Deaconesses

History, photos and stories of these unsung heroes of the Church
In the Episcopal Church, Deaconesses were faith-filled women who were the early pioneers of servant ministry. Being "set apart" as a deaconess was one of the few ways women could serve the Church in the years before the ordination of women.
It's been recorded that four deaconesses were ordained by Bp. William Whittingham of Maryland in September, 1857. At the time, women in the USA were not ordained as deacons. In 1970, the last of some 500 deaconesses were ordained. That same year, when General Convention voted to allow women to be ordained as deacons, the deaconesses were automatically included in this group.
Meet the Deaconesses ~ arranged alphabetically
​A-F      G-L      M-R      S-Z
A listing of Deaconess Commemorations can be found on the Sisters in Faith website. Compiled by Deacon Patricia Marks. 
IN THE NEWS
Picture
​Sister Priscilla, the Last Deaconess, Still Active at 87 
The Living Church, March 2022
Sister Priscilla is the last of the deaconesses. Referring to the friends of St. Paul, she joked “Phoebe and Lydia were in the class before me.” In 1962, she studied at Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, now known as Bexley Seabury Seminary, for her training as a deaconess.
​Unlocking the History of the Deaconesses, by The Living Church, Feb. 2022
​A 100-year-old gold-embossed book,The Memorial Book of the Retirement Fund for Deaconesses, offers details to the early days of the Order of Deaconesses.
Procession of Deaconess candidates, NYC, 1914
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Know of a deaconess we've missed? Please contact Deacon Anne, webmaster.