deacon

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noun dea·con \ ˈdē-kən \

Definition of deacon

:a subordinate officer in a Christian church: such as

a :a Roman Catholic, Anglican, or Eastern Orthodox cleric ranking next below a priest

b :one of the laymen elected by a church with congregational polity to serve in worship, in pastoral care, and on administrative committees

c :a Mormon in the lowest grade of the Aaronic priesthood

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Examples of deacon in a Sentence

my cousin was married by his uncle, who is also a deacon in his church

Recent Examples of deacon from the Web

Now the appeals are headed to Rome, for consideration by the Congregation for the Clergy, the office at The Holy See responsible for the formation, ministry and life of priests and deacons.

— jordan otero sisson, Courant Community, "Parishes Challenging Archdiocesan Merger, Closure Plan," 25 Aug. 2017
Ivory Joe Harris, a deacon gravely concerned about the church’s finances, also left the church last year.

— nina shapiro, The Seattle Times, "Mount Zion pastor quits: ‘I am deeply hurt’," 24 Aug. 2017
The church will be packed with priests and deacons from the Cleveland diocese.

— emily bamforth, cleveland.com, "Excitement mounts as Cleveland diocese prepares to install new bishop: What you need to know," 15 Aug. 2017
While living in Loch Raven Village, Mr. Waesche was an active member of Belvedere Baptist Church, serving as a deacon.

— frederick n. rasmussen, baltimoresun.com, "William H. 'Bud' Waesche Sr., longtime football and lacrosse coach, dies," 11 Aug. 2017
Sitting down for about five or 10 minutes, and about four or five deacons approached me in a way that made me feel very uncomfortable.

— breanna edwards, The Root, "Legally Blind Black Woman Outraged After Being Ordered to Sit in the Back of a Ga. Church," 31 July 2017
The archdiocese asked anyone with knowledge of inappropriate conduct by a priest, deacon, employee or volunteer to contact its confidential report line at 913-647-3051.

— judy l. thomas, kansascity, "KCK archdiocese suspends priest after two allegations of ‘boundary violations’," 18 July 2017
Michael Jackson and his sequined glove, Pharrell Williams and that Hat, maybe former President Barack Obama’s khaki Easter Sunday deacon outfit.

— jason johnson, The Root, "War for the Planet of the Apes," 13 July 2017
Francis last year appointed him to lead a commission to study whether women could be deacons in the church.

— nicole winfield, Time, "Pope Francis Appoints New Doctrine Chief to Replace Cardinal Mueller," 1 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'deacon.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of deacon

Middle English dekene, from Old English dēacon, from Late Latin diaconus, from Greek diakonos, literally, servant, from dia- + -konos (akin to enkonein to be active); perhaps akin to Latin conari to attempt

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First Known Use: before 12th century

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