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Diakonissa
''Diakonissa'' is a Greek title of honor that is used to refer to a deacon's wife. It is derived from ''diakonos''—the Greek word for ''deacon'' (literally, "server"). There does not currently seem to be any standard English equivalent, so most English-speaking Orthodox Christians will use the title most common in the old country churches from which their local family or parish finds its origin. ''Diakonissa'' was also the term used in the ancient Church for the order of deaconess, a class of ordained women who saw to the care of women in the community. Other languages In Arabic, a deacon's wife is called ''Shamassy'' (derived from ''Shamas'', Arabic for "deacon"). Romanian uses a derivative from the Greek term, ''Diaconiţa'', as does Serbian, ''Đakonica''/''Ђаконица'' (pronounced ''jack-on-eet'-sa''). Other Slavic traditions generally use the same word for a deacon's wife that is used for a priest's wife: ''Matushka'' (Russian), ''Panimatushka'' (Ukrainian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deacon
A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Catholic Church, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, the Eastern Orthodox Church, Lutheranism, Presbyterianism, Methodism, and Anglicanism, view the diaconate as an order of ministry. Permanent deacons (or distinctive deacons) are those who do not later transition to another form of ministry, in contrast to those continuing their formation who are then often called transitional deacons. Origin and development The word ''deacon'' is derived from the Greek word (), which is a standard ancient Greek word meaning "servant", "waiter", "minister", or "messenger". Recent research has highlighted the role of the deacon "as a co-operator" and "go-between," emphasizing their intermediary position in early Christian communities. It is generally assum ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Presbytera
''Presbytera'' (, pronunciation: /prezviˈtera/) is a term used in Christian traditions, primarily within Eastern Orthodoxy, to denote the wife of a priest. Historically, the term, derived from the Greek ''presbyteros'' ("elder" or "priest"), held multiple meanings in early Christianity, including a female church officer, a cloister matron, an abbess, or a priest’s wife. Over time, its usage evolved, particularly from the medieval period onward, to primarily signify the spousal role in both Greek and Latin Christian contexts. In contemporary Orthodox churches, the presbytera is recognized as a respected figure within the parish, often contributing to her husband’s ministry through social, spiritual, and sometimes professional roles, though she holds no ordained office. Etymology The term ''presbytera'' (πρεσβυτέρα) or ''presbyterissa'' (πρεσβύτις) appears in early Christian writings with multiple meanings: it could denote: * a priest’s wife * a female ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deaconess
The ministry of a deaconess is a ministry for women in some Protestant, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Orthodox churches to provide pastoral care, especially for other women, and which may carry a liturgical role. The word comes from the Greek language, Greek (), for "deacon", which means a servant or helper and occurs frequently in the Christian New Testament of the Bible. Deaconesses trace their roots from the time of Jesus, Jesus Christ through to the 13th century in the West. They existed from the early through the middle Byzantine Empire, Byzantine periods in Constantinople and Jerusalem; the Clergy, office also existed in Western European churches. There is evidence to support the fact that the diaconate including women in the Byzantine Church of the early and middle Byzantine periods was recognized as one of the major non-ordained orders of clergy. The English separatists unsuccessfully sought to revive the office of deaconesses in the 1610s in their Amsterdam congregat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Episcopa Theodora
Theodora, mother of Pope Paschal I and wife of Bonusus, lived in the early 9th century CE and is depicted in a mosaic in the Church of Santa Prassede, Rome (c. 900 CE), with the title " Episcopa." Scholars debate whether this indicates she was a female bishop or if it was an honorific title bestowed by her son. Pope Paschal I’s esteem for her is evident in the Chapel of Bishop Zeno, which he built in her honor within the church. Mosaic & inscription Theodora Episcopa During his papacy from 817 to 824 CE, Pope Paschal I relocated the relics of 2,300 martyrs from the catacombs to the San Zeno chapel in Santa Prassede, a space he constructed for his mother, Theodora Episcopa. A ninth-century (c. 900 CE) mosaic within the chapel features four women: the Virgin Mary, Saints Praxedis, and Prudentiana, each adorned with round golden halos symbolizing sainthood, and Theodora Episcopa, distinguished by a square white halo, indicating she was a living holy person at the time of its ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arabic (language)
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns language codes to 32 varieties of Arabic, including its standard form of Literary Arabic, known as Modern Standard Arabic, which is derived from Classical Arabic. This distinction exists primarily among Western linguists; Arabic speakers themselves generally do not distinguish between Modern Standard Arabic and Classical Arabic, but rather refer to both as ( "the eloquent Arabic") or simply ' (). Arabic is the third most widespread official language after English and French, one of six official languages of the United Nations, and the liturgical language of Islam. Arabic is widely taught in schools and universities around the world and is used to varying degrees in workplaces, governments and the media. During the Middle Ages, Arabic was a major vehicle of culture and learning, especially ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Romanian (language)
Romanian (obsolete spelling: Roumanian; , or , ) is the official and main language of Romania and Moldova. Romanian is part of the Eastern Romance sub-branch of Romance languages, a linguistic group that evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin which separated from the Western Romance languages in the course of the period from the 5th to the 8th centuries. To distinguish it within the Eastern Romance languages, in comparative linguistics it is called '' Daco-Romanian'' as opposed to its closest relatives, Aromanian, Megleno-Romanian, and Istro-Romanian. It is also spoken as a minority language by stable communities in the countries surrounding Romania (Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia and Ukraine), and by the large Romanian diaspora. In total, it is spoken by 25 million people as a first language. Romanian was also known as '' Moldovan'' in Moldova, although the Constitutional Court of Moldova ruled in 2013 that "the official language of Moldova is Romanian". On 16 March 2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Serbian (language)
Serbian (, ) is the standardized variety of the Serbo-Croatian language mainly used by Serbs. It is the official and national language of Serbia, one of the three official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina and co-official in Montenegro and Kosovo. It is a recognized minority language in Croatia, North Macedonia, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. Standard Serbian is based on the most widespread dialect of Serbo-Croatian, Shtokavian (more specifically on the dialects of Šumadija-Vojvodina and Eastern Herzegovina), which is also the basis of standard Croatian, Bosnian, and Montenegrin varieties and therefore the Declaration on the Common Language of Croats, Bosniaks, Serbs, and Montenegrins was issued in 2017. The other dialect spoken by Serbs is Torlakian in southeastern Serbia, which is transitional to Macedonian and Bulgarian. Serbian is practically the only European standard language whose speakers are fully functionally digraphic, using both Cyri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
