We have to be very careful when reading the ancient texts. Women have never been ordained to the Order of Deacon. The deaconess of the ancient writings is not in Holy Orders.
The deacon, as we know him is a cleric in every sense of the word. He is as much a cleric as is a priest and a bishop. He is not a layman. He has undergone an ontological change. This is Tradition with an upper case T.
It is an error to think that the Order of Deacon is a minor order. It is not and has never been. The deacons were the right hand men of the bishops. That wording is still retained in the rite of ordination in the Latin Church. They are to assist the bishop, not the parish priest.
If you notice when the pope or any bishop celebrates a mass, the man at his right is always a deacon, not the Vicar General nor the Chancellor. The place of honor belongs to the deacon. It will always be the deacon who will proclaim the Gospel at every episcopal mass. None of this was ever allowed to the deaconess.
The Order of Deacon is also the ordinary minister for funerals, weddings, baptisms and the distribution of Holy Communion. It is also the ordinary minister for the proclamation of the Gospel and preaching. This why St. Dominic insisted that all of his friars be deacons or priests, because his order is an Order of Preachers. At the time, the only layman who were allowed to preach were the Franciscans. That privilege had been taken away from other lay groups because of heresy. But it was a privilege to preach, not a right and it continues to be so. For the deacon, preaching is not a privilege.
The sacramental ordination of women has never been part of the Apostolic Churches. What gets confusing is the language, because when we translate it from the early Greek and Latin, to ordain has two meanings. One is sacramental and the other is apostolic.
In the sacrament, there is the imposition of hands by a bishop and the transmission of the Holy Spirit. This is only available to deacons, presbyters and bishops. These have always been men.
The other use of ordain is to command, to establish, to commission. For those who speak Spanish, this may be very clear. The word “ordernar” is used to mean sacramental ordination, to order, to commission and to send. The meaning is extrapolated by context.
Bl. John Paul is correct. The Church does not have, nor has ever had, the authority to ordain women.
Even the minor orders, which in the Latin Church are known as the Lay Ministries, may only be conferred on men. This tradition has existed since about the year 200.
For example, I’m a Lector and Acolyte. Notice the uppercase letters. It’s a ministry that cannot be taken away once it’s conferred. The nice lady who reads at mass is a lector or a reader. The nice kid who serves at mass is an altar server, not an acolyte. These are temporary services that this person lends to the local parish under the discretion of the pastor. Whereas the Lector and Acolyte functions in any diocese under the jurisdiction of the bishop or if he’s a religious, under the jurisdiction of the Major Superior of men. Major Superiors of women cannot authorize a Lector or Acolyte to function as such even in their own convents and monasteries. It must always be authorized by either a bishop or a male religious superior. These are very ancient traditions that date back to the early Church.
This minor orders/ministries are not part of the Sacrament of Holy Orders. That’s why the Latin Church opted to rename them as ministries. There was a misunderstanding that a man who was tonsured or who was a sub-deacon was a cleric. The truth is that all male religious who made vows of chastity were tonsured as were women religious. And sub-deacons were not clerics, because they did not receive the Sacrament of Holy Orders. They remained in the canonical lay state until they were ordained deacons.
There is also a difference between the canonical lay state and the laity. But that’s a topic for another thread.
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF
