Numa Verse

Practical theologyHow is it lived and shared?

Diaconal studies and social ministry

What is diaconal studies and social ministry?

Diaconal studies and social ministry is the study of the church's organized service to the poor, the sick and the vulnerable: where it comes from in Scripture, how it grew into hospitals, deaconess houses and global agencies, and how churches order it today. Also called diaconal science, it studies that practice from biblical, historical, theological, social-scientific and professional angles.

  • 112Sources
  • 16Traditions
  • 16Dated entries
  • 15Minutes

Study v1.1, 7 November 2026

Diaconal studies and social ministry

At a glance

Why it matters for reading Scripture

Service to the poor and the sick is a work of the church. It runs from Torah law, Jesus's teaching and the early church through congregations, hospitals, deaconess houses and global agencies.

What the study found

Service to people in need runs from Torah law, Jesus's teaching and the early church through congregations, hospitals, deaconess houses and global agencies; scholars debate what diakonia meant and how it shapes ordained ministry.

Where traditions divide

Churches differ on the diaconate as an order, women deacons and evangelism with aid; charity and justice, dependency and state partnership are debated within traditions too.

How the traditions compare

  • Catholic Church

    Treats the diaconate as the first degree of holy orders: the Second Vatican Council restored it in 1964 as a proper and permanent rank of the hierarchy, conferred not unto the priesthood, but unto a ministry of service, and Paul VI set its norms in 1967.

    Benedict XVI's Deus Caritas Est (2005) names the ministry of charity beside proclaiming the word and celebrating the sacraments, calls it not a kind of welfare activity that could be left to others, and holds that charity cannot be used as a means of proselytism. His Intima Ecclesiae Natura (2012) places Catholic charitable bodies under the diocesan bishop and requires their staff to share or at least respect their Catholic identity. A papal commission voted 7 to 1 in July 2022 that women cannot at present be admitted to the diaconate as a degree of holy orders, a commission's finding, not a new law or a definitive judgment.

    Sources1–7

  • Eastern Orthodox churches and the Patriarchate of Alexandria

    In the Eastern Orthodox churches the male diaconate has continued, with a liturgical role at its center alongside pastoral and, historically, charitable work.

    The Patriarchate of Alexandria decided in principle in November 2016 to revive the deaconess ministry, and on 17 February 2017 Patriarch Theodoros II consecrated deaconesses for missionary work at Kolwezi in the Democratic Republic of Congo. On 2 May 2024 Metropolitan Serafim of Zimbabwe ordained Angelic Molen a deaconess near Harare; the Patriarchate's statement of 11 May 2024 said the synod's study of the questions was not complete, and other Orthodox churches have not followed.

    Sources8–10

  • Armenian Church

    Kept deaconesses in convents for centuries.

    On 25 September 2017 the Prelate of Tehran ordained Ani-Kristi Manvelian, a lay anesthesiologist, as a parish deaconess, though the church has not formally restored the female diaconate as a whole.

    Sources11

  • Coptic Orthodox Church

    Revived the office of deaconess under Pope Shenouda III, appointing 27 deaconesses in June 1981 for service apart from altar and priestly work.

    It set up its Bishopric of Public, Ecumenical and Social Services (BLESS) on 30 September 1962 as its social, diaconal and development arm.

    Sources12–14

  • Church of England

    Ordains deacons, usually before priesthood, and its 2001 report For Such a Time as This argued for a renewed distinctive diaconate.

    A 2022 study names it with the Catholic Church and British Methodism as churches that have each restored or established a permanent or distinctive diaconate and can learn from one another.

    Sources15–17

  • Lutheran churches

    The Lutheran World Federation's Diakonia in Context (2009) calls diakonia the church's "DNA" and frames it as transformation, reconciliation and empowerment.

    German Diakonie, with its deacons and deaconesses, shaped the Lutheran diaconate in Europe. In North America the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America voted 864 to 32 in 2016 to create one roster of Ministers of Word and Service, called deacons, and 779 to 105 in 2019 to make ordination their entrance rite; about 1,200 deacons served beside about 16,000 pastors in 2020.

    Sources18–22

  • Methodist Church in Britain

    The Methodist Diaconal Order, formed in 1989 from the Wesley Deaconess Order and open to women and men, is both an order of ministry and a religious order, with "witness through service" at its core.

    Sources23–24

  • Reformed churches

    Deacons are the church's officers of mercy, following Calvin's Geneva, whose Ecclesiastical Ordinances of 1541 made them the fourth order of the church, one kind to receive and distribute the goods of the poor, the other to tend the sick.

    Reformed churches elect deacons as local officers.

    Sources25–26

  • Baptist churches

    In many Baptist churches deacons are elected locally, and practice, including whether women serve, varies by congregation.

    Southern Baptists debate a "board of deacons" model that grew in the nineteenth century and argue for deacons as partners in ministry to the congregation.

    Sources27–28

  • Pentecostal and charismatic churches

    Seldom use the language of diaconate, but many run organized social ministries.

    The Church of Pentecost in Ghana runs PENTSOS, registered in 1980 and renamed in 1983, with schools, clinics and hospitals, vocational training and credit unions. A study of progressive Pentecostal ministries in 20 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe documented programs for children and youth and work to transform individuals and communities.

    Sources29–30

  • World Council of Churches and ACT Alliance

    Their Called to Transformation: Ecumenical Diakonia (June 2022) is read by Jerry Pillay, the WCC's general secretary, as calling diakonia beyond service, charity and relief to transformation, while keeping relief.

    Sources31–32

  • Evangelical (Lausanne Movement)

    The 1974 Lausanne Covenant left evangelism and social responsibility side by side, with evangelism primary.

    The Grand Rapids consultation of June 1982, of about fifty evangelical leaders from 27 countries, described social action as a consequence of evangelism, a bridge to it and its partner, like the two blades of a pair of scissors, while keeping a logical priority for evangelism. The debate was sharp: one critic accused John Stott of having "dethroned evangelism".

    Sources33–35

  • Relief, rehabilitation and development

    Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert's When Helping Hurts (2009), from the Chalmers Center at Covenant College, distinguishes relief, rehabilitation and development and argues that "the failure to distinguish among these situations is one of the reasons that poverty-alleviation efforts often do harm".

    It warns against paternalism, doing for people what they can do for themselves. Lynn's review in Missio Dei calls it an introduction, mainstream in its development views, whose principles need more work before they are actionable.

    Sources36–37

  • Church and community mobilization

    Tearfund's church and community mobilization, also called Umoja ("togetherness" in Swahili), envisions local churches to work with their communities on their own needs with local resources.

    Twenty years after a pilot in ten churches, more than ten thousand churches had taken part, and it has been used in more than 40 countries; it draws on participatory rural appraisal and asset-based community development. Its proponents present it as an answer to the dependency critique, because it starts from what a community already has.

    Sources38–40

  • Universalist reading of Matthew 25

    Holds that the least are all the needy of the world.

    The reading has grown since the late nineteenth century, especially in Catholic teaching and in liberation theology.

    Sources41

  • Particularist reading of Matthew 25

    Reads the least as Jesus's disciples; a New Testament scholar cited in Christianity Today calls it the majority view in church history and among scholars, a claim no systematic survey was found to test.

    A 2026 study reads them as missionaries, and both readings keep the command to care for the poor, which other texts carry.

    Sources42–43

How the field developed

  1. Early church
    c. 155

    Justin Martyr describes the Sunday collection: those who are well off give what they choose, it is deposited with the president, and he cares for the orphans and widows, those in want through sickness, and those who are in bonds and the strangers sojourning among us.44

  2. Late antiquity
    362

    In a letter to Arsacius, high priest of Galatia, traditionally attributed to the emperor Julian and debated since a 2002 argument that it is a later Christian work, Julian orders hostels for strangers in every city and complains that the impious Galilaeans support not only their own poor but ours as well. The church historian Sozomen preserved the letter, which shows how Julian saw Christian charity, not that his own plan was carried out.454647

  3. Late antiquity
    369

    In the famine of 369 Basil, then a priest and later bishop of Caesarea, organizes feeding of the poor. In a letter to the governor Elias he describes the complex he is building outside the city, with lodging for strangers and care for the sick, served by physicians, doctors, means of conveyance, and escort; a medical historian calls it the first hospital, a claim that depends on how a hospital is defined.4849

  4. Late antiquity
    451

    The Council of Chalcedon, canon 15, rules that a woman is not to receive the laying on of hands as a deaconess before forty years of age, and only after strict examination. Whether that laying on of hands was an ordination or a blessing is the core of the present dispute.50

  5. Late antiquity
    6th century

    Benedict's Rule puts care of the sick before all things and above all things, so that the sick may be served in very deed as Christ himself, quoting Matthew 25.51

  6. Reformation
    1523

    Luther publishes the ordinance of the common chest of Leisnig, governed by ten persons chosen by the parish, with a preface urging that the goods of the old foundations go to the common fund of a common chest, out of which gifts and loans might be made, in Christian love, to all the needy. The ordinance was not the first: Wittenberg and Nuremberg had orders in 1522.52535455

  7. Reformation
    1541

    Calvin's Ecclesiastical Ordinances make deacons the fourth order of the church in Geneva, with procurators and hospitallers, a general hospital for the sick, the old, widows and orphans, and a physician and surgeon at the city's expense.2526

  8. Reformation
    29 November 1633

    Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac gather the first Daughters of Charity in Paris to serve the poor in their homes and hospitals.56

  9. Modern
    1833 and 1848

    Johann Hinrich Wichern founds the Rauhe Haus in Hamburg on 12 September 1833 as a home for neglected children, the first social-diaconal foundation in Germany. On 22 September 1848, at the first Kirchentag in Wittenberg, he calls the church to the Inner Mission; the Central Committee for the Inner Mission followed, the forerunner of today's Diakonie.575859

  10. Modern
    1836

    The Lutheran pastor Theodor Fliedner opens a hospital and deaconess training house at Kaiserswerth on the Rhine with his wife Friederike, and the motherhouse model spreads across Europe and beyond. Florence Nightingale spent two weeks there in July 1850 and returned a year later for three months of training.606162

  11. Modern
    1865

    William and Catherine Booth begin work on the streets of East London that became the Christian Mission and, in 1878, The Salvation Army, which joined evangelism to social work from the start.6364

  12. Modern
    1943 to 1952

    The Second World War produces the modern church agencies: the US bishops create War Relief Services, now Catholic Relief Services, in 1943; Caritas Internationalis holds its constitutive assembly in Rome on 12 December 1951 with 13 members; and the Lutheran World Federation establishes its World Service in 1952.656667

  13. Modern
    18 February 1954

    The Diakoniewissenschaftliches Institut is founded at Heidelberg, with Herbert Krimm as its first director; institutes on its model followed in eastern Europe, Scandinavia and Korea.686970

  14. Modern
    1964 and 1967

    The Second Vatican Council's Lumen Gentium (21 November 1964) opens the way to a permanent diaconate in the Latin Church, which may be conferred on men of more mature age even if married. Paul VI's Sacrum Diaconatus Ordinem (18 June 1967) sets the norms, leaving each bishops' conference to decide whether to introduce it.12

  15. Modern
    2010

    ACT Alliance is formed on 1 January 2010 by joining ACT International and ACT Development, and the journal Diaconia begins at Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht in Göttingen.7172

  16. Modern
    4 December 2025

    A papal commission's synthesis, published at Pope Leo XIV's request, reports a 7 to 1 vote, taken in July 2022, that the church cannot at present admit women to the diaconate as a degree of holy orders, while noting that "a purely historical perspective does not allow us to reach any definitive certainty".7736

How to study diaconal studies and social ministry

The questions it asks

  • Did diakonia mean humble service to the poor, or a commissioned agency, such as message and errand, carried out under a mandate from someone higher?7475
  • How does the meaning of the word bear on ordained office and the shape of the diaconate?
  • Is the diaconate a sacramental order, a distinct ministry or a lay office?123
  • How do evangelism and social action sit together, and may aid serve a religious standpoint?3476
  • Is service chiefly charity, or must it go beyond relief to justice and transformation?332
  • Who are the least of these in Matthew 25?77
  • What do figures on church health care and on the agencies' scale actually measure?78

Its method

Start

  1. Approach the practice from several angles at once: biblical, historical, theological, social-scientific and professional7980.

  2. Read the biblical foundations, from the Torah's gleaning and tithe laws and the prophets to the Gospels, Acts, Paul and James8182778384.

  3. Study the diakon- word group across Christian and non-Christian Greek, remembering that context still decides each use and that word usage alone does not decide how the church should serve75.

  4. Trace the history of organized service through its primary documents, such as Justin's account of the Sunday collection, Basil's letter to Elias, Benedict's Rule and the church orders of the Reformation4449515325.

  5. Compare how each church orders the diaconate and its service, naming each position by its holder123.

  6. Read agency figures as each agency's own report for its own year: some report revenue, others spending, people reached or members, and they are agency-reported outputs, not independently assessed outcomes85.

  7. Weigh shares of service by what they measure: facility data and household surveys count different things, so no single continental percentage follows from them7886.

  8. Test practice against the sector's own codes, from the 1994 Code of Conduct to the Dóchas guide and the Core Humanitarian Standard768788.

What to read

Its primary witnesses

  • The Torah's laws of gleaning, the third-year tithe and the Jubilee, in Leviticus 19 and 25 and Deuteronomy 14 and 2481899091.
  • The prophets on worship and justice to the poor, in Isaiah 58 and Amos 58292.
  • The Gospels: the Samaritan in Luke 10, the judgment of the nations in Matthew 25 and the Son of Man who came not to be served, but to serve in Mark 10:45937794.
  • Acts 6 and the Seven, Phoebe in Romans 16 and the deacons of 1 Timothy 3839596.
  • The collection for Jerusalem and James on pure and undefiled religion, in Galatians 2, Romans 15, 2 Corinthians 8 and James 1 and 297989984100.
  • Justin Martyr's First Apology 67 on the Sunday collection44.
  • Julian's letter to Arsacius, preserved by Sozomen, and Basil's letter 94 to Elias454749.
  • Canon 15 of the Council of Chalcedon on deaconesses50.
  • Chapter 36 of Benedict's Rule on the care of the sick51.
  • Luther's ordinance of a common chest for Leisnig (1523) and Calvin's Ecclesiastical Ordinances (1541)5325.
  • Lumen Gentium 29, Sacrum Diaconatus Ordinem, Deus Caritas Est and Intima Ecclesiae Natura1234.
  • The agencies' own annual reports and statistics85101.

Standard reference works

  • John N. Collins's Diakonia: Re-interpreting the Ancient Sources (1990) and Diakonia Studies (2014)75102.
  • Anni Hentschel's Diakonia im Neuen Testament (2007)103.
  • Diakonia as Christian Social Practice: An Introduction (2014), edited by Dietrich, Jørgensen, Korslien and Nordstokke79.
  • Deacons and Diakonia in Early Christianity: The First Two Centuries (2018), edited by Koet, Murphy and Ryökäs19.
  • The Lutheran World Federation's Diakonia in Context (2009) and the WCC and ACT Alliance's Called to Transformation: Ecumenical Diakonia (2022)1831.
  • Diaconia: Journal for the Study of Christian Social Practice, from 2010 and open access online from 201772.
  • Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert's When Helping Hurts (2009)36.
  • Miller and Yamamori's Global Pentecostalism: The New Face of Christian Social Engagement (2007)30.
  • The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church (2004)104.
  • The Code of Conduct for the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief (1994), the Dóchas Guide to Ethical Communications (2023) and the Core Humanitarian Standard (2024)768788.

Scholarship referenced in this study

The works below shaped the field and are cited in this study, from the earliest to the most recent. Hover over a book, or select it, to see its author and the sources behind it.

  • c. 155First ApologyJustin MartyrFirst Apology (c. 155)Justin MartyrSources44
  • 1523Ordinance of a Common ChestMartin LutherOrdinance of a Common Chest (1523)Martin LutherSources53–54
  • 1541Ecclesiastical OrdinancesCalvinEcclesiastical Ordinances (1541)CalvinSources25–26
  • 1964Lumen GentiumSecond Vatican CouncilLumen Gentium (1964)Second Vatican CouncilSources1
  • 1967Sacrum Diaconatus OrdinemPaul VISacrum Diaconatus Ordinem (1967)Paul VISources2
  • 1990Diakonia: Re-interpreting the Ancient SourcesJohn N. CollinsDiakonia: Re-interpreting the Ancient Sources (1990)John N. CollinsSources75
  • 2005Deus Caritas EstBenedict XVIDeus Caritas Est (2005)Benedict XVISources3
  • 2007Diakonia im Neuen TestamentAnni HentschelDiakonia im Neuen Testament (2007)Anni HentschelSources103
  • 2009Diakonia in ContextLutheran World FederationDiakonia in Context (2009)Lutheran World FederationSources18
  • 2009When Helping HurtsSteve CorbettWhen Helping Hurts (2009)Steve Corbett, with Brian FikkertSources36
  • 2014Diakonia StudiesJohn N. CollinsDiakonia Studies (2014)John N. CollinsSources102
  • 2022Called to Transformation: Ecumenical DiakoniaWorld Council of ChurchesCalled to Transformation: Ecumenical Diakonia (2022)World Council of Churches, with ACT AllianceSources31

Listed because this study draws on their published work; no association with or endorsement of Numa Verse is implied. Suggest a correction.

Key terms

The words that carry the most weight in this field, each defined from the sources of this study. Turn a card over to read its definition.

The Greek word behind deacon, ministry and service; whether it meant humble service to the poor or a commissioned agency is debated10575.

In German, Diakonie names the organized social work of the Protestant churches and Caritas the Catholic equivalent; Scandinavian languages use diakoni in a similar sense105.

The field, also called diaconal science or Diakoniewissenschaft, that studies the church's social practice from biblical, historical, theological, social-scientific and professional angles7980.

A term researchers now often prefer, because "diaconia" is not the word used in many churches and regions, especially in the global South and in Pentecostal and independent churches106.

In the Catholic Church, the diaconate as a proper and permanent rank of the hierarchy, conferred not unto the priesthood, but unto a ministry of service, and open to married men of more mature age1.

A woman in diaconal office, known in the early church, whose tasks included the baptism and visiting of women; whether her laying on of hands was an ordination or a blessing is disputed50.

A Reformation fund, as at Leisnig, governed by persons chosen by the parish, into which church income and gifts flowed for clergy, schools and the poor5253.

The Kaiserswerth model of a deaconess house, which spread across Europe and beyond; the Kaiserswerth General Conference of deaconess motherhouses, founded in 1861, has almost 100 member houses6061.

The work Wichern called the church to at the first Kirchentag in 1848; its Central Committee was the forerunner of today's Diakonie5759.

The three situations When Helping Hurts distinguishes, arguing that failing to distinguish them is one reason poverty-alleviation efforts often do harm36.

Where it sits

Builds on

Diaconal studies and social ministry

Questions people ask

The older consensus, set out in Hermann Beyer's 1935 dictionary article, held that it meant waiting at table and so humble, lowly service74. John N. Collins argued in 1990 that the words cover message, agency and attendance upon a person, usually under a mandate from someone higher, and Anni Hentschel's 2007 study found that "to serve at the table" is not the basic meaning75103. Collins's reading is an influential challenge, not a settled consensus, and no participant in the debate disputes that Scripture commands care for the poor.

The church has long read them so, though the text does not call them deacons: the Twelve asked for seven men full of the Spirit and wisdom when the Greek-speaking widows were overlooked in the daily distribution of food83. Collins reads their task as a commissioned ministry rather than menial service107.

The churches answer differently. A Catholic commission voted 7 to 1 in July 2022 that women cannot at present be admitted to the diaconate as a degree of holy orders, advice that is not a magisterial decision67. The Patriarchate of Alexandria consecrated deaconesses for mission in 2017 and a metropolitan ordained a deaconess in Zimbabwe in 202489; the Coptic Orthodox Church appointed deaconesses in 198112; and the ELCA and British Methodists admit women as deacons on the same terms as men2023. The texts themselves, Phoebe in Romans 16:1 and the women of 1 Timothy 3:11, are read differently9596.

The 1994 Code of Conduct, a voluntary code, holds that Aid will not be used to further a particular political or religious standpoint76, and Catholic teaching says that charity cannot be used as a means of proselytism3. World Vision states that it never proselytizes or requires a profession of faith for services, while Samaritan's Purse describes its Operation Christmas Child as "dedicated to sharing the Gospel"108109. US rules for faith-based agencies receiving USAID funds required explicitly religious activities to be privately funded, separate in time or place from funded programs and voluntary110.

Africa's Christian Health Associations say they deliver up to 70 percent of services in some countries111. Olivier and Wodon found the basis of such claims often unclear; on World Bank data, facility data put the faith share at 30 to 40 percent, while household surveys typically put it below 10 percent8678. Country shares vary widely, from 10 to 20 percent in Chad to 50 to 70 percent in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the figures measure different things, so no single continental percentage follows from them112.

Contribute to diaconal studies and social ministry

Register to contribute

  1. 1Lumen Gentium (The Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html (opens in a new tab)
  2. 2Sacrum Diaconatus Ordinem (The Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/en/motu_proprio/documents/hf_p-vi_motu-proprio_19670618_sacrum-diaconatus.html (opens in a new tab)
  3. 3Deus Caritas Est (The Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20051225_deus-caritas-est.html (opens in a new tab)
  4. 4Intima Ecclesiae Natura (The Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/motu_proprio/documents/hf_ben-xvi_motu-proprio_20121111_caritas.html (opens in a new tab)
  5. 5Pope makes new rules to strengthen charities' Catholic identity (Catholic Register, 3 December 2012)https://catholicregister.org/home/international/item/15497-pope-makes-new-rules-to-strengthen-charities-catholic-identity (opens in a new tab)
  6. 6Vatican commission votes against ordaining female deacons (National Catholic Reporter, 4 December 2025)https://www.ncronline.org/print/pdf/node/318806 (opens in a new tab)
  7. 7Vatican commission says no to women as Catholic deacons (NBC News, 4 December 2025)https://www.nbcnews.com/world/the-vatican/vatican-commission-no-women-catholic-deacons-rcna247531 (opens in a new tab)
  8. 8Patriarch Theodoros of Alexandria performs first consecration of deaconesses (Pravmir, 27 February 2017)https://www.pravmir.com/?p=275923 (opens in a new tab)
  9. 9Eastern Orthodox Church ordains Zimbabwean woman as its first deaconess (Episcopal News Service, 6 May 2024)https://episcopalnewsservice.org/2024/05/06/eastern-orthodox-church-ordains-zimbabwean-woman-as-its-first-deaconess/ (opens in a new tab)
  10. 10Patriarchate of Alexandria's shilly-shalling regarding the ordination of a deaconess (Orthodox Times, 12 May 2024)https://orthodoxtimes.com/patriarchate-of-alexandrias-shilly-shalling-regarding-the-ordination-of-a-deaconess/ (opens in a new tab)
  11. 11Historic Ordination: Tehran Prelacy of the Armenian Church Ordains Deaconess (Armenian Weekly, 16 January 2018)https://armenianweekly.com/2018/01/16/historic-ordination-tehran-diocese-armenian-church-ordains-deaconess/ (opens in a new tab)
  12. 12Development in the Renaissance of Women (Official website of Pope Shenouda III)https://popeshenouda.org.eg/en/development-in-the-renaissance-of-women/ (opens in a new tab)
  13. 13Greek Orthodox in Africa Move Toward Restoring Deaconesses (National Catholic Register)https://www.ncregister.com/news/greek-orthodox-in-africa-move-toward-restoring-deaconesses (opens in a new tab)
  14. 14What is BLESS (Coptic Orthodox Church)https://copticorthodox.church/en/?p=21874 (opens in a new tab)
  15. 15Review of For Such a Time as This: A Renewed Diaconate in the Church of England (Journal of Anglican Studies, Cambridge Core)https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-anglican-studies/article/john-n-collins-deacons-and-the-church-making-connections-between-old-and-new-leicester-gracewing-harrisburg-pa-morehouse-publishing-2002-isbn-085244554-7-uk-0-8192-1933-9-us-pb-pp-ix-158-rrp-3495-working-party-of-the-house-of-bishops-of-the-church-of-england-for-such-a-time-as-this-a-renewed-diaconate-in-the-church-of-england-london-church-house-publishing-2001-isbn-0-7151-5764-7-pb-pp-viii-70-rrp-595/799AA40701997555E639F31F0A9C86DF (opens in a new tab)
  16. 16Proclaiming the gospel in word and deed (Church Times, 8 July 2016)https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2016/8-july/books-arts/book-reviews/proclaiming-the-gospel-in-word-and-deed (opens in a new tab)
  17. 17Receptive ecumenism and the permanent and distinctive diaconate, Ecclesiology 18 (Durham repository)https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/OutputFile/2407870 (opens in a new tab)
  18. 18Diakonia in Context: Transformation, Reconciliation, Empowerment (Lutheran World Federation)https://lutheranworld.org/fr/node/741 (opens in a new tab)
  19. 19Deacons and Diakonia in Early Christianity: The First Two Centuries, catalogue record (RelBib)https://relbib.de/Record/1668529998/Details (opens in a new tab)
  20. 20Assembly: A new, unified roster for lay professionals (Living Lutheran, August 2016)https://www.livinglutheran.org/2016/08/assembly-new-unified-roster-lay-professionals (opens in a new tab)
  21. 21Assembly recap: A new entrance rite for deacons (Living Lutheran, October 2019)https://www.livinglutheran.org/2019/10/assembly-recap-a-new-entrance-rite-for-deacons/ (opens in a new tab)
  22. 22They bring the good news (Living Lutheran, March 2020)https://www.livinglutheran.org/2020/03/they-bring-the-good-news/ (opens in a new tab)
  23. 23About the Diaconal Order (Methodist Church in Britain)https://methodist.org.uk/about/the-diaconal-order/about-the-diaconal-order (opens in a new tab)
  24. 24Are you called to be a Deacon? (Methodist Church in Britain)https://methodist.org.uk/for-churches/ministries/called-to-ordained-ministry/are-you-called-to-be-a-deacon (opens in a new tab)
  25. 25Calvin, Ecclesiastical Ordinances (1541), tr. Potter and Greengrass (University of Oregon)https://pages.uoregon.edu/sshoemak/323/texts/Calvin%20-%20Ecclesiastical%20Ordinances.htm (opens in a new tab)
  26. 26Calvin, The Deacons, from the Ecclesiastical Ordinances (Ordained Servant, OPC)https://opc.org/OS/html/V1/1e.html (opens in a new tab)
  27. 27On the Southern Baptist board of deacons (Baptist Press)https://www.baptistpress.com/?p=1621 (opens in a new tab)
  28. 28A New Look at the Ministry of Deacons (Baptist Press, SBC Life)https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/sbc-life-articles/a-new-look-at-the-ministry-of-deacons/ (opens in a new tab)
  29. 29About (PENTSOS, the Church of Pentecost)https://pentsos.org/about/ (opens in a new tab)
  30. 30Miller and Yamamori, Global Pentecostalism: The New Face of Christian Social Engagement (University of California Press)https://www.ucpress.edu/books/global-pentecostalism/paper (opens in a new tab)
  31. 31Called to Transformation: Ecumenical Diakonia (WCC and ACT Alliance)https://actalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Called-to-Transformation-Ecumenical-Diakonia_web-Low-Res.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  32. 32Pillay, Called to Transformation, Ecumenical Review 75 (University of Pretoria repository)https://repository.up.ac.za/items/f1440575-3216-40cc-8661-c6adc7d0dcba (opens in a new tab)
  33. 33The International Consultation on the Relationship Between Evangelism and Social Responsibility (Lausanne Movement)https://lausanne.org/gathering/the-international-consultation-on-the-relationship-between-evangelism-and-social-responsibility-2 (opens in a new tab)
  34. 34Lausanne Occasional Paper 21, Evangelism and Social Responsibility (Lausanne Movement)https://lausanne.org/content/lop/lop-21 (opens in a new tab)
  35. 35Great Commission or Great Commandment? (Christianity Today, 26 November 1982)https://christianitytoday.com/ct/1982/november-26/great-commission-or-great-commandment.html (opens in a new tab)
  36. 36Review of Corbett and Fikkert, When Helping Hurts (Mission Nexus)https://missionexus.org/?p=30223 (opens in a new tab)
  37. 37Lynn, review of When Helping Hurts (Missio Dei 2.1)https://missiodeijournal.com/issues/md-2-1/authors/md-2-1-lynn (opens in a new tab)
  38. 38Learning Together: Lessons from Umoja and other models of church and community mobilisation (Tearfund)https://learn.tearfund.org/-/media/learn/resources/evaluations/2018-tearfund-learning-together-en.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  39. 39Church (Tearfund Learn)https://learn.tearfund.org/en/themes/church/ (opens in a new tab)
  40. 40Pegus et al., Faith, Empowerment, Church and Community Mobilisation Advocacy (IDS)https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/123456789/12863/1/Tearfund_PP%20FINALv3.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  41. 41Donahue, The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats, Theological Studies 47 (theologicalstudies.net)https://theologicalstudies.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/47.1.1.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  42. 42What You Probably Don't Know about The Least of These (Christianity Today, 5 March 2015)https://christianitytoday.com/?p=199374 (opens in a new tab)
  43. 43Ireland, Matthew 25:40 and The Least of These (Journal of the Evangelical Missiological Society)https://journal-ems.org/index.php/home/article/download/178/95/569 (opens in a new tab)
  44. 44Justin Martyr, First Apology 67, ANF 1 (CCEL)https://ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.viii.ii.lxvii.html (opens in a new tab)
  45. 45Julian, Letter 22 to Arsacius, tr. Wright (romanletters.org)https://scholarly.romanletters.org/letters/julian_emperor/22/ (opens in a new tab)
  46. 46Speerstra, The Authenticity of Julian's Epistle 22 and its Role in the Emperor's Pagan Project, abstract (Society for Classical Studies)https://classicalstudies.org/annual-meeting/156/abstract/authenticity-julian%E2%80%99s-epistle-22-and-its-role-emperor%E2%80%99s-pagan-project (opens in a new tab)
  47. 47Sozomen, Ecclesiastical History V.16, NPNF2 2 (sacred-texts)https://sacred-texts.com/chr/ecf/202/2020409.htm (opens in a new tab)
  48. 48Heyne, Reconstructing the world's first hospital: The Basiliad (Hektoen International)https://hekint.org/2017/02/24/reconstructing-the-worlds-first-hospital-the-basiliad/ (opens in a new tab)
  49. 49Basil of Caesarea, Letter 94 to Elias, NPNF2 8 (New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3202094.htm (opens in a new tab)
  50. 50Council of Chalcedon (451), canon 15 (IntraText)https://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0835/_P1J.HTM (opens in a new tab)
  51. 51Rule of Saint Benedict, chapter 36 (Stanbrook Abbey)https://www.stanbrookabbey.org.uk/st-benedict-rules/before-all-things-and-above-all-things-care-must-be-taken-of-the-sick/ (opens in a new tab)
  52. 52Martin Luther asks Elector Frederick III to confirm the Ordinance of a Common Chest for the city of Leisnig (Thüringisches Staatsarchiv)https://staatsarchive.thulb.uni-jena.de/receive/stat_showcase_00000011 (opens in a new tab)
  53. 53Ordinance of a Common Chest, Luther's works of 1523 (Gruber collection, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago)https://gruber.lstc.edu/luthers_works/1523.php (opens in a new tab)
  54. 54Luther, preface to the Leisnig Ordinance, tr. Steinhaeuser (godrules.net)https://godrules.net/library/luther/NEW1luther_d8.htm (opens in a new tab)
  55. 55Luther, Ordinance of a Common Chest, LW 45, with Brandt's introduction (LCMS)https://files.lcms.org/dl/f/0A8E8812-BAF8-4015-8AD0-CB4713C46479 (opens in a new tab)
  56. 56Our History (Daughters of Charity, Province of St Louise)https://www.daughtersofcharity.com/?p=3037 (opens in a new tab)
  57. 57Johann Hinrich Wichern, chronology (Das Rauhe Haus)https://www.rauheshaus.de/fileadmin/Das_Rauhe_Haus/Downloads/Wichern.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  58. 58Die Geschichte des Rauhen Hauses (Das Rauhe Haus)https://www.rauheshaus.de/fileadmin/Das_Rauhe_Haus/Downloads/Geschichte_des_RH.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  59. 59Wichern, Johann Hinrich (Neue Deutsche Biographie)https://www.deutsche-biographie.de/sfz85332.html (opens in a new tab)
  60. 60Theodore Fliedner Opened 1st Deaconess Center (Christianity.com)https://www.christianity.com/11630440 (opens in a new tab)
  61. 61History (Kaiserswerther Generalkonferenz)https://kaiserswerther-generalkonferenz.org/en/history (opens in a new tab)
  62. 62Florence Nightingale (History of Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing, University of Utah)https://uen.pressbooks.pub/historyofgradpsycmentalhealthnursinguofutah/?p=64 (opens in a new tab)
  63. 63Our history (The Salvation Army UK)https://www.salvationarmy.org.uk/about-us/our-history (opens in a new tab)
  64. 64Records of the Christian Mission (Archives Hub, Salvation Army International Heritage Centre)https://archiveshub.ac.uk/search/archives/abe2076c-5d47-3166-bded-93e5343005d0 (opens in a new tab)
  65. 652023 Annual Report (Catholic Relief Services)https://www.crs.org/sites/default/files/crs-annual-report-2023.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  66. 66Caritas Internationalis celebrates its 70th anniversary (Abouna)https://encms.abouna.org/node/65719 (opens in a new tab)
  67. 67World Service Annual Report 2020 (Lutheran World Federation)https://www.lutheranworld.org/sites/default/files/2022-02/01472_world_service_annual_report_fa_web.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  68. 6850 Jahre Diakoniewissenschaftliches Institut, DWI-Info Sonderausgabe 5 (Universität Heidelberg)https://www.uni-heidelberg.de/imperia/md/content/fakultaeten/theologie/dwi/dwi-info_sonderausgabe_5.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  69. 69Diakoniewissenschaftliches Institut feiert 60-jähriges Bestehen (Universität Heidelberg, 9 January 2014)https://www.uni-heidelberg.de/presse/news2014/pm20140109_dwi.html (opens in a new tab)
  70. 70Nachruf Prof. Dr. Theodor Strohm (Theological Faculty, Universität Heidelberg)https://backend.theologie.uni-heidelberg.de/de/dokumente/nachruf-prof-dr-theodor-strohm/download (opens in a new tab)
  71. 71Global Aid Alliance Launched in Australia, media release (National Council of Churches in Australia, 2010)https://www.archive.ncca.org.au/files/Media_Releases/100324_Global_Aid_Alliance_Launched_in_Australia.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  72. 72Diaconia: Journal for the Study of Christian Social Practice (RelBib)https://relbib.de/Record/636202674 (opens in a new tab)
  73. 73Papal commission votes against ordaining women deacons (Catholic Review, Catholic News Service, 4 December 2025)https://catholicreview.org/papal-commission-votes-against-ordaining-women-deacons (opens in a new tab)
  74. 74McKnight, Understanding the Diaconate, excerpt (Barnes and Noble)https://valsec.barnesandnoble.com/w/understanding-the-diaconate/w-shawn-mcknight/1127892406 (opens in a new tab)
  75. 75Review of Collins, Diakonia: Re-Interpreting the Ancient Sources (Bryn Mawr Classical Review 1991.05.06)https://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/?p=19636 (opens in a new tab)
  76. 76Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief (IFRC)https://www.ifrc.org/our-promise/do-good/code-conduct-movement-ngos (opens in a new tab)
  77. 77Matthew 25, Berean Standard Bible (Bible Hub)https://biblehub.com/bsb/matthew/25.htm (opens in a new tab)
  78. 78Olivier and Wodon, Market Share of Faith-inspired Health Care Providers in Africa (World Bank, MPRA, via CORE)https://core.ac.uk/download/213943564.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  79. 79Diakonia as Christian Social Practice: An Introduction, contents (Biblioteca IZT, UAM)https://biblioteca.izt.uam.mx/vufind/Record/JSTOR_on1020622626/TOC (opens in a new tab)
  80. 80Diaconia: Journal for the Study of Christian Social Practice, aims (Sack Fachmedien)https://sack.de/diaconia-18693261/9771869326006 (opens in a new tab)
  81. 81Leviticus 19, Berean Standard Bible (Bible Hub)https://biblehub.com/bsb/leviticus/19.htm (opens in a new tab)
  82. 82Isaiah 58, Berean Standard Bible (Bible Hub)https://biblehub.com/bsb/isaiah/58.htm (opens in a new tab)
  83. 83Acts 6, Berean Standard Bible (Bible Hub)https://biblehub.com/bsb/acts/6.htm (opens in a new tab)
  84. 84James 1, Berean Standard Bible (Bible Hub)https://biblehub.com/bsb/james/1.htm (opens in a new tab)
  85. 85FY2024 Facts and Figures (Catholic Relief Services)https://www.crs.org/sites/default/files/documents/2025-08/25MK-1428125%20Annual%20Report%20FY24%20Facts%20and%20Figures_ENG.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  86. 86Olivier and Wodon, Playing broken telephone, Development in Practice 22 (JLI)https://jliflc.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Playing-broken-tele.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  87. 87Guide to Ethical Communications (Dóchas)https://dochas.ie/resources/ethical-communications/guide-to-ethical-communications/ (opens in a new tab)
  88. 88The Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability, 2024 edition (ALNAP)https://library.alnap.org/node/118064 (opens in a new tab)
  89. 89Leviticus 25, Berean Standard Bible (Bible Hub)https://biblehub.com/bsb/leviticus/25.htm (opens in a new tab)
  90. 90Deuteronomy 14, Berean Standard Bible (Bible Hub)https://biblehub.com/bsb/deuteronomy/14.htm (opens in a new tab)
  91. 91Deuteronomy 24, Berean Standard Bible (Bible Hub)https://biblehub.com/bsb/deuteronomy/24.htm (opens in a new tab)
  92. 92Amos 5, Berean Standard Bible (Bible Hub)https://biblehub.com/bsb/amos/5.htm (opens in a new tab)
  93. 93Luke 10, Berean Standard Bible (Bible Hub)https://biblehub.com/bsb/luke/10.htm (opens in a new tab)
  94. 94Mark 10, Berean Standard Bible (Bible Hub)https://biblehub.com/bsb/mark/10.htm (opens in a new tab)
  95. 95Romans 16, Berean Standard Bible (Bible Hub)https://biblehub.com/bsb/romans/16.htm (opens in a new tab)
  96. 961 Timothy 3, Berean Standard Bible (Bible Hub)https://biblehub.com/bsb/1_timothy/3.htm (opens in a new tab)
  97. 97Galatians 2, Berean Standard Bible (Bible Hub)https://biblehub.com/bsb/galatians/2.htm (opens in a new tab)
  98. 98Romans 15, Berean Standard Bible (Bible Hub)https://biblehub.com/bsb/romans/15.htm (opens in a new tab)
  99. 992 Corinthians 8, Berean Standard Bible (Bible Hub)https://biblehub.com/bsb/2_corinthians/8.htm (opens in a new tab)
  100. 100James 2, Berean Standard Bible (Bible Hub)https://biblehub.com/bsb/james/2.htm (opens in a new tab)
  101. 101International Statistics, as at 1 January 2024 (The Salvation Army International Headquarters)https://wm4.salvationarmy.org/ihq/statistics (opens in a new tab)
  102. 102Noll, shorter notice of Collins, Diakonia Studies (Theological Studies)https://theologicalstudies.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/48-Noll-Diakonia-Studies.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  103. 103Hentschel, Diakonia im Neuen Testament (Mohr Siebeck)https://www.mohrsiebeck.com/en/book/diakonia-im-neuen-testament-9783161515699 (opens in a new tab)
  104. 104Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church (The Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/justpeace/documents/rc_pc_justpeace_doc_20060526_compendio-dott-soc_en.html (opens in a new tab)
  105. 105Hartley, Diakonia and Mission: Charting the Ambiguity (APM proceedings, via CORE)https://core.ac.uk/download/155819535.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  106. 106Diaconia and Christian Social Practice in a Global Perspective, special issue flyer (Religions, MDPI)https://www.mdpi.com/journal/religions/special_issue_flyer_pdf_v2/G539Y488L1 (opens in a new tab)
  107. 107Gahl, Diakonia: Accessing the Work of John Collins for Current LCMS Discussions (The Daystar Journal)https://thedaystarjournal.com/diakonia/ (opens in a new tab)
  108. 108How We Work (World Vision US)https://www.worldvision.org/?p=2114 (opens in a new tab)
  109. 109Operation Christmas Child 2024 Special Report (Samaritan's Purse)https://samaritanspurse.org/operation-christmas-child/2024-special-report/ (opens in a new tab)
  110. 11022 CFR 205.1, Participation by religious organizations in USAID programs (Cornell LII)https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/22/205.1 (opens in a new tab)
  111. 111African Faith and Health Leaders Consultation media kit (CCIH, AACC and ACHAP, November 2025)https://www.ccih.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Media-Kit-EN-FR-African-Faith-Health-Leaders-Consultation.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  112. 112Annotated Bibliography on FBO market share (CCIH)https://www.ccih.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Annotated-Bibliography-on-FBOs-market-share.pdf (opens in a new tab)

Page record

Reviewed and approved by Duane Herholdt, BA (Theology), Chief Executive Officer, Numa Verse

Study version: v1.1, 7 November 2026 (theology map v1.27)

Last reviewed: 9 November 2026

How these pages are made

  • 9 November 2026: First draft from the approved study v1.1.