Heralds of Charity: The First Deacons and the Dawn of a New Era
In the vibrant, nascent days of the Church, as the Apostles diligently spread the Good News, a beautiful and essential need arose. The community of believers was growing rapidly, and with it, the demands of daily life and ministry. It was in this context, as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, that the Holy Spirit inspired a pivotal development in the structure and service of the Church: the appointment of the first deacons . The apostles, recognizing that they could not dedicate themselves fully to both prayer and the ministry of the word while also attending to the material needs of the community, wisely sought a solution. Acts 6:1-6 recounts this moment: "Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint by the Hellenists against the Hebrews, because their widows were 1 neglected in the daily distribution. Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, 'It is not desirable that we should leave the 2 word o...