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

A subdeacon brought only one large book, explaining that the lectors kept the rest.

From Time Magazine Archive

The celebrant passed in a rich red damask chasuble, followed by a deacon and a subdeacon in dalmatic and tunic.

From Time Magazine Archive

Such a one as this did the archbishop ordain in Pampanga, extra tempora28 in the three days of a feast, proceeding from the two degrees that he lacked, namely, those of subdeacon and priest.

From The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 25 of 55 1635-36 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 by Robertson, James Alexander