. The deaconess calling : its past and its present. r day constitute the dutiesof a Deaconess, may easily be deduced from them. To be sure,circumstances in the early Church differed greatly from those ofthe present time ; and the work is determined by the circum-stances. In the early Church, other duties no doubt occupied theforeground. To the Deaconesses was permitted a catechetical of- — 16 — fico in the Cluirch, while the honiiletical offiee was closed to eatcehetical service was exercised especially in bchaltof thosewomen who desired to become Christians. Instruction and educa-
. The deaconess calling : its past and its present. r day constitute the dutiesof a Deaconess, may easily be deduced from them. To be sure,circumstances in the early Church differed greatly from those ofthe present time ; and the work is determined by the circum-stances. In the early Church, other duties no doubt occupied theforeground. To the Deaconesses was permitted a catechetical of- — 16 — fico in the Cluirch, while the honiiletical offiee was closed to eatcehetical service was exercised especially in bchaltof thosewomen who desired to become Christians. Instruction and educa-tion seem then to have held the foremost place,—that wliich in ourday belonijs to the care of the sick and the j)oi»r. \\^hatsoeverclaims the rioht of existence as a province (»f the female diaconate,must at all times and in some manner, establish its validity on theground of the Holy Scriptures. And especially will tlie womanlyservice, once rendered to the Head of the Church, evermoie remainthe standard for all service toward its CHAPTER IV. Deaconesses of the Early Church. 25. Our knowledge regarding the conditions and circumstancesof the early Church is very scant. During the first centuries theChurch, under the pressure of persecution, wa . forced to exist ingreat seclusion; and this fact satisfactorily explains, why suchwritten records as have been preserved, fail to give us a clearpicture of its life. It is undoubted, however, that the need oa definite form of womans churchly ministry early asserted it elf;and in accordance with the need, the institution took shape. Theperiod between the middle of the first and that of the secondcenturies probably solved whatever difficulties existed with regardto it. The origin of the ancient prayer of consecration of deaco-nesses, handed down to us, seems to belong to this time. As tothe tradition, which ascribes it to the Apostle Bartholomew, thereis no certainty. The purport of the prayer is a refutation of theobject
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