subdeacon

American  

[suhb-dee-kuhn, suhb-dee-] / sʌbˈdi kən, ˈsʌbˌdi- /

noun

1. a member of the clerical order next below that of deacon.

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subdeacon British  

/ sʌbˈdiːkənɪt, ˌsʌbˈdiːkən /

noun

1. a cleric who assists at High Mass

2. (formerly) a person ordained to the lowest of the major orders

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Other Word Forms

• subdeaconate noun

Etymology

Origin of subdeacon

1275–1325; Middle English subdecon, -dekene < Late Latin subdiāconus. See sub-, deacon

Example Sentences

His remarks to Nettavisen were jarring to many, who found them sharply contrasting with Gushchin’s position as a subdeacon in the Russian Orthodox Church.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 14, 2022

Then, in 1478, he was appointed as a subdeacon, a post two orders lower than a priest, likely in Durham, a city in the north of England.

From Time • Aug. 2, 2016

The Gospel was held by the subdeacon, with two taper bearers on either hand, and was read by the deacon, first on one side of the altar and then on the other.

From Time Magazine Archive

Then followed the kiss of peace received from the celebrant by the Bishop's chaplain and by him transmitted to the Bishop, subdeacon and all other priests.

From Time Magazine Archive

Brother Fray Bernardino Membride, subdeacon, of the same convent.

From The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth century, Volume XLIII, 1670-1700 by Various