Árdís - 01.01.1958, Side 32

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ÁRDÍS
The Deaconate
Delivered ai Conveniion of Luiheran Women's League
June 21, 1958
The Deaconess motto is: “The Love of Christ constraineth us.”
II Cor. 5:14.
First of all, I shall answer the question: “Who is a deaconness?”
A deaconess is a woman who has been called to a church career,
and who has qualified for and been consecrated by the Church to
to the office of Deaconess. She is a member of the diaconate, which
is a fellowship of such women who serve as a community of re-
ligious workers. “Sister” is the name by which all deaconesses
may be called as was Phoebe, a deaconess of the first century
church (Romans 16:1-12). This family word denotes a bond of
kinship among the deaconesses and with those whom they serve.
The promises of the Deaconess are comparable to the pastor’s
vows of ordination. In the rite of consecration she solemnly
promises to serve faithfully as a deaconess. It is expected that she
will do so until God directs her into another activity.
The diaconate has its roots in the New Testament church. At
this early age, a congregational office was originated, responsible
for the duty of administering the congregation’s ministry of mercy
(Acts 6:1-6). Women were admitted to this office, for St. Paul
wrote about “Phoebe,” a deaconess of the church at Cenchrea
(Romans 16:1). The bishop inducted these early deaconesses into
office with the laying on of hands in the presence of the congre-
gation. The consecration prayer he used, continues to be part of
the modern rite of consecration for ULCA deaconesses.
After the fourth century, the diaconate declined rapidly and
for thirteen centuries lay dormant until revived by Pastor Theodore
Fliedner at Kaiserswerth, Germany, in 1836. He established the
first Motherhouse there in 1836 for the purpose of educating and
training Christian women for professional charitable ministrations
in a closely affiliated sisterhood.
The astonishing thing about the new movement was the speed
with which it grew. From Holland, Switzerland, France, and the