Ordination of Deacons in the Churches of the Porvoo Communion : A Comparative Investigation in Ecclesiology

Abstract: The thesis investigates the rites of ordination to the diaconate in the churches of the Porvoo communion. The research includes, in total, four Anglican churches of the British Isles and six Lutheran churches in the Nordic and Baltic countries – all of the churches which signed the Porvoo Declaration in 1996 and thus founded a new communion: Church in Wales, Church of England, Church of Ireland, Scottish Episcopal Church, Church of Norway, Church of Sweden, Estonian Evangelical-Lutheran Church, Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Iceland and Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Lithuania. The aim of the research is to discover whether the ecclesiologies implicit in those rites are compatible with one another and whether they contribute to a common understanding of the deacon’s ministry in the churches of the Porvoo communion or not.The ordination rites are considered from three perspectives which together comprise the ecclesiology in the rites. The first is the theological content of the rites. Here the analysis is based on a detailed reading of the liturgical texts of the rites. The second, closely related to the first, is the liturgical performance of the ordination during the Sunday service in the local church. The roles and participation of different actors in the rite is analysed and the meaning of the liturgical acts which make up the rite is interpreted. The third perspective takes into consideration the church’s position in society and the socio-cultural context of the local church where the ordination takes place. Through the combination of these three perspectives the diaconate and its role and meaning in the ten churches studied is explored, analysed and compared. The results of the research are presented within the context of a broad ecumenical perspective.