Order of Subdeacon

Editor’s note: The following article is the first in a series by Fr Peter Helman about the different ministries that support the liturgy. Today’s highlighted ministry is the sacred Order of Subdeacon.

What struck me years ago when I found my way into the Episcopal Church—and what ultimately brought my heart to stay—was our constant celebration of the Eucharist. Christ knits us together in love as we share the bread and wine of his presence. I began to make sense of what Saint Paul writes frequently about in his letters: that we are each given spiritual gifts and ministries to offer as a community for God’s glory. 

Week by week the liturgy of the Eucharist unfolds into a single act of adoration created by the shared ministry of many. Torch-bearers and the crucifer, thurifer, verger, master of ceremonies, and the subdeacon—everyone assists the ordained ministers, the deacon and celebrant.

The role of subdeacon caught my eye most of all. The subdeacon, deacon, and celebrant are known as the Sacred Ministers. They serve at the altar as one, a visible sign of the ministry that every Christian—lay and ordained—shares.

The subdeacon is a lay person chosen by the congregation to serve on its behalf as a representative of all the baptized. The deacon and celebrant represent those in the Church who are called to take Holy Orders. 

The sacred order of subdeacon is under, or next to, the sacred order of deacons. It is a ministry that dates to the middle of the 3rd-century. As the Church grew and the work of deacons increased, and as liturgies were celebrated with greater and greater solemnity, the Church introduced this order and bestowed to its members some of the responsibilities that deacons once held.

According to tradition, subdeacons were ordained by the bishop. It was given them to assist the deacons in their ministry with the celebrant; to chant or read the Epistles in the Church; to hold the Gospel book while the deacon chants or reads the Gospel; to see that the holy vessels and all things are prepared for Communion; to assist in the administration of Communion; and, among other things, to perform other duties as appointed. 

Saint Philip’s has a growing number of parishioners who serve faithfully each week as subdeacon. In the Episcopal Church subdeacons are not ordained by bishops; rather, they are commissioned and blessed (or "ordered") by their congregation to serve in this extraordinary way.

At the 9:00am service this Sunday, October 16, we will commission and bless them with an ancient rite called “The Ordering of Subdeacons.” Please join us!

Click here to read the rite.