The Ancient Deaconesses – Women who were ordained Deacons

Tens of thousands of women served as fully ordained deacons in Catholic parishes during ten long centuries. Some of them ministered in Italy and Gaul, but the vast majority lived and worked in Greece, Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine and Egypt. At that time the Orthodox East was still part of the Catholic Church.

 INTRODUCTION

HISTORY

 ORDINATION EAST

ORDINATION WEST

 DISCUSSION

 Evidence for women deacons and the tasks they undertook  Records of women deacons and their names  Manuscripts of ordination rites in Greek/Byzantine tradition  Manuscripts from western Europe and evidence for the existence of women deacons  Recent articles and news items
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Video Presentations

Ordained women deacons

Tens of thousands of ordained women deacons served in parishes during the first millennium. deac_coversm

Ministries in the West

Women exercised a variety of ministries in North Africa and in different regions of Western Europe. lulling

The Tasks of Women Deacons

Women deacons fulfilled pastoral functions at baptism, communion and anointing of the sick. deac_tasks

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