Magister Theologiae - MTh / The service of deacons in the Church is documented from Apostolic times. A tradition attested already by St. Ireneus and influenced in the liturgy of ordination, sees the origin of the diaconate in the institution of the “seven” mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles (6:1-6). St Paul refers to the deacons and to bishops in his letter to the Philippians. (1:1), while in his first letter to Timothy (3:8-13) he lists the qualities and virtues which they should possess so as to exercise their ministry worthily.While the permanent diaconate was maintained from earliest Apostolic times to the present in the Eastern rite churches (Orthodox and Catholic), it gradually disappeared in the western church during the first millennium. The diaconate continued as a vestigial form as a temporary, final step along the course to ordination to the priesthood in the western church. In the 20th Century, the Permanent Diaconate was restored in the western church.Following the recommendations of the Second Vatican Council (in Lumen Gentium29), in 1967 Pope Paul VI issued the motu proprio Sacrum Diaconatus Ordinem,restoring the ancient practice of ordaining to the diaconate men who were not candidates for priestly ordination.The permanent deacons are assigned to work in a parish and to assist priests in their pastoral and administrative duties, but report directly to the bishop who appoints them. Unlike most clerics, permanent deacons are married or single men who also have a secular profession.In the Archdiocese of Cape Town, the first deacons to be ordained to the order of Permanent deacons took place in 1980. In the early days, the archdiocese had a clear policy for diaconate training and formation. Priests requested men to study towards becoming deacons. Over the past 30 years the bishops have ordained close to 100 deacons to minister in 75 parishes throughout the Archdiocese.Today there is a need to try to understand why deacons lack the zeal and passion that was so prevalent at their ordinations. Is it due to their training or has a need a risen for a deeper theological understanding of the diaconate. Priests do not fully understand the ministry of the deacons which on occasions gives rise to conflict within the parish.Currently more and more communities are calling on the parish deacon before approaching their parish priest for advice. It is in these theoretical grounds that a critical assessment of the Profile and Ministry of the Catholic Diaconate in the Archdiocese of Cape Town was undertaken. This is pioneer research in the Archdiocese.

The purpose of this essay is to analyse how the Church of Sweden's understanding of the diaconal mission, as it emerges from the national level, relates to Lutheran identity, and critically and constructively examine the relationship using queer theological tools. The essay uses a theologically-historically conscious content-oriented ideational analysis to answer the research questions. The theoretical and methodological approach also contains comparative and queer elements.  The Church of Sweden's national documents about diaconia describes the role of the deacon as caritative, with a special focus on marginalized people. They state that all Christians are called to serve one another. Most of the Church of Sweden's understanding of diaconia is compatible with Lutheran identity, but the two contradict each other in some instances. The essay finds a stronger connection between the Church of Sweden's diaconia and the law than the gospel. The doctrine of the two regiments can be interpreted as if the church has a responsibility to protest worldly rulers if needed. The national documents support this stance.  By using queer theological tools, the essay discusses some of the power structures and discourses that become apparent in the study field. The analysis shows that the diaconate can be understood as an expression of a performative femininity. It also points out that the Church of Sweden's documents implicitly contradicts itself when discussing vulnerability. The essay states that the Church of Sweden is lacking in self-reflection about its own and society´s power structures. Because of this, the Church of Sweden overlooks important dimensions of the diaconal mission. Lutheran identity is useful in the examination of hidden power structures and the understanding of the Church of Sweden's role in society, not least because of its reforming character.

No description available.

This pastoral theological work is focused on clarification of the identity of deacon service and the permanent deacons' placement in the Czech and Moravian parishes, regarding to the Catholic Church at the beginning of the 21st century. The starting point of this work is the historical development of the diaconate and its theological reflection. The current situation of the Czech Particular Churches is, with all the respect, very specific and not sufficiently described yet. That is why I've partly focused on the empirical research (2011 and 2012) where I was searching for answers to the fundamental questions concerning the identity of the diaconate as a connection to the historical and theological part of my work. The target group of respondents was consisted of parishioners, priests, bishops, and deacons who had been active in parish pastoral work. The empirical research has revealed some positive and negative aspects associated with this sacramental service and helped to suggest some changes to the pastoral involvement of the permanent deacons in the Czech Republic. As a result of this research, the deacon service is truly an important part of the sacramental life in the Church and it is indispensable. However, concerning its true identity, surely it is more than important to seek and create specific space for the role of permanent deacons in such a way that their positions don't play only a vicarious role, as we experience these days. The theses that have come out of this work might help partialy to solve this problem.

A missão do diácono permanente como servidor da mesa da Palavra e sua contribuição à atual demanda missionária da ICAR no campo da Evangelização. A investigação, que parte dos textos exarados pelo Concílio Vaticano II e alcança os documentos magisteriais pós-conciliares, tem por objetivo valorizar o exercício do munus docendi ecclesiae conferido ao diácono permanente em virtude de sua ordenação sacramental. Baseia-se na pesquisa bibliográfica das fontes indicadas nas referências e se apresenta em três capítulos. O primeiro capítulo trata do ministério do diácono permanente como restaurado pelo Concílio Vaticano II. Examina a similaridade e a distinção entre os ministérios ordenados e os nãoordenados na ICAR. Verifica as funções conferidas pela ordenação nas áreas da Palavra, da liturgia e da caridade. Investiga elementos do serviço à pregação desde a origem do ministério diaconal no Novo Testamento e apresenta a essência do ministério dos antigos diáconos. O segundo capítulo é dedicado ao serviço do diácono permanente à mesa da Palavra de Deus. Investiga o significado prático da recuperação conciliar da noção de unidade das duas mesas Palavra e Eucaristia, com a decorrente revalorização do lugar reservado à Palavra de Deus na liturgia e na vida dos fiéis católicos. Busca pela presença da expressão pão da Palavra de Deus na Tradição eclesial. Investiga o ministério diaconal da Palavra no Magistério eclesial pós-conciliar e nos documentos das Congregações vaticanas, da CNBB e do CELAM. Analisa os elementos do rito de ordenação diaconal e suas implicações práticas para a missão da qual o diácono é investido na ICAR. O terceiro capítulo propõe caminhos para que o diácono permanente possa contribuir no campo da Evangelização, interpretando os resultados das investigações procedidas nos capítulos anteriores. Apresenta a realidade pastoral do ministério diaconal na ICAR e sugere um lugar sustentável e, ao mesmo tempo, relevante para o diácono permanente. Apresenta o diaconato no contexto do ministério ordenado a partir do que o autor denomina chave simbólica. Traz um apanhado geral do que foi levantado na pesquisa com relação a funções na esfera da evangelização e pregação da Palavra de competência do diácono permanente. Elege quatro áreas onde o ministério diaconal pode colaborar na atual demanda missionária da ICAR: catequese renovada, evangelização das famílias e pequenas comunidades, ecumenismo e dimensão pública da Igreja. Conclui que o encargo diaconal no campo da evangelização tem sido muito pouco aproveitado, incentivado ou valorizado na Igreja e na sociedade. Sendo assim os diáconos devem assumir a parcela do serviço que lhes cabe como mensageiros da Palavra, pois certamente têm mais funções no âmbito da pregação e do ensino do que atualmente exercem, haja vista que tudo quanto se refere à pregação do Evangelho, à catequese, à difusão da bíblia e sua explicação ao povo lhes foi conferido ordinariamente. / The mission of the permanent deacon as Server of the table of the Word and his contribution to the current missionary demand of the Roman Catholic Church in the field of Evangelization. The investigation, which stems from texts written by the II Vatican Council and reaches to post-council magisterial documents, has as its goal to value the exercise of the munus docendi ecclesiae conferred to the permanent deacon upon his sacramental ordination. It is based on bibliographical research of the sources cited in the references and is presented in three chapters. The first chapter deals with the ministry of the permanent deacon as reinstated by the II Vatican Council. It examines the similarities and differences between the ordained and non-ordained ministries in the Roman Catholic Church. It verifies the functions conferred by ordination in the areas of the Word, of liturgy and of charity. It investigates elements of service to preaching since the origin of diaconal ministry in the New Testament and presents the essence of the ministry of the ancient deacons. The second chapter is dedicated to the service of the permanent deacon to the table of the Word of God. It investigates the practical meaning of the councils recovery of the notion of the union of the two tables Word and Eucharist, with the consequent revalorization of the place of the Word of God in the liturgy and in the life of the Catholic faithful. It seeks the presence of the expression Bread of the Word of God in the ecclesial Tradition. It investigates the diaconal ministry of the Word in the postcouncil ecclesial Magisterium and in the documents of the Vatican Congregations, of the CNBB and of CELAM. It analyzes the elements of the rite of diaconal ordination and its implications for the mission with which the deacon is invested in the Catholic Church. The third chapter proposes ways in which the permanent deacon can contribute in the field of Evangelization, interpreting the results of the preceding investigations from the prior chapters. It presents the pastoral reality of the diaconal ministry in the Church and suggests a sustainable and at the same time relevant place for the permanent deacon. It presents the diaconate in the context of the ordained ministry based on what the author calls a symbolic key. It puts forth a general summary of what was brought up in the research with regards to the functions in the sphere of evangelization and the preaching of the Word that are of the competence of the permanent deacon. It selects four areas where the diaconal ministry can collaborate in the current missionary demand of the Church: renewed catechesis, evangelization of the families and small communities, ecumenism and the public dimension of the Church. It concludes that the diaconal role in the field of evangelism has not been well used, encouraged or valued in the Church and in society. Being thus, the deacons should assume their share of the service that behooves them as messengers of the Word, since, there are certainly more tasks in the areas of preaching and teaching than they currently carry out, since all that refers to the preaching of the Gospel, to catechesis, to spreading the Bible and its explanation to the people was ordinarily conferred upon them

In the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the wives of the married applicants, aspirants and candidates to the permanent diaconate are required to accompany their husbands during the process of formation. Currently, the formation program does not engage them fully. Since women cannot be ordained as deacons, they are not perceived as the intended recipients for the formation offered by the program. This study proposes an alternative vision and theological framework. The study affirms the full dignity of women as human beings created in the image and likeness of God and therefore, perfectly well suited to be icons of God as they minister to the Christian community and to the world. The study explores the ministry of notable women mentioned in the New Testament, particularly Mary the mother of God; Mary Magdalene; Mary of Bethany; the foreigner woman identified as a Syrophoenician in the Gospel of Mark and as a Canaanite in the Gospel of Matthew; the Samaritan woman at the well; Phoebe, introduced by St. Paul to the Romans as a Deacon and the women mentioned in the First Letter to Timothy in the middle of the author’s list of requirements for deacons. While remaining open to the possibility of women being admitted to the ordained permanent diaconate, this study aims at providing a theological and practical framework to make the diaconate formation program more meaningful and fruitful for the women in it. The ministry of women is as important and valuable as the ministry of men and formation for ministry is a good that ought to be made available to those who seek that formation. This proposal includes the modification of the vision, policies, procedures and curriculum of diaconate formation to make the formation of women an explicit and integral part of the program.

CHARLES UNIVERSITY PRAGUE Catholic Theological Faculty Department of Theological Ethics and Spiritual Theology ThLic.Mgr. Ing. David Seifert THE POST-CONCILIAR RENEWAL OF THE PERMANENT DIACONATE HISTORY - THEOLOGY - SPIRITUALITY Doctoral thesis Resume Thesis adviser: ThLic. Vojtěch Kohut Th.D. PRAHA 2011 2 CONTENT CONTENT ................................................................................................................................. 2 RESUME.................................................................................................................................... 3 List of sources and literature ...................................................................................................... 4 3 RESUME The trends of the contemporary theology of diaconate are based on the old-christian practice of diaconate mainly in sense of the variety of the services in church and plurality within the frame of the church office, which is justified richly theologically, namely trinitarily. In the light of relationship between the service and the community is just the variety of services in the local church understood as the fullness of the mission, which just the local Church is called to accomplish and live. The question therefore is to answer the question of identity of diaconate through...

En studie av förståelser av diakoni och diakonat i tre nya storpastorat i Svenska kyrkan genom analys av styrdokument för diakoni. Tre diakoniförståelser lever samtidigt i de tre undersökta pastoraten, diakoni som omsorg, röstbärare och välfärdsaktör. Stora pastorat innebär möjligheter för diakonalt nytänkande genom att organisera diakoni på nya sätt, med specialiserade roller som ges ansvar för att driva utvecklingsarbete. De tre undersökta pastoraten vill i första hand utveckla en samarbetsroll gentemot välfärdssamhället. Pastoraten vill utveckla diakoni som professionell praktik genom gemensamma riktlinjer, metodutveckling och kvalitetssäkring av det diakonala arbetet. En tendens i materialet är att det gemenskapande diakonala arbetet i framtiden i högre grad kommer bäras av ideella medarbetare. Den liturgiska gestaltningen av diakoni har inte i något av pastoraten behandlats som en del av strategin för diakoni vilket innebär att möjligheter till en djupare förankring av diakoni som teologisk praktik inte tas tillvara. Avgränsningar och prioriteringar av pastoratens diakonala verksamhetsfält har inte lyfts till den strategiska nivån trots att omfattande arbete föreslås läggas till. Innebörden av detta är att pastoratsgemensamma mål kan bli svåra att realisera eller att de i förlängningen riskerar att utmatta en redan ansträngd diakoni.

The thesis aims to contribute to the theoretical grounding of diakonia as the Christian-oriented practice of helping in modern society. Methodologically the author works with the social systems theory developed by Niklas Luhmann, which enables a differentiated description of the multidimensional reality of Christian helping action in its historical development and present situation. In the first part, the topic is theologically grounded ? biblically, historically and dogmatically. Then the main features of social systems theory are presented. Emphasis is placed on the dual ? primary (functional) and secondary (social) ? differentiation in society and its consequences for understanding diakonia. In this context diakonia is observed as the structural coupling of the systems of social help and Christianity and subsequently defined as helping in gospel perspective, which can be observed at micro-, meso- and macro-levels, i.e., in the context of interaction, organization and society ? and at the same time different theories must be developed for Christian helping at the individual levels. In the second part, the sociological description of the differentiation of diakonia is first confronted with theologically-oriented descriptions of differentiation in the context of Christianity and, following especially Wichern?s division of diakonia into civic, free and ecclesial, attention is focused on the ?tripod of diakonia? in the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren in the form of Diaconia of ECCB, Christian service and diaconate. This multi-focus view of diakonia makes it possible to reflect on its mutually irreducible layers and search for adequate theories for each of them. In the formation of the Christian dimension of the organization emphasis is placed on cultivating an adequate organization culture. Interaction has to do with the mutual ?neighborly? help within a community. The specific function of diaconate is identified in constructing bridges between the ecclesial level of Christianity and its connection with the system of social help, as well as other partial systems in society ? and in this sense it is perceived as again highly relevant. In the concluding chapter, the communication-based approach of social systems theory is correlated with the practical-theological paradigm of gospel communication. In this context diakonia is understood as an inseparable part of ?gospel communication?.

Une petite communauté luthérienne, originaire surtout d’Allemagne, existe depuis le XVIe siècle à Lyon. Elle bénéficie d’une Église, installée à Genève, à partir de 1707. Il s’agit surtout de négociants, qui se rendent à Genève quatre fois par an pour la Cène. Mais, à partir de 1770, quand les réformés lyonnais ont enfin un pasteur, les luthériens participent de plus en plus à l’Église réformée de Lyon et délaissent Genève.Pendant près de 75 ans, les luthériens lyonnais disparaissent de l’histoire lyonnaise. Au tournant des 18e et 19e siècles, la communauté luthérienne vit sa vie à l’ombre de la communauté réformée. Entre 1800 et 1850, le mouvement d’immigration de suisses, allemands, alsaciens s’accélère. En 1851, après plusieurs tentatives infructueuses pendant les cinquante années précédentes, le pasteur luthérien Georges Mayer crée une église évangélique allemande qui rapidement se rattache à l’Eglise de la confession d’Augsbourg.La communauté allemande dirige cette église pendant une trentaine d’année jusqu’à l’installation du premier pasteur luthérien français de Lyon. S’ensuivront près de trente années de relations houleuses entre les communautés allemande et française La première guerre mondiale signe l’arrêt de mort de la paroisse allemande. L’église française survit difficilement entre 1914 et 1938. La renaissance aura lieu grâce à deux pasteurs à la personnalité exceptionnelle : André Desbaumes et Henry Bruston. L’église luthérienne devient une pièce incontournable de l’œcuménisme lyonnais et s’ouvre sur le monde. L’année 2007 marque le début du rapprochement entre les églises réformée et luthérienne. Une nouvelle histoire commence. / A small lutheran community coming from Germany exists in Lyon from the 16 century. This group owned a church, settled in Geneva from 1707.It was mostly composed of traders who went to Geneva four times a year for the holy communion. But, from 1770 onward, when the Calvinists from Lyons got their priest, the Lutherans went more and more to that church, letting down Geneva.For about 75 years, the Lutherans disappeared from Lyons. At the turn of the eighteen and nineteen centuries, the community spent her life in the shade of the Calvinist church. Between 1800 and 1850, the immigration movement of swiss, germans and Alsatians was quickening.In 1851, after multiples fruitless tries during the last fifty years, the Lutheran reverend Georges Mayer create an evangelic german church which is quickly linked with the Augsburg Confession.The german community managed the church for nearly 30 years until the arrival of the first French vicar in Lyons .For another 30 years, the relations were stormies between the two communities.The first world war marked the death of the german parish. The French church survived with difficulties during the twenties and thirties. The “renaissance” was due to two extraordinary personalities: André Desbaumes and Henry Bruston The Lutheran church became an inescapable part of the Lyons’s oecumenism and opened itself to the world.2007 marked the beginning of the merger between the Calvinist and Lutheran churches. A new story began.