Stephen and Philip, the First Deacons
By Bishop Mengeling

Our current threefold ministry of the Deacon has its origin in the Acts of the Apostles and Paul’s Letters. It is a ministry of the WORD; a ministry of the ALTAR and a ministry of CHARITY. The early and later traditions of the Church confirm this triple office.

Luke writes in Acts 6 that the establishment of this new ministry of Deacons was occasioned by a crisis. A fundamental service of Charity for the hungry and needy was stretched to the limits for several reasons. The number of Christians was increasing and more and more were Greek-speaking. Since the Apostles could no longer be in charge of the daily distribution of goods and serving at table, they were inspired by the Spirit to establish a new order of Deacons.

These seven Greek-speakers were chosen by the Twelve who laid hands on them. The Seven’s authority is derived from the Twelve and makes them helpers of the Twelve. Like the Apostles, the Seven are placed in charge of the distribution of goods, service at table and thus became servants of the community. This service is a necessary quality for the service of the Word and Sacrament. Their table service enables the Seven to be worthy partners of the Twelve to whom they are subordinate.

After his account of the origin of Deacons in Chapter Six, Luke presents a detailed picture of two of the Seven: Stephen and Philip. As Luke portrays these two, there is no mention of the ‘service of tables’. The service of the Word is their apostolic mission. They are ‘prophets’ who continue the work of the Twelve and extend it to new regions as Jesus promised. Of course they still have the service of Charity, but turn out to be prophetic evangelizers.

Writing about Stephen in Chapter Seven, Luke describes this deacon like Jesus and the Apostles: "he is a prophet, filled with the spirit and power, working signs and wanders with great power among the people". In these two evangelizers whose authority and mission came from the Twelve, the final Words of Jesus are beginning to be fulfilled: "You are to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, yes, even to the ends of the earth".

Stephen evangelizes in Judea and becomes the first of the martyrs. Philip evangelizes northwards in Samaria. His dramatic encounter with the Ethiopian from the ends of the earth sets the stage for a burst of missionary activity. Luke says of Philip: "he proclaims the Kingdom of God and works signs and powerful deeds among the people and is led by the Spirit" (Acts 8, 6-12). In short, Philip like Stephen continues the work of Jesus and the Apostles.

Deacons are seen as helpers to the Apostles with specific ministries. In Chapter Eight Luke states: "When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the Word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. The pair imposed hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit" (Acts 8, 14-17). Philip could baptize, but ‘Laying on of hands’ was reserved to the Apostles.

Philip the Deacon is mentioned again in Acts 21:8. On his last journey to Jerusalem, Paul stopped at the part of Caesarea and stayed with Philip: "At Caesarea we entered the home of Philip the evangelist one of the Seven, with whom we stayed".

The essentials in the New Testament about Deacons and their ministry have remained constant to our day. In the next article we will se how the place and role of the deacon developed in the early centuries of the Church.