DEACONESSES.*
THE improved position of women since the introduction of Christianity is a theme too often dilated upon to need repeti- tion; it is also a truism to say that in the last half of the present century there has been an extraordinary advance in the amount of independent work undertaken for the Church by women. The Bishop of Winchester, in his brief intro- duction to the interesting account of the Deaconess move- ment compiled by " Deaconess " Cecilia Robinson, notes that the "apologetic audacity" of Dean Howson's utterances on the subject of women's work for the Church, published in 1862, sounds nowadays like the echo of some distant age. Dr. Davidson fears that the distinctive character of Deaconess work and its link with the primitive Church is often mis- understood where it is not wholly ignored. Explanation is also made more difficult on account of the great body of Christian workers who adopted some fifty years ago the title of " Deaconess " without claiming any position in the Church similar to that which belonged to the primitive Order. This somewhat misleading appropriation of a historic title was clearly pointed out in the Report on the Relations of Religious Communities to the Episcopate pre- sented by the Committee of the Lambeth Conference of 1897. This recognition by the whole body of Anglican Bishops then assembled at Lambeth of the attempt to restore the office of Deaconess to its early dignity, is a distinct epoch in the history of a movement which had already secured such advo- cates as Dean Howson, Bishop Walsham How, and three suc- cessive Bishops of Winchester. The American Church has been before us in its efforts to restore the official ministry of women, but the Protestant Deaconess institutions on the Continent were communities established some sixty years ago by private individuals for nursing and teaching work, not following the lines laid down in primitive times. Deaconess Cecilia Robinson, who has had the advantage of Professor J. Armitage Robinson's literary and critical assistance, com- ments on the arguments advanced by Bishop Lightfoot and Dean Howson as to the institution of the female diaconate in the earliest days of the Church, and though it may be con. sidered a doubtful point whether Phcebe ever received the title of Deaconess in an official sense, she may with great cer- tainty be regarded as the "spiritual ancestress of the Deaconess of later times."
The notion of a definite Order of women, ordained nowadays for the service of the Church, may perhaps appear unneces- sary to those who have never really studied the question, but every thinking person must acknowledge the invaluable aid given by women in parochial work. It is well, therefore, to see how such aid can be best turned to account. Many women prefer to live their ordinary home-lives, devoting spare time to different good works, but there are others who feel the need of a definite service, and of dedicating them- selves to what is justly called the "higher life." To such the various communities that have been established during the last fifty years offer helpful advantages. The Order of Deaconesses can only be recruited from those who are willing to be thoroughly trained and prepared for parochial, as dis- tinguished from a secluded conventual, life. The work of a Deaconess in primitive times consisted of ministrations to her fellow-women, preparing them for the sacrament of baptism, teaching the converts, and visiting sick women in their own homes. She was the forerunner of the district visitor and parish nurse of our own days, and she was also a doorkeeper, whose duty it was to find seats for all women who came to church, "whether poor or rich." An extremely interesting extract from the Syriac Diclascalia, which may belong to the third century, is given by Professor Robinson, where the
• The Ministry of Deaconesses. By Deaconess Cecilia Robinson. With an Introduction by the Bishop ot Winchester and an Appendix by Professor J. Armitage Robinson, D.D. London; Methuen and Co. [3s. ed.]
official ministration of women is traced back to the minister- ing women of the four Gospels. In the Apostolic Constitutions, a compilation probably of the fourth or fifth century, a form of prayer to be used at the ordination of Deacons and Deaconesses is given, the Bishop being enjoined to lay his hand on the Deaconess, and to say a specially appointed ordination prayer for her. This Diaconal Benediction is expressly forbidden to women by the Second Council of Orleans (533 A.D.) "by reason of the frailty of this sex." Before the fifth century the Deaconesses seem to have belonged chiefly
to the Eastern Church. After that time we hear of them in Gaul, though not looked on with favour by local Church Councils. An inscription to "Theodora the Deaconess" found at Pavia is dated 539 A.D. At the close of the eighth century they are mentioned in connection with Rome, and the latest Deaconess whose name has been actually preserved is Aerie, styled on her epitaph the "Deaconess of the Saints— the Friend of All" who died in 1086. Traces of the office seem to have lingered on as late as the eighteenth century, but the Deaconess herself had become part of the monastic system :—
" No doubt the rude character of the middle ages contributed to the decline of the Institution. The circumstances of the time were not favourable to the uncloistered Deaconess. The monk Lupus, seeking to explain her disappearance, says, the Deaconess lived an active life, of which it is certain that women are in- capable ' ! This monkish sentiment affords us an idea of the pre- judices which beset women's work, and which, together with the lawlessness and misrule prevailing in the outer world, drove the Deaconess to seek the protection and seclusion of the convent."
John Wesley, who modelled his Methodist Societies as far as possible on primitive Church lines, appointed "Visitors of the Sick," an office which seemed to him an exact copy of the primitive Church, for "what," he asks, "were the Ancient Deacons ? What was Phcebe the Deaconess, but such a visitor of the sick P" It is the revival of the Ancient Order of Deaconesses, an Order that by the most careful and critical study can be traced back to the earliest ages as a recognised part of the ministry of the Church, that is earnestly advocated by many of our Bishops. By this means an active body of women- workers is secured to the Church, appointed by the Bishops after due probation and preparation, and released from those obligations by the same authority, if occasion arises. No
Deaconess, so appointed, is admitted to "serve in any parish without a license from the Bishop of the diocese, given at the request of the incumbent or curate in charge" (Resolution passed by the Upper House of Canterbury Con- vocation, February 4th, 1891). In the Report of 1897, already mentioned, the development of Deaconess life and work is suggested on the two line of community life and individual work, but it is enjoined that "under whatever form of organi- sation, a Deaconess holds of necessity a direct and personal relation to her Diocesan Bishop." There are about two hundred ordained Deaconesses at work in England at the present time, and Miss Cecilia Robinson candidly admits that the numbers seem small compared with the numbers of Con- tinental Deaconesses or Sisters belonging to the Anglican Sisterhoods, but she points out that both Lutheran and Anglican communities are founded by private individuals :— " Their life does not depend upon their official recognition by the Church. But the Deaconess cannot exist without episcopal sanction. She receives her commission and authority from the Bishop, and the growth and progress of the Order must therefore be in proportion to the support and recognition which it receives from the Bishops." A special fitness must
be shown for the work, and the Deaconess requires a special training for the service undertaken ; she must have "every capacity developed to the utmost to meet the large demands which will be made upon her ; " she must be, like Phoebe, a
servant (diakonos) of the Church, and the " succourer of many."
The Bishop of Winchester notes in his introduction that the principles on which Deaconess life rests "accord so truly with the character of our English Church, that, once rightly understood, they are bound to win their way and to bear fruit." We commend this little volume as an extremely interesting summary of historical facts relating to the primitive Order of Deaconesses, and also a clear account of the revival of the Order during the last thirty years, and of the responsible and devoted work that is being done
at the present time by those women who, like Aeria, the "Deaconess of the Saints," deserve the title of "Friends of All."
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