Protodeacon derives from the Greek ''proto-'' meaning 'first' and ''diakonos'', which is a standard ancient Greek word meaning "assistant", "servant", or "waiting-man". The word in English may refer to any of various clergy, depending upon the usage of the particular church in question.

Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches

Protodeacon is an honorific rank given to certain married deacons in Eastern Christian churches. In the Russian Orthodox Church it is an honorary title given to married deacons, as a mark of which, the clergyman is entitled to wear a

burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...

-colored skufia. The equivalent rank for hierodeacons—i.e., monastic deacons—is

archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that o ...

. The senior deacon of a cathedral or principal church may be awarded the title of protodeacon. In the Greek usage, the chief deacon who is attached to the person of a bishop is called an archdeacon. In the Slavic usage a protodeacon or archdeacon wears a distinctive orarion (deacon's stole). The title of protodeacon is an award, not a distinctive order of ministry; so while a man may be ordained a deacon, he is said to be 'elevated' to the rank of protodeacon. This elevation may be awarded only by the deacon's own

ruling bishop An ordinary (from Latin ''ordinarius'') is an officer of a church or civic authority who by reason of office has ordinary power to execute laws. Such officers are found in hierarchically organised churches of Western Christianity which have an ...

. The rite of elevation is identical for both a protodeacon and an archdeacon, and is normally done during the Little Entrance of the Divine Liturgy. A protodeacon has

precedence Precedence may refer to: * Message precedence of military communications traffic * Order of precedence, the ceremonial hierarchy within a nation or state * Order of operations, in mathematics and computer programming * Precedence Entertainment, a ...

when serving with other deacons, regardless of the date of his own ordination to the diaconate. If several protodeacons serve at the same time, their order of precedence is determined by the date of their elevation. In the '' Archieratikon'' ( Slavonic: ''Chinovnik''), the liturgical book containing the services as celebrated by a bishop, the term Protodeacon is used to refer to the senior-ranking deacon who is serving, regardless of whether or not he has actually had that rank bestowed upon him.

Latin Church

In the

Roman rite The Roman Rite ( la, Ritus Romanus) is the primary liturgical rite of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. It developed in the Latin language in the city of Rome and, while dist ...

, the senior Cardinal Deacon is the Cardinal Protodeacon of the Holy Roman Church. He has the privilege of announcing the new pope's election and name (once he has been ordained to the episcopate) in the Habemus Papam announcement given from the central balcony at St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City State. In the past, during papal coronations, the Protodeacon also had the honor of bestowing the pallium on the new pope and crowning him with the

papal tiara The papal tiara is a crown that was worn by popes of the Catholic Church from as early as the 8th century to the mid-20th. It was last used by Pope Paul VI in 1963 and only at the beginning of his reign. The name "tiara" refers to the entire h ...

. However, in 1978 Pope John Paul I chose not to be crowned and opted for a simpler papal inauguration ceremony, and his successors have followed that example. As a result, the Cardinal Protodeacon's privilege of crowning a new pope is dormant. However, the Protodeacon still has the privilege of bestowing the pallium on a new pope at his papal inauguration. “Acting in the place of the

Roman Pontiff Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

, he also confers the pallium upon

metropolitan bishops In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan (alternative obsolete form: metropolite), pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis. Originally, the term referred to the ...

or gives the pallium to their proxies.” The current Cardinal Protodeacon is Renato Martino.

Canon law references

External links

{{commonscat, Protodeacons
Elevation of a Protodeacon
photos and description of

Melkite Rite el, Μελχιτική Ελληνική Καθολική Εκκλησία , image = Melkite Greek Catholic Church, Damascus, Syria.jpg , imagewidth = 200px , alt = , caption = , abbreviatio ...

Clerical Attire, Vesture, Titles, and Precedence for Deacons, Hierodeacons, Protodeacons and Archdeacons According to the Byzantine Tradition
Ecclesiastical titles Catholic ecclesiastical titles Eastern Christian ecclesiastical offices Christian religious occupations