subdeacon

See also: sub-deacon

English

Etymology

Originated 1275–1325 from Middle English subdecon and -dekene, from Late Latin subdiāconus. See sub- + deacon.

Noun

subdeacon (plural subdeacons)

1. (Catholicism, chiefly historical) A Catholic clerical rank in the major orders below that of a deacon.
2. (Catholicism, chiefly historical) A Catholic cleric who assists the deacon at High Mass and normally reads the Epistle at the Eucharist.
3. (Anglicanism) A layperson who acts as an assistant to the deacon during the celebration of mass.
4. (Eastern Orthodoxy) The highest of the minor orders below that of a deacon.

   Synonym: hypodeacon

Usage notes

• In the first sense, subdeacons still exist in the context of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter (FSSP), and similar groups, who exclusively celebrate the Extraordinary Form of the Mass according to the practices in place prior to the Second Vatican Council. In the second sense, subdeacons do not exist in the Ordinary Form of the Mass.

Translations

cleric below a deacon

• Finnish: alidiakoni
• French: sous-diacre (fr) m
• German: Subdiakon (de) m
• Irish: fodheagánach m
• Italian: suddiacono m
• Macedonian: ипоѓа́кон m (ipoǵákon)
• Manx: fo-yaghin m
• Old English: subdiacon m
• Polish: subdiakon m
• Portuguese: subdiácono m
• Romanian: subdiacon m
• Russian: иподья́кон (ru) m (ipodʹjákon), иподиа́кон (ru) m (ipodiákon)
• Spanish: subdiácono m
• Vietnamese: phụ phó tế, trợ phó tế, thầy năm

cleric who assists the deacon at High Mass

• Finnish: alidiakoni
• Manx: fo-yaghin m
• Polish: subdiakon m

References

• subdeacon on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “subdeacon”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 2000, →ISBN.
• “subdeacon”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• "subdeacon" in WordNet 2.0, Princeton University, 2003.

Anagrams

• casebound