calling me to this, it won't be until the distant future I think, but I am interested in knowing about this option now.

Thank you.

dear "Made"

1. Welcome!

2. re Attending Divine Liturgy, GREAT! Have you never been before? You're in for a treat (hopefully, i.e. hopefully you'll find one that's done well, in other words, "according to the book", in English or whatever is the vernacular, and where people are friendly & welcoming.

3. If you've no familiarity with the Byzantine rite, you should get to know us before transfering into one of our autonomous Churches and getting ordained. Because it is QUITE different from the latin rite: in liturgy, theology, spirituality and church discipline.

4. you might want to take a look at some articles on line re the Diaconate, e.g.:

http://www.saintelias.com/DivServices_elia/DiakonECC/DiakonECC1.html

http://www.saintelias.com/DivServices_elia/DiakonUGCC/DiakonUGCC1.html

even

http://www.saintelias.com/DivServices_elia/ClercAttire/ClercAttire1.html
if you are interested in the attire.

there's lots more i'm sure.

Here's an intro to the Divine Liturgy

http://www.saintelias.com/Liturgy_elia/Liturgy_elia.html

5. Enjoy!

6. and hopefully, Welcome to our Church!

Herb

Yes, I've attended Divine Liturgy before, I should have said that my fiance and I are thinking about attending Divine Liturgy regularly.

I am aware that eastern praxis and spirituality is different from the west, and I am aware of some of these differences, and I am very attracted to the praxis of the east.

I know that it will take much time, prayer, and study before I would change rites or even possibly become a deacon in the future, I am just curious to know what being a Deacon in the east involves, so I will check those links you have so graciously provided.

Thank you.

dear Made:

In Divine Liturgy for example, Deacons do perhaps some 80% of the service, i.e. they take all the Litanies (except for the final Exclamation (ekphonesis)) - so quite different from the Latin Church where they might get 2 lines, if the Presbyter remembers to leave it to them.

In general, in the Byzantine rite, deacons are the MCs of the Divine Services and they are the ones that must know the Services very well as they tell the presbyters and even the bishops what to do and when to do it. (e.g. they get to say stuff like: "Master, Bless", or "Master, proceed", or "It is time to serve the Lord", or "Master, Bless the Holy Bread" etc. etc.

Come on over!

Herb

In my parish the deacon provides special assistance to the officiating priest, and leads the litanies as Herbigny has said. The priest himself is the catalyst, of course. Our deacon usually reads the gospel, and sometimes delivers a sermon. As cantor, I have a microphone, lead all parish singing and responses, and read the epistle. This could possibly vary depending on how those duties are designated at the parish level, however. Our current deacon, from the Latin Rite, does what I described above, but is not in an administrative or MC capacity within the service itself. Some deacons are more importantly administrators for their parishes in terms of co-ordinating various resources and groups. The ceremonial importance of the deacon varies depending on what duties the priest is willing to delegate, per church directives. Byzantine deacons do not administer or officiate in sacramental services as far as I know- unlike their Latin brothers who can marry and baptize. It is possible for a special exception to be made, but usually it is a temporary one.

Wow, thanks for the information.

Believe me, I'm highly considering it

In the Byzantine churches.. orthodox or catholic.. the Deacon gets to do ALOT. I have even seen them wear cool hats. The hat alone is cool enough
If I were you I would call the seminary and ask. You probably have to be a certain age to do so and have been married for a period of time..
There are a bunch of Deacons that post here.
Deacons are awesome, they are very connected to the people of the parish as well.
As a matter of fact most Orthodox/Byzantine Catholic services call for a deacon.. so when you have a deacon it makes it feel complete, even the funeral services at the funeral home require a deacon.. although many times I have seen it done without a deacon.. and many parishes do not have a deacon. But I can gurantee one thing.. if a parish doesn't have a deacon, I would bet my Christmas presents that they want one.

If only that were 100% true........

Ok, in a ideal world then

Dear �Made�,

Glory to Jesus Christ!

I agree with what many posters said regarding the role of the deacon at an Eastern Divine Liturgy, but would still like to elaborate on this point of the deacon being the �MC�.

The directives given by the deacon (�Reverend Father, bless the chalice�, �Reverend Father, bless the holy bread�, etc) are not really seen as a directive from the deacon to the priest or bishop. Rather, as the deacon is the one representing the people of God, the deacon asks the actions to be carried out in the name of the people. And since the priest at the Divine Liturgy stands in the place of Christ, the Liturgy is a true action of Christ along with His Church, the people of God. This mystical marriage of Christ and His bride, the Church, is a true presentation of the actions of the Liturgy.

Remember, it is the deacon who makes the entrances to and from the sanctuary, as the angels make their presence to the people as messengers from God. Rather than say the deacon gives directions to the people, it would be more liturgically correct to state that the deacon leads the people in prayer. When the deacon prays, �In peace, let us pray to the Lord�, the response of the people �Lord, have mercy�, is a continuation of that unbroken prayer for the glory of God and for the benefit of His people.

Some priests who do not normally serve with a deacon may almost resent a deacon telling them what to do. This is unfortunate, and in no way represents what is going on at the Liturgy. It is the mystical union of the people and Christ, the human and the divine that makes the Liturgy possible. Just as the Liturgy would be impossible without the priest/bishop, a Liturgy without the people would be missing the human element for which Christ�s incarnation made salvation possible.

If you are called to a vocation as a deacon, please contact your parish priest.

My prayers are with you for a most blessed Christmas.

Deacon El

Deacon El,

Thank you for that very informative and beautiful post.

Brian

Two other points to consider:

Some jurisdictions may have a minimum time for one to be married before you can be ordained a deacon. Settling into a marriage require great adjustments, and adding the work of study and the responsibilities of serving as a deacon would be very hard on newly married couple.

Also, if your wife should die (God forbid!) you would not be allowed to remarry. This could possibly leave you as the only parent to small children.

-- Penthaetria, wishing you well in your marriage and your faith journey, and not wanting to throw a damper on the party

Penthaetria,

Believe me I am not rushing into this, nor do I expect to be a Deacon in the near future. I am well aware that if this were to occur it would probably be about 10 years down the road.

I was asking because I have been thinking about the diaconate for a couple of years now in the Latin rite. Now, that my fiance and I are thinking about attending Divine Liturgy more often, and possibly switching rites, I was just curious as to what the diaconate in the east consists of.

Thank you for your informative posts and well wishes.

Every parish should have a deacon and an "empty sedes".
Stephanos I