deacon

n. assistant to the minister of a church

Deacon is a role in the Christian Church which is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. In many traditions, the diaconate is a clerical office; in others, it is for laity.The word deacon (and deaconess) is derived from the Greek word diakonos (διάκονος), which is often translated servant or waiter. It is generally believed that the office of deacon originated in the selection of seven men, among them Stephen, to assist with the charitable work of the early church as recorded in . Deaconesses are mentioned by Pliny the Younger in a letter to Trajan dated c. 112. The exact relationship between Deacons and Deaconesses is varies. In some traditions a deaconess is simply a female deacon; in others, deaconesses constitute a separate order.
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Noun
1. a Protestant layman who assists the minister
(synonym) Protestant deacon
(hypernym) church officer
(hyponym) deaconess
2. a cleric ranking just below a priest in Christian churches; one of the Holy Orders
(hypernym) clergyman, reverend, man of the cloth

(v. t.)
To read aloud each line of (a psalm or hymn) before singing it, -- usually with off.
  

(n.)
The chairman of an incorporated company.
  

(n.)
An officer in Christian churches appointed to perform certain subordinate duties varying in different communions. In the Roman Catholic and Episcopal churches, a person admitted to the lowest order in the ministry, subordinate to the bishops and priests. In Presbyterian churches, he is subordinate to the minister and elders, and has charge of certain duties connected with the communion service and the care of the poor. In Congregational churches, he is subordinate to the pastor, and has duties as in the Presbyterian church.
  

Deacon [from Greek diakonos servant, minister, deacon] With the Valentinian Gnostics in the Pistis Sophia, the twelve Deacons are "a manifestation of the primordial type of the Dodecad of the Pleroma on a Loka of another plane" (BCW 13:28). This Dodecad is identical with the twelve Saviors as part of the Treasure of Light. { }