CONFERENCE TO RENEW THE MALE AND FEMALE DIACONATE GREETED BY HIS EMINENCE METROPOLITAN GERASIMOS OF SAN FRANCISCO

Conference to Renew the Male and Female Diaconate
Greeted by His Eminence Metropolitan Gerasimos of San Francisco

speakers             
His Eminence Metropolitan Gerasimos of San Francisco, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, inspired and encouraged participants at St. Phoebe Center for the Deaconess October 6–7, 2017 conference at St. Paul’s Greek Orthodox Church in Irvine, CA, to continue their efforts to “keep on discussing, keep on acting, keep on making waves—positive waves—in the spirit of Christ.”  A deacon himself from 1979–2002, he acknowledged that “the ongoing discussion about restoring and renewal of the diaconate is very important in the life of our Church . . .  We have yet to educate our faithful about how a thriving diaconate expands the pastoral reach of the Church and presbyters just as ordaining deacons expanded the reach of the apostles in the Book of Acts.”  

His Eminence thanked the conference presenters for doing “appropriate” diaconal work in chaplaincy, counseling, and visitation because they “articulated [their] own passion:  the love of God and the grace of the Holy Spirit and make it real in our lives and the lives of those who suffer, the lives of the priests and deacons of the Church.”  This included the counseling aspect of Demetra Jacquet’s presentation that “fits nicely the work of a deaconess,” and noting that in a history of women deacons essay by Valerie Karras “there’s lots of rich material that we have not unfolded, unwrapped.”    His Eminence noted that the challenges of reviving the diaconate are many:   What will deacons do?  Is it permanent?  What education and training is required?  How “you and I make this particular paradigm change in our faithful”?  He noted,  “Forty years ago, there were the same questions about the concept of the deacon, the deaconess.  We have come a little bit forward. At least we are talking about it.” 

This unprecedented conference addressing the issue of male and female deacons together heard outstanding presentations from the speakers and moderators pictured above, from left to right:  Rev. Archdeacon John Chryssavgis, Dr. Demetra Velisarios Jaquet, Gust Mecera, Rev. Protodeacon Peter Danilchick, Dr. Carrie Frederick Frost, AnnMarie Mecera, Rev. Father Anthony Gregg Roeber, Rev. Deacon Paul Cherkas, Rev. Protodeacon Brian Patrick Mitchell, His Eminence Metropolitan Gerasimos, Rev. Deacon Nicholas Denysenko, Cllio Pavlantos, Very Rev. Father Alexander Rentel, Dr. James Skedros, Dr. Valerie Karras, Rev. Father Michael Courey, and Rev. Father Steven Tsichlis.  

More photos of the conference and written talks are available at https://orthodoxdeaconess.org/2017-conference/

An entire audio recording of the conference will soon be available at https://orthodoxdeaconess.org/2017-conference/  along with shortened presentations emailed to subscribers of the St. Phoebe Center and Public Orthodoxy.