Agents in Liturgy, Charity and Communication: The Tasks of Female Deacons in the Apostolic Constitutions (Studia Traditionis Theologiae) (Studia ... in Early and Medieval Theology, 37)

What did deacons do in the early church? This study is a contribution to resolving this question through evaluating the tasks of female deacons in The Apostolic Constitutions. What did women deacons do in the early church? This study is a contribution to resolving this topical question through evaluating the tasks of female deacons in the Apostolic Constitutions. This fourth-century document is the largest among the so-called ancient church orders. Pylvanainen divides the tasks of female deacons into three categories: liturgical, charitable and communicative. She analyses the individual concepts and verses within their contexts, paying special attention to the context of the document as a whole within the sphere of Jewish Christian interaction and from the viewpoint of the sources the compiler has used in remoulding the document.