''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
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
, a deacon's wife is called ''Shamassy'' (derived from ''Shamas'', Arabic for "deacon").
Romanian
Romanian may refer to:
*anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania
** Romanians, an ethnic group
**Romanian language, a Romance language
***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language
**Romanian cuisine, traditiona ...
uses a derivative from the Greek term, ''Diaconiţa'', as does
Serbian
Serbian may refer to:
* someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe
* someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people
* Serbian language
* Serbian names
See also
*
*
* Old Serbian (disambiguation ...
, ''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), etc.
See also
* ''
Episcopa Theodora''
* ''
Presbytera
''Presbytera'' ( el, πρεσβυτέρα, pronounced ''presvytéra'') is a Greek title of honor that is used to refer to a priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a m ...
''
References
*{{OrthodoxWiki, name=Diakonessa, oldid=71335
External links
Clergy Etiquette
Eastern Christian ecclesiastical offices