who was the first female deacon in the bible

[8] Secular evidence from the early 2nd century confirms this. 1. Since this is true, Paul also argues in Romans that God can be trusted with the more mundane realities of division and anxiety. The same form of the word diakonos is both masculine and feminine; it would have been unclear for Paul to use just the term diakonos if he wanted to refer to women servers. Bible verses about "Deacons"? - BibleGateway.com Secondly, Phoebe was a benefactor of many people, including Paul. Registered User They are to be involved in prayer and the ministry of the Word, as well as the administration of the church. 12 A deacon must be faithful to his wife and must manage his children and his household well. The words are used at least a hundred times in the New Testament, and they are usually translated with variants of the English words serve or minister. Our aspiring women deacons view the female diaconate not as a historical revival, but as a camel's nose in the clerical tent. 1:1 ). Of course, some womens stories are more accessible in Scripture than others. Sometimes Paul gets labeled as being anti-women, but Phoebe and her sisters would surely testify otherwise. The first Study Commission on the Women's Diaconate was established in August 2016 by Pope Francis to review the theology and history of the ministry of women deacons (deaconesses) in the Roman Catholic Church.The commission did not reach a general agreement. Deaconess: Can women be deacons? Does that imply female elders? - CARM.ORG They relieve those who are more skilled in teaching to be free to pray and study to teach. Paul gives specificity to her faith by describing her with two titles: diakonos and prostatis. Apparently the native Jews were concentrating more on the needs of their own people. It is essential to recognize that deacons are equally qualified with elders in terms of character and spiritual life. Please contact the publisher to obtain copies of this resource. From Pauls words in Romans 16, we know that there was a Christian church in Cenchreae, and that Phoebe had some sort of significant role in the life of the church at Cenchreae. Interpreters widely agree that by placing her first in his list, Paul introduces Phoebe as the bearer of the letter. The name Phoebe means "pure", "radiant", or "bright"; and was the name of a Titan in Greek mythology. Third, a deacon must be morally pure in every way, just as an elder is. Diakonissa was also the term used in the ancient Church for the order of deaconess, a class of ordained women who saw to the care of women in the community. What is Phoebes role? Only deacons are of apostolic origin. Romans 13:34 talks about general service in an interesting way: Do you want to have no fear of authority? Who are the deacons in the Bible? - Catholicism in the modern world The deacons were chosen by the bishop to 'concern themselves about many necessary things,' and the deaconesses only 'for the service of women' ( DA 3, 12, 1). Paul says, however, that she was a prostatis to him, and he is normally adamant about his co-leadership with others under God. In this study, we will meet a biblical woman whose story has too often been obscured or minimized in the study of the first church: Phoebe. Christians Invented Health Insurance. Church Offices From this text and elsewhere, we know that the Bible recognizes two offices within the church: elder and deacon (cf. For example, some say that Romans 12 contains a reference to the office of deacon: Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly if service, in his serving (vv. 1 Deacons are the servants of the church. It's Biblical. Theres nothing that indicates the seven continued to serve in their original capacity. She went viral blogging about beauty and yoga pants. Phoebe is simply called a servant (diakonon) which can be rendered differently in different Bibles: "minister" (Darby, YLT), "servant" (ASV, ESV, HCSB, ISV, KJV, NASB, NIV, NKJV), "helper" (NCV), "deacon" (NLT, NRSV), and "deaconess" (RSV). But it doesnt necessarily mean that a deacon is to be someone who has never been divorced, although that would be a disqualification if his sin contributed to the divorce, or if the circumstances of the divorce bring reproach on him. Deacons have a lead role in churches as ministers and as servants. In 1 Timothy 3:11, we read, "In the same way, women are to be worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything.". First, Phoebe was part of a larger cohort of women who partnered closely with the Apostle Paul, women such as Chloe (1 Corinthians 1:11), Nympha (Colossians 4:15), Apphia (Philemon 2), Euodia and Syntyche (Philippians 4:2-3), and Junia (Romans 16:7). In practice, therefore, the deacons "became the assistants of the bishop in discharging services of love to all the members of the church who were in need". Verses 12 say, Now at this time while the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint arose on the part of the Hellenistic Jews [Greek proselytes who were a part of Judaism but lived in a Greek culture] against the native Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food. Paul also listed four spiritual qualifications. Whether your English translation says servant or deacon, the only translation not fitting to the New Testament is deaconess. A feminized form of the character trait or office does not exist in Biblical literature. Indeed, a number of theologians believe that not only was Phoebe the letter-carrier, she also likely explained the letter to its first hearers. In Romans 16:1, we read, I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant [diakonos] of the church which is at Cenchrea. Phoebe was recognized by the church for her service. Their ministry is mentioned by early Christian writers such as Clement of Alexandria [7] and Origen. A second spiritual qualification for deacons is given in verse 10: These men must also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons if they are beyond reproach. They must be men already tested and proved to be faithful. In the end, it was John Calvins Geneva that led the way in restoring the female diaconate among the Protestant tradition. But Paul also used diakonos in Ephesians 3:7, and diakonia in 4:12, both referring to general service, and there is no reason to assume he meant differently here. He is the author of the forthcoming book, Together in Ministry: Women and Men in Flourishing Partnerships, coming in summer 2021 from InterVarsity Press Academic. Not in the least. It is noteworthy that only seven men were selected. The only compelling support that the men were deacons is the use of the Greek terms diakonia and diakone in the text. There, Christ said, For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? The Greek word for women in 1 Timothy 3:11 is gunaikas. The existence of the order of women deacons in Christian tradition is not, and should not be, in dispute. My conviction is that when a church becomes as concerned about maintaining high standards of purity and integrity in leadership as it is about upholding a specific form of government, that church will prosper, and it will begin to fall more in line with Scripturenot only in the form of government it adopts, but in the lives of its people as well. Next, the text tells us that Phoebes home base is Cenchreae, a coastal town about five miles southeast of the city of Corinth. 1. Married men can be ordained as deacons. Another place that the word deacon appears is Philippians 1:1. The woman Paul entrusted with such an important task is mentioned in only two verses of the New Testament, but with that one reference, Paul leaves a treasure of insight into the early Christian community. In 2 Corinthians 8:34, Paul said of the churches in Macedonia, For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints. The word support in that passage is from the Greek word diakonia. Those men knew the situation and their people. We use it equally to describe a slave who serves his master, or a king who serves his people. Credit: Larry Kamphausen; used under CC-BY-SA-4.. Who was Phoebe? 10. The second occurrence of the word in that verse uses the general meaning, with the clear implication that the service rendered is of a spiritual nature. By the time of the Reformation, Phoebe gained prominence again in part because the book of Romans garnered disproportionate attention from biblical commentators. * * * * * Whether women should be deacons is a difficult matter. This office, therefore, is named for what it does: serve. First, Paul calls her a deacon. The Greek word for deacon is diakonos, and it is elsewhere translated as servant or minister. In his essay What Can We Say About Phoebe?, J. David Miller argues that Pauls usage of diakonos in Romans 12 carries with it the notion of leadership. Wrangling over what offices Phoebe might have held distracts us from the more signifi cant reality of these verses: Paul trusted her to explain Romans. Deacon - Wikipedia The first term, diakonos, from which we get our English word deacon, is the masculine form of the word servant and certainly indicates that she has made it a regular practice to help others, as . Men and Women in the Deaconate and in the Service of Communion Spiritual character. Who has been a Phoebe in your life? By this act, as the priesthood of all believers, we live into what it means to be connected across time to one another in the body of Christ and by the power of the living God. Other churches appoint almost everyone who is a regular attender as a deacon. The bishop placed his hands on the head of the candidate for the ordination and places the stole (orarium) around her neck in the same way as was done for the male deacons. The deacons administered the . All who serve the Lord are deacons, or ministers, if not in an official sense, at least in the sense of this general usage of the word. However, some interpret 1 Timothy 3:11 as referring to women deacons because the Greek word translated "wives" can also be translated "women." Scholars are divided on how best to interpret verse 11, offering three alternatives. Since the UK is now no longer a member of the EU, you may be charged an import tax on this item by the customs authorities in your country of residence, which is beyond our control. [Gary Macy holds the John Nobili, SJ, Chair of Theology at Santa Clara University and directs the Graduate Program in Pastoral Ministries at the university. By doing what they did, they freed the apostles to devote themselves to the priorities of prayer and the ministry of the Word. The term "diakonos" is used of an office with special requirements that women cannot meet. We read a lot about what qualifies a man to be a deacon, but little about how deacons are to minister in their role as part of a local church. Theologian Marg Mowczko writes, As well as being an important part of Roman society at all levels, patronage was also important in the church. Therefore, they must be men whose goals in life are not monetary. General Service. Finally, the earliest churches do not reveal evidence of female deacons during the first century of the church. This is what the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) did when it reestablished the permanent male diaconate. What is the message of these two verses for us today? See something we missed? Biblically, the use of the word diakonos is not limited to descriptions of believers. 10 They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons. We sent you an email. Three other texts in the gospels where the word deacon is used to refer to the act of serving a meal are John 12:2, Luke 10:40, and 17:8. Our Lord said, Whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve (Matthew 20:2628). When Augustine heard the words take up and read, at that life-changing moment, he opened the Bible to Romans 13:13. The New American Standard uses the word ministry in this verse instead of office; the Greek word there is diakonia. Note that all seven of the men who were chosen had Greek names. Sometimes the ordinary moments of life stick with you. We might use the word serve to describe anything from the start of a volley in a tennis match to the activity of a convicted criminal, who serves a term in prison. Epaphras. All servants or deacons, whether male or female, equally follow in the footsteps of Jesus, who came to serve all. Mom, thats Dads name, I insisted, baffled. Share your feedback here. And that is the traditional and original sense of the word deacon. In Acts 21:8, Paul writes, On the next day we left and came to Caesarea; and entering the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, we stayed with him. Notice that Philip is identified as an evangelist.
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