The Subdeacon is an ancient order of the Roman Catholic Church. While not as ancient as Bishop, Priest, and Deacon, it shows up in the writing of bishops early on in church history. A letter of Pope Cornilius makes mention of the sub-deacon by the mid-3rd century.[i] This is the earliest known reference to the subdeacon and given that they are referenced around 251 AD, it is safe to presume that they predate that by sometime as they are not mentioned as something new or alien to a bishop who would be reading the letter.
For the next 1721 years the subdeacon would exist in the Roman Church before Pope St. Paul VI suppressed the Order of Subdeacon in 1972 with this Moto Proprio Ministeria quaedam.[ii]There is some debate if the subdeacon still exists in the Latin Church. However, Rome as late as 2018 while acknowledging that they were not cleric’s, did seem to implicitly suggest that the Order of Subdeacon still exists, even if it is outside the modern canonical structure.[iii]
Historically Who Could Act as a Subdeacon
However, a church having access to properly Ordained or Instituted Subdeacons, has been a problem since at least the 1600’s. Rome received numerous dubia about when it was lawful to allow someone who was not a subdeacon function as a subdeacon. The earliest known reference to this question is a Response from the Sacred Congregation of Rites dated July 5, 1698: “When a Subdeacon is absent for a Solemn Mass, can someone appointed in the minor orders be substituted by Superiors for chanting the Epistle, vested without the maniple?”[iv] Rome response to this question in both 1698 and 1894, was that a cleric (at that time one who had at least been tonsured) could act as a Subdeacon, but would not wear the maniple, if there was a true absolute necessity.[v] If a Deacon or priest was available, it was their duty to take on the role of subdeacon[vi], and under no circumstances could a lay man act as a subdeacon.[vii]
This rule of “absolute necessity” was in place until 1906 when the Sacred Congregation of Rites lessened need requirement to a reasonable cause. Again, this role had to be filled in by a minor cleric or one tonsured.[viii] Additionally the duties of the substitute subdeacon were more explicitly detailed in this decree. The substitute subdeacon was to perform all the duties of the subdeacon EXCEPT:
- Vesting – He must not wear the maniple
- Before the Offertory – he must not wipe the chalice nor pour water into it; this is to be done by the Deacon.
- During the Canon – after bringing the chalice to the altar, he must not touch it, nor remove or replace the pall.
- After the ablution – he must not wipe the chalice (this is done by the Priest); rather, he shall arrange it as usual, cover it with the veil and burse, and return it to the credence.
These rules of who may fill in for a subdeacon and what they were allowed to do would remain all the way through the 1962 Roman Missal.
Modern Day Straw Subdeacons
When Pope St. John Paul II began to liberalize the use of the 1962 Roman Missal the issue of substitute subdeacons soon became an issue. Certainly a priest or deacon could fill the role, but what if you did not have three clergy members? In 1993, the Pontifical Commission of Ecclesia Dei (PCED) clarified that one who had received the Ministry of Acolyte could serve as a subdeacon. This answer made no mention of the previous restrictions placed on the substitute subdeacon. In 2012, the PCED seemed to expand the permission of those who could act as a straw subdeacon to those in in seminary entitled to wear clerical clothing.
The PCED reversed its expansion and clarified who can act as a straw subdeacon and what limits are applied. The PCED stated that “the function of Subdeacon can be legitimately assumed by an acolyte suitably instituted by a Bishop, but with the particular appropriate ritual differences.”[ix] Those ritual differences being those previously spelled out in 1906 in S.R.C. 4181.
The last and most clear ruling on who can serve as a substitute or straw subdeacon came in 2018 shortly before the PCED was merged with the DDF. It stated that the functions of subdeacon may be carried out “in addition to ordained clerics, by seminarians or religious who have received either First Tonsure, the Order of Subdeacon, or the Ministry of Acolyte, or by laymen who have been suitably instituted into that same Ministry (of Acolyte) in accordance with Can. 230 §1 CIC.”[x]
The final change to who can act as a substitute subdeacon came in 2021 with Pope Francis’s Traditionis Custodes and the CDW’s Responsa Ad Dubia. Per the CDW, an instituted minister who is participating at a Mass offered according to the Missale Romanum of 1962, must have his bishop’s permission.[xi]
Conclusion
TLDR: Outside the former Ecclesia Dei communities, any layman or seminarian who has received the instituted ministry of acolyte may serve as a straw subdeacon, using the ritual changes outlined in 1906, provided that, as of 2025, he has the permission of the diocesan bishop in accordance with the restrictions of Traditionis Custodes.
Within the former Ecclesia Dei communities, an ordained subdeacon may function fully as subdeacon in the Traditional Latin Mass without alteration of the rites. A tonsured cleric may function as a substitute subdeacon, observing the limitations established in 1906.
[i] Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History, Book VI, Chapter 43, trans. Arthur Cushman McGiffert, in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 1, ed. Philip Schaff and Henry Wace (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1890), available at New Advent, https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/250106.htm (accessed July 13, 2025).
[ii] Pope Paul VI, Ministeria Quaedam (Apostolic Letter issued Motu Proprio, August 15, 1972), which states that “…the major order of subdiaconate no longer exists in the Latin Church.” Available at EWTN, https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/ministeria-quaedam-9006 (accessed July 13, 2025).
[iii] Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, Response to Dubia Regarding the Forma Extraordinaria, letter to Rev. Father Pietras, 14 November 2018. In No. 6, the Commission states that the functions of subdeacon may be carried out by among others “by seminarians or religious who have received…the Order of Subdeacon…” Document accessed via Corpus Christi Watershed, https://www.ccwatershed.org/2018/11/28/pietras-ecclesia-dei-14-november-2018/ (accessed July 13, 2025).
[iv] S.R.C. 2002
[v] S.R.C 2525, S.R.C. 3832
[vi] S.R.C 2525
[vii] S.R.C. 2965
[viii] S.R.C. 4181
[ix] Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, Letter to a Private Correspondent, Prot. N. 39/2011 L, 15 April 2013. (accessed July 13, 2025).
[x] See Note 3
[xi] Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. Responsa ad Dubia on Certain Provisions of the Apostolic Letter Traditionis Custodes Issued Motu Proprio by the Supreme Pontiff Francis, 4 December 2021. Available at: https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20211204_responsa-ad-dubia-tradizionis-custodes_en.html (accessed July 13, 2025).
Leave a Reply