Collection › LCMS Convention Workbook (St. Louis, Missouri) › 1973 · 50th Convention › Sheet 496
LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1973, Sheet 496

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

464 MINISTRY IN RELATION TO CHURCH

fied and called woman teachers in schools within the
Synod, and report to the President no later than six
months before the 1975 convention of the Synod.

The Nature and Function of the Diaconate
in the Lutheran Church

This title, taken from Overtures 2-78 and 2-79 sub-
mitted to the 1967 convention, is to some extent a mis-
nomer, since the diaconate, as this term is generally
understood, is not in use in the Lutheran church in this
country. In Lutheran churches ‘‘deacons” are elected
officers of the congregation, sharply differentiated from
the clergy. In hierarchically organized churches (for
example, Roman Catholic and Episcopalian churches)
deacons are defined as members of the clerical order
just below that of a priest. The New Catholic Encyclo-
pedia defines a deacon as “an ordained minister, im-
mediately below the rank of priest in the divinely or-
dained hierarchy of the church.” The same Encyclopedia
finds the earliest certain written use of the term in Phil.
1:1, “where from the text it is clear that the special
meaning of the term was already known.” The article
then refers to 1 Tim. 3:1-13 where the qualifications of
bishops and of deacons are laid down. The writings of
early church fathers make it plain that the office of dea-
con was well established as part of the clerical order.
Concerning the powers of deacons as well as their limi-
tations, the New Catholic Encyclopedia states:

The powers that thus belong to the deacon are enumerated
in the Pontifical: to minister at the altar, to baptize and to
preach. Of these powers the last two can be exercised only
to a limited degree. The deacon is only the extraordinary
minister of solemn baptism, and he may exercise this func-
tion only with special authorization. Similarly, the deacon
may not preach without special authorization. Special
authorization is likewise required for the deacon to dis-
tribute Holy Communion to the faithful, although this func-
tion may be regarded as pertaining to his office. Only in his
ministration at the altar in solemn Mass does the deacon
exercise the power of his order apart from any extraordinary
restriction. [T. J. Riley, ‘‘Deacon,” New Catholic Encyclo-
pedia, IV; New York: McGraw Hill, 1967; p. 668]

We understand the questions which have been asked
about the diaconate in the Lutheran Church (and notably
by The Lutheran Church in the Philippines) as referring
to deacons who are clergymen of an order lower than
the pastor. This church in 1970 passed a resolution to
institute the office of deacon, and submitted its resolution
to the CTCR. We find that our sister church in the Philip-
pines intends to institute the office of deacons in much
the same sense in which this office existed in the post-
apostolic church, namely, as an order of minister, subject
to supervision on the part of a pastor.

In view of the fact that the Ministry includes all
functions that are necessary for the successful proclama-
tion of the Gospel, and that the sum total of these func-
tions can rarely, if ever, be performed by one man, the
CTCR declares that a church which finds the order of
deacon as an order of clergy necessary for the successful
performance of its work has the right to institute this
office and to ordain men to it, just as Lutheran Churches

in India and New Guinea have instituted the office of
catechist.

The CTCR would, however, caution any church in-
Stituting this office to exercise care that only men per-
sonally suitable and qualified for this office be ordained
to it (1 Tim. 3:8-13), and that their duties, and any restric-
tions on their powers, be carefully defined.

The Office of Evangelist

The Synod’s 1971 convention resolved:

That we request the Commission on Theology and Church
Relations to study and define the office of evangelist, espe-
cially as it relates to the office of the pastor and to the doc-
trine of church and ministry, and that the commission report
on this to the Synod at an early date. [Res. 8-07]

In seeking to fulfill this request of the Synod, the CTCR
makes the following observations:

1. The term evangelist occurs only three times in the
New Testament. Acts 21:8 calls Philip, one of the
seven appointed by the church in Jerusalem to
take care of the distribution of alms, “Philip the
evangelist.” The activity of Philip which gave him
the name evangelist is described in Acts 8. Verse 5
and following tell how Philip proclaimed Christ
in Samaria, and won converts and baptized them.
In verse 26 of the same chapter, an angel tells
Philip to go down to the road that leads from
Jerusalem to Gaza. There he finds the Ethiopian
eunuch, proclaims Christ to him, and baptizes him.
It seems clear from these passages that Philip had
a gift for bringing the Gospel to men who had not
yet heard it. He does not appear to have become
a parish pastor, but went from place to place pro-
claiming Christ.

2. The gifts of the ascended Lord were “that some
should be apostles, some prophets, some evange-
lists, some pastors and teachers” (Eph. 4:11). The
apostolic office was not a permanent institution in
the sense that one set of apostles would in time be
replaced by other apostles. As men who had been
with the Lord and had “seen Him with their eyes,
had looked upon and touched Him with their
hands” (1 John 1:1), they could not have successors
who possessed these qualifications.

The prophets of the New Testament, who are
mentioned immediately after the apostles (cf. Eph.
2:20; 3:5; 4:11; Rev. 18:20), are frequently men-
tioned in the Book of Acts (ef. Acts 13:1; 11:28;
21:10). The office of the New Testament prophets
is not understood in the same way by all Bible
students. But it seems clear that this was not a
structured office which was found everywhere
in the church. Rather, the New Testament proph-
ets, like those of the Old Testament, presumably
were men specially called to this office and en-
dowed by the Holy Spirit with the gift of prophecy,
or inspired utterance. They performed certain
necessary functions in the church which served
the proclamation of the saving Gospel.