By Lambros Skontzos
The Sunday of the Myrrhbearers is dedicated, in addition to the Holy Myrrhbearers, who took care of the divine body of our Lord and his burial, to the Seven Deacons of the Early Church.
According to the Book of Acts of the Apostles, the young Church of Jerusalem grew by leaps and bounds. A multitude of people, both Jews and Hellenists, that is, Jews who had adopted the Greek language and the Greek way of life, or former Gentiles who had converted to Judaism, believed in the preaching of the apostles, were baptized and joined the Church. Within the Church their lives changed, because they were part of the Christian brotherhood, where all members considered each other brothers in Christ, adopted by God in Christ (Gal. 4:7). The Church was not another religion different from Judaism or pagan nationalism, but something incomparably superior to the concept of religion. The Church is the “new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17), the new world of God, His kingdom on earth, which came to replace the old fallen world aged by sin and corruption.
Thus in the ancient Church the activities of its members were not limited to worship, but extended to all aspects of their lives. The sacred text states:
"Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need" (Acts 4:32-35).
The desired common ownership of goods was implemented for the first time. A visible sign of the brotherhood of the members of the Church were the famous “love feasts,” that is, the daily common dinners, where they ate as brothers, without distinction.
Some Christians, who came from the sect of the Pharisees, who continued to abhor the Gentiles as unclean, as the Jews considered them, made some distinctions in their “love feasts” towards those Christians who came from the Gentiles, especially towards widows and orphans. This was certainly considered unacceptable, because all of them, through Holy Baptism, had put off the old man, along with its actions, desires and origins, and had put on Christ (Gal. 3:27). No distinction was allowed within the Eucharistic assembly of the Church. That is why the apostles intervened and restored this disorder with their personal work.
The apostles' occupation of maintaining order, distributing food without discrimination and enforcing equality among members distracted them from their main work - the preaching of the gospel. Therefore:
"The twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, 'It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.' And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch, whom they set before the apostles; and when they had prayed, they laid hands on them" (Acts 6:2-7).
The election, and the manner of election of the Seven Deacons, is of great importance for our Church. The institution of deacons comes to implement Christ's command for the mutual service of people: "Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant [διάκονος], and whoever wants to be first must be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served [διακονηθήναι], but to serve [διακονήσαι], and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10:43-45). Just as Christ came to serve man, so too those who want to be His genuine disciples must serve one another. Any service to a person in need is as if it were done to Christ Himself, “Truly I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me” (Matthew 25:39).
But the manner of election is also important. The apostles did not appoint them, but they recommended to the faithful to elect those they want to serve them, without any distinction of aristocrats or commoners, rich or poor, men or women. Here is the universal democracy of our Church, which was applied two thousand years before it was applied to politics!
The Seven Deacons clearly had a social role in the ancient Church. At the same time, the institution of deaconesses was also established, with the highest social responsibilities. But over time, the institution of deacons faded away, when the “love feasts” stopped. The institution of deaconesses disappeared completely and the institution of male deacons was limited to the ministry of worship and constituted the first degree of the priesthood.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
