祝聖為執事

教會的歷史中，有三種牧職的出現是經由祝聖而來的。
這三種牧職被稱為聖秩。
我們知道他們是主教，司鐸和執事。
雖然他們各自的領域不同，這三種牧職都是同一個聖秩聖事的一部分。
梵二大公會議談及：一個憑藉上主的力量建立的牧職，是以三個階層來行使，從古至今被稱為主教，司鐸和執事。（梵二大公會議文獻§ 28).



Women were ordained deacons!在早期教會中，女性經由完整的祝聖，被賦予為執事職務。

在第一到第九世紀裡，特別是在東方的教會中，這個慣例已被詳盡的紀錄成文。

女性執事協助婦女的受洗，那是需要把全身進入水中並傅油。

We know the exact ordination rites that were used. They involve the imposition of hands by the bishop, the invocation of the Holy Spirit to impart the diaconate and the imposition of the diaconate stole.
Read here one typical example of such a rite.

The ordination to the diaconate was identical in all essentials for men and women. If women deacons were not ordained validly, neither were the male deacons.








 The eastern part of the Church was at that time fully Catholic, since the schism with the west only took place in 1054.



The practice can be traced back to St. Paul. Co-ministering with him was Phoebe, ‘the deacon of the church at Cenchreae’ (Romans 16,1-2).

International Church Councils, such as Chalcedon, Trullo and Nicaea II endorsed the ordination of women deacons.

If women received holy orders then, they surely can receive them now.






 

The latest book on Women Deacons
No Women in Holy Orders? The Ancient Women Deacons
by John Wijngaards, Canterbury Press 2002.

"This is an exceptionally engaging and readible book, written with great empathy for the historical background. Wijngaards has also rendered a great service by translating the original sources and presenting them in an easily accessible format."



Script for dramatizing the ancient ordination rite

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