[Magdalen] Two to go

[Joseph Cirou]

When I think about it some more (it's been many years since I saw this
practice, and that was in the Assyro-Chaldean Church in Chicago in the
50's) I think experienced cantors or layman may have sung the deacon's part
in the liturgy; but I don't they they wore the deacon's stole or orarion.

Joe

On Sat, Apr 4, 2015 at 7:58 PM, Joseph Cirou <romanos at mindspring.com> wrote:

> In the Roman Church the order of subdeacon was suppressed in the 60's.
> Also the custom of ordained clergy taking a role beneath the one to which
> they were ordained has been discouraged in the Novus Ordo (Bishops,
> however, do not always have to pontificate liturgically, priests, deacons
> and laypeople are discouraged from otherwise pontificating.) However, there
> had been sort of tradition of non ordained seminarians, at least,
> functioning as a subdeacon. One of my classmates in the 50's and 60's was
> frequently called upon to be the subdeacon. In many places the subdeacon
> became merely a vested crucifer. In the Eastern Churches, altar servers are
> sometimes vested in the subdeacon's orarion. I believe certain other
> Eastern Churches that did not have an ordained diaconate had certain laymen
> vest as deacons, but I am not sure. I remember the vested non ordained
> subdeacons. The subdiaconate was not suppressed among the Eastern
> Catholics. We have 2 married deacons at St. John's. Both functioned as
> ordained subdeacons for at least a year. After their ordination to the
> subdiaconate, their names appeared on the masthead of the church bulletin.
>
>
>
> On Sat, Apr 4, 2015 at 6:49 PM, Scott Knitter <scottknitter at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> We have a female subdeacon and have had female priests preach. We are on
>> our way to catching up with 1977 or so.
>> On Apr 4, 2015 5:41 PM, "ME Michaud" <michaudme at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> > Our subdeacons were always laypeople. My sense was that the
>> > subdeacons worked to make sure the laity were always represented
>> > in the altar party.
>> >
>> > Once a female seminarian suggested to the priest of the parish to
>> > which she was assigned that she fulfill the deacon's role, setting
>> > the elements on the table. I think she was still bouncing when she
>> > passed over Plymouth and the Cape Cod Canal.
>> > -M
>> >
>>
>
>