Synonyms of deacons

deacons

noun

plural of deacon

as in priests

a person specially trained and authorized to conduct religious services in a Christian church

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• priests
• preachers
• pastors
• bishops
• clergymen
• ministers
• clerics
• clericals
• reverends
• ecclesiastics
• prelates
• chaplains
• fathers
• divines
• clerks
• missionaries
• clergypersons
• deaconesses
• priestesses
• archbishops
• popes
• monks
• presbyters
• churchmen
• dominies
• rectors
• abbots
• deans
• vicars
• clergywomen
• padres
• confessors
• parsons
• curés
• shepherds
• evangelists
• friars
• missioners
• diocesans
• archpriests
• curates
• monsignors
• religious
• monastics
• mendicants
• revivalists
• Holy Joes
• abbés
• oblates
• sky pilots
• missionizers
• high priests
• high priestesses

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• laymen
• laypeople
• seculars
• lay readers
• lectors

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of deacons

Her parents, Baptist deacons who ultimately left the church over its refusal to ordain women, raised their children to wrestle with such questions. — Pamela Colloff, ProPublica, 30 June 2026

While women cannot be ordained as priests or deacons, they are not forbidden from teaching the faith as theologians, catechists and scholars. — Chicago Tribune, 2 May 2026

At the 1978 Lambeth Conference, Nigerian leadership opposed the recommendation to allow the ordination of women as deacons and priests, though the proposal sparked debate within the church. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 31 Mar. 2026

Two thousand people are expected to attend, including numerous religious figures such as bishops, priests and deacons. — Alexa Herrera, CBS News, 6 Feb. 2026

Early Christians cited menstruation as the reason for not allowing female deacons or priests. — Megan Bryson, The Conversation, 5 Feb. 2026

Powell’s lawyers also introduced documentation that Lorch, who began coaching the Hawks in 1961, served on Riverside’s board of deacons and board of trustees, as well as several church committees, and that the Hawks’ basketball success was touted multiple times in Riverside’s official newsletter. — Luke Cyphers, Sportico.com, 20 Jan. 2026

Last December, they were ordained to be transitional deacons by Cardinal Robert McElroy, who was then head of the San Diego diocese and is both a controversial and consequential figure in the Catholic church. — Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Dec. 2025

As eight priests, two deacons and the Milwaukee archbishop celebrated Mass at the altar, Grunwaldt skirted the back, quietly keeping the operation running. — Sophie Carson, jsonline.com, 26 Nov. 2025