Definition of deacon Deacon

/diˈkʌn/ - [deekun] - dea•con

We found 20 definitions of deacon from 6 different sources.

What does deacon mean?

Noun Plural: deacons
deacon - a cleric ranking just below a priest in Christian churches; one of the Holy Orders
		clergyman, man of the cloth, reverend a member of the clergy and a spiritual leader of the Christian Church
deacon - a Protestant layman who assists the minister
		Protestant deacon
		church officer a church official

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deacon (Noun)
A designated minister of charity in the early Church see Acts.
deacon (Noun)
A clergyman ranked directly below a priest, with duties of helping the priests and carrying out parish work.
deacon (Noun)
Free Churches: A lay leader of a congregation who assists the pastor.
deacon (Noun)
Anglicanism: An ordained clergyman usually serving a year prior to being ordained presbyter, though in some cases they remain a permanent deacon.
deacon (Noun)
Methodism: A separate office from that of minister, neither leading to the other; instead there is a permanent deaconate.
deacon (Noun)
A junior Lodge officer.
deacon (Noun)
The lowest office in the Aaronic priesthood , generally held by 12 or 13 year old boys or recent converts.
deacon (Noun)
A male calf of a dairy breed, so called because they are usually deaconed see below.
deacon (Noun)
The chairman of an incorporated company.
deacon (Verb)
For a choir leader to lead a hymn by speaking one or two lines at a time, which are then sung by the choir.
deacon (Verb)
To kill a calf shortly after birth.
deacon (Verb)
To place fresh fruit at the top of a barrel or other container, with spoiled or imperfect fruit hidden beneath.

deacon (n.)
An officer in Christian churches appointed to perform certain subordinate duties varying in different communions. In the Roman Catholic and Episcopal churches, a person admitted to the lowest order in the ministry, subordinate to the bishops and priests. In Presbyterian churches, he is subordinate to the minister and elders, and has charge of certain duties connected with the communion service and the care of the poor. In Congregational churches, he is subordinate to the pastor, and has duties as in the Presbyterian church.
deacon (n.)
The chairman of an incorporated company.
deacon (v. t.)
To read aloud each line of (a psalm or hymn) before singing it, -- usually with off.

deacon
dē′kn, n. in Episcopal churches, a member of the order of clergy under priests: in some Presbyterian churches, an officer, distinct from the elders, who attends to the secular affairs of the church: in Congregational and some other churches, an officer who advises the pastor, distributes the elements at the Communion, and dispenses charity: in Scotland, the master of an incorporated company:—fem. Dea′coness, a female servant of the Christian society in the time of the apostles: in a convent, a nun who has the care of the altar: one of an order of women in some Protestant churches who nurse the sick and tend the poor.—ns. Dea′conhood, Dea′conry, Dea′conship. [L. diaconus—Gr. diakonos, a servant.]

A Deacon is a role in the Christian church. The job of a deacon is different depending on the church he or she is a part of. A deacon usually helps to run the church and teaches people about Christianity. A deacon can also witness marriages.

In the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches men are not allowed to marry after they have become deacons. Deacons in Protestant churches are allowed to marry.

they are not allowed to listen to confessions but are allowed to give out the ehuristic