Ordered Worship: Thoughts on the Sacred

Category: Subdeacon

  • Does the Novus Ordo Need a Subdeacon

    Does the Novus Ordo Need a Subdeacon

    I originally posted this on my Substack, where I post more reflections type posts such as restoring the three hour liturgical fast.

    Recently, Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich suggested restoring the subdeaconate for women as a non-ordained role that would allow greater participation in the liturgy and assist in the Church’s diaconal ministry.1

    The language of “assisting the Church’s diaconal ministry” is notably broad and risks blurring the distinction between liturgical service and the diaconate itself, a distinction that remains the subject of ongoing debate.

    That proposal raises a more basic question: does the the Missal of Paul VI (often called the Novus Ordo or Ordinary Form), or the Church’s current liturgical structure, actually need the subdiaconate at all?

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  • What Was (and Is) a Subdeacon in the Roman Rite?

    What Was (and Is) a Subdeacon in the Roman Rite?

    The purpose of this post is to explain what a subdeacon in the Roman Catholic Church was historically and what it is today. While the Catholic Encyclopedia provides a solid overview of the subdeacon’s origins and medieval development, its account effectively ends in 1912. A great deal has happened since then. The subdiaconate has been the subject of theological debate, magisterial clarification, juridical suppression, and partial liturgical survival. Understanding that trajectory requires more than a list of duties or dates. It requires understanding the framework in which the subdeacon originally made sense.

    I. Why the Subdeacon Is Difficult to Understand Today

    The subdeacon is difficult to understand today largely because he is almost always interpreted through categories that did not exist when the role developed. Modern discussions tend to approach the subdeacon as an early version of a later ministry, or as a ceremonial assistant whose disappearance was inevitable once simpler structures were adopted. Both approaches miss the point.

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  • Who Can Serve as a Latin Mass Straw Subdeacon?

    Who Can Serve as a Latin Mass Straw Subdeacon?

    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]

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