Question first
appeared on February 22, 2004
Please explain the meaning of the deacon holding and raising
his stole as he intones the petitions; also when he crosses the stole
around him. What is the
significance of these actions?
The
role and ministry of a deacon in the Orthodox Church is likened to the
ministering angels that God sends to care for us.
The order of deacon was established by the early Christians as
recorded in The Acts of the Apostles 6:1-7.
Their appointment was necessary to free the apostles to preach,
teach and pray, while the deacons concerned themselves with the daily
ministries of “agape” (love), the feeding and caring of the poor and
the widows.
The
ends of the deacon’s stole then can be likened to angel’s wings.
While intoning petitions or issuing commands, the deacon raises
and points with the stole in his right hand, as an angel would expand
his wing. During the
recitation of the Lord’s Prayer and following, the deacon folds his
stole around him cross-wise in preparation to draw near to receive Holy
Communion and possibly help in distributing it.
This symbolizes the folding of an angel’s wings as it drew near
to God in humility.
©Very
Rev. Fr. Olof Scott, Sunday Bulletin, February 22, 2004
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