The Deacon; An Inquiry Into the Nature, Duties, and Exercise of the Office of the Deacon, in the Christian Church

by James M. Willson

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1841 ...of the Christian Church by a path carried through her purest and best times, and portions, and have found a very satisfactory degree of unanimity of sentiment, and conformity of practice on the subject of the deacon's office. But our labours are not at an end, for the deacon has not only been excluded in more modern times, from the position assigned to him in the house of God, by Christ her head, but his duties divided, and subdivided among various humanly devised substitutes, or transferred without warrant, to other ecclesiastical officers. An examination of this branch of the subject occupies the following Chapter. CHAPTER III. Of Substitutes for the Deacon. These are various. In some instances, the teaching and ruling elders perform all the duties of the deacon, and in others a part of them. In the congregations of the Scottish Establishment, the care of the poor is devolved generally upon the session; while the remaining functions of the deacon, those which respect the maintenance of the minis, try, and the charge of the property of the church, are mostly discharged by civil functionaries. In the Presbyterian congregations of Ireland, a similar arrangement subsists for the care of the poor; while the other offices of the deacon are performed, so far as they are attended to at all, by temporary and unordained officers, called trustees, or committee-men. This is the mode which, more than any other, obtains in the churches in the United States. In very few con fregations, comparatively, is the office of the deacon, as a distinct institution in the church, known at all. And where the name is common, as in the congregational churches of New England, it is employed to designate an officer resembling much more the scriptural elder than the deacon. this office ...

34 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1841

Reviews

[Tim Woody · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fantastic, short and thorough examination of the office of Deacon and it's responsibilities. I would consider this a must read for any church wanting to implement the office of Deacon. You can find this book online for free on the Princeton Theological Seminary online library here (https://archive.org/details/deaconinq...)