Deacons

[twf]

I know that deacons play a very important role in the Byzantine liturgy. Two questions:

1. When a deacon isn’t present for a Byzantine liturgy (because I very much doubt every single parish / mission actually has one) how does this impact the liturgy? Does someone else say the deacon’s parts or are they omitted completely? For example, in the Roman Rite the deacon properly reads the Gospel but in his absence (which is quite often especially in dioceses such as mine where the permanent diaconate simply does not exist) a priest reads it instead.
2. Is the role of the deacon in the various Oriental rites comparable to that of the deacon in the Byzantine rite?

 

[Symeon]

I know that deacons play a very important role in the Byzantine liturgy. Two questions:

1. When a deacon isn’t present for a Byzantine liturgy (because I very much doubt every single parish / mission actually has one) how does this impact the liturgy? Does someone else say the deacon’s parts or are they omitted completely? For example, in the Roman Rite the deacon properly reads the Gospel but in his absence (which is quite often especially in dioceses such as mine where the permanent diaconate simply does not exist) a priest reads it instead.
   ?

In the Byzantine Divine Liturgy in the absence of a deacon, the priest prays the deacon’s parts (litanies, etc…) and reads the gospel. - With the obvious exception being places where the deacon directly addresses the priest, as in “It is time for the Lord to act”, “Bless, Master, the Holy Bread,” etc… And the priest does incensing that normally the deacon would do. All this does make the Liturgy flow differently. Ideally every parish should have a deacon or two.

 

[Aramis]

I know that deacons play a very important role in the Byzantine liturgy. Two questions:

1. When a deacon isn’t present for a Byzantine liturgy (because I very much doubt every single parish / mission actually has one) how does this impact the liturgy? Does someone else say the deacon’s parts or are they omitted completely? For example, in the Roman Rite the deacon properly reads the Gospel but in his absence (which is quite often especially in dioceses such as mine where the permanent diaconate simply does not exist) a priest reads it instead.

Almost all of the deacons’s role devolves upon the concelebrant (if a priestly concelebrant is present) or the Celebrant.

The omissions are the instructions to the celebrant (“Rev. Fr., Bless the ___”, etc).

All the deacon’s charges to the people are given by the concelebrant priest or the celebrant.

The Incensation of the people is done by a priest. The priests carry the sacred vessels in the Great Entrance; a subdeacon, acolyte, or server may carry the censor in processions.

In a couple jurisdictions, the subdeacon may chant the ektenie verses; in the rest, the concelebrant priest does so, but usually from the holy table rather than from the ambon.