diaconate
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English
[edit]Noun
[edit]diaconate (plural diaconates)
- The rank of a deacon.
- Deacons considered as a group; a body or board of deacons.
- The period of office of a deacon.
- 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter VII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
- “ […] This is Mr. Churchill, who, as you are aware, is good enough to come to us for his diaconate, and, as we hope, for much longer; and being a gentleman of independent means, he declines to take any payment.” Saying this Walden rubbed his hands together and smiled contentedly.
Derived terms
[edit]- (Roman Catholic): permanent diaconate, transitional diaconate