as in clergyman
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Recent Examples of deaconess
Then in 1964, Parks became a deaconess in the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
—
Jacqueline Howard, CNN, 22 Feb. 2025
Then in 1964, Parks became a deaconess in the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
—Jacqueline Howard, CNN, 22 Feb. 2025
Born in a homestead just north of the D.C. border in 1930 and 1933, the brothers were raised in historic St. Phillips Baptist Church, where their father was an associate minister and their mother a deaconess.
—Petula Dvorak, Washington Post, 8 Feb. 2024
The Pauline epistles contain numerous references to women who were instrumental in the leadership of the early church: Phoebe, a deaconess; Chloe; Apphia; Euodia; Nympha; Junia.
—Cressida Leyshon, The New Yorker, 31 July 2023
More recently, a Nov. 15, 2021 issue of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel noted that in 2017, Israeli archaeologists uncovered stones and mosaics memorializing Theodosia the deaconess and Gregoria the deaconess in the ruins of a 1,600-year-old basilica in Ashdod.
—Susan Degrane, chicagotribune.com, 30 Mar. 2022
In her younger years, Webb was an avid churchgoer in Baltimore, Maryland alongside her father, a deacon, and her mother, a deaconess, who met in a church choir.
—Robyn Mowatt, ELLE, 22 June 2023
Welcome to the Rehearsal Club, an artist residency and the one-year-old reincarnation of a nonprofit organization founded in 1913 by Jane Harriss Hall, an Episcopal deaconess, and Jean Greer, the daughter of New York’s Episcopal bishop.
—Joanne Kaufman, New York Times, 27 Jan. 2023
The virus also claimed the life of Shirley Miller, 70, a deaconess who assisted with baptisms and communion.
—Ray Sanchez, CNN, 18 Apr. 2020
Jacqueline Howard, CNN, 22 Feb. 2025
Then in 1964, Parks became a deaconess in the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
—Jacqueline Howard, CNN, 22 Feb. 2025
Born in a homestead just north of the D.C. border in 1930 and 1933, the brothers were raised in historic St. Phillips Baptist Church, where their father was an associate minister and their mother a deaconess.
—Petula Dvorak, Washington Post, 8 Feb. 2024
The Pauline epistles contain numerous references to women who were instrumental in the leadership of the early church: Phoebe, a deaconess; Chloe; Apphia; Euodia; Nympha; Junia.
—Cressida Leyshon, The New Yorker, 31 July 2023
More recently, a Nov. 15, 2021 issue of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel noted that in 2017, Israeli archaeologists uncovered stones and mosaics memorializing Theodosia the deaconess and Gregoria the deaconess in the ruins of a 1,600-year-old basilica in Ashdod.
—Susan Degrane, chicagotribune.com, 30 Mar. 2022
In her younger years, Webb was an avid churchgoer in Baltimore, Maryland alongside her father, a deacon, and her mother, a deaconess, who met in a church choir.
—Robyn Mowatt, ELLE, 22 June 2023
Welcome to the Rehearsal Club, an artist residency and the one-year-old reincarnation of a nonprofit organization founded in 1913 by Jane Harriss Hall, an Episcopal deaconess, and Jean Greer, the daughter of New York’s Episcopal bishop.
—Joanne Kaufman, New York Times, 27 Jan. 2023
The virus also claimed the life of Shirley Miller, 70, a deaconess who assisted with baptisms and communion.
—Ray Sanchez, CNN, 18 Apr. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deaconess
Noun
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The daughter of an Anglican clergyman, Emily lived almost all of her life in Haworth, a remote village in the southern Pennines, hundreds of miles from literary London.—
Erik Pedersen,
Oc Register,
6 June 2025
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An ordained clergyman, he was punished for his dissenting beliefs, resulting in his establishing the first secular state, Rhode Island, as a haven and refuge.—
Emmett Coyne,
The Hill,
23 May 2025
Noun
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Some went as payment to the priests and priestesses.—
Matthew Wills,
JSTOR Daily,
16 May 2025
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The grove also houses two ancient palaces and nine riverside worship points, each maintained by priests or priestesses who inherit their roles through their family lineage.—
Ogar Monday,
Christian Science Monitor,
8 May 2025
Noun
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The family sang gospel music and were active in the Church of God in Christ, where K.C. was a deacon.—
Rob Tannenbaum,
Los Angeles Times,
9 June 2025
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During that multi-decade stretch, Lorch held a bevy of leadership positions with the church, including as deacon, president of the board of trustees and head coach who picked his staff and directed his players.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
29 May 2025
Noun
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The 2018 deal was aimed at uniting the flock, regularizing the status of seven bishops who weren’t recognized by Rome and thawing decades of estrangement between China and the Vatican.—
Nicole Winfield,
Los Angeles Times,
25 May 2025
-
Chicago Tribune One of the many titles that Leo assumed when he was elected May 8 was bishop of Rome.—
Nicole Winfield,
Chicago Tribune,
25 May 2025
Noun
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This would be the case also for an apostate, heretic, schismatic bishop, presbyter, or deacon.—
Fr. Goran Jovicic,
National Review,
13 June 2021
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The Rev. Allen D. Timm, executive presbyter of the Presbytery Church in Detroit, said the church is waiting to hear from the general assembly as to when volunteers will be dispatched to Houston.—
Allie Gross,
Detroit Free Press,
29 Aug. 2017
Noun
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The argument that Trump has violated the 10th Amendment is a clever subversion of a line of thinking that has traditionally been backed by conservative judges, said Erwin Chemerinsky, the dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law.—
Laura J. Nelson,
Los Angeles Times,
9 June 2025
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Pesticides are unique among chemicals, though, says Melissa Perry, an environmental epidemiologist and dean of George Mason’s College of Public Health.—
Matt Fuchs,
Time,
5 June 2025
Noun
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In an area that used to produce influential Catholic churchmen the way the Dodgers churned out Rookies of the Year, Gomez has amounted to the living equivalent of a hair shirt: a mode of piety that serves no one but the wearer.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Apr. 2025
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Martini was a key figure in a group of churchmen who met annually in St. Gallen, Switzerland, to ponder how best to blunt John Paul and Ratzinger’s reactionary thrust.—
Paul Elie,
The New Yorker,
26 Feb. 2025
Noun
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But as the abuse scandal spread globally during Francis’ 12-year pontificate, the commission lost its influence and its crowning recommendation — the creation of a tribunal to judge bishops who covered up for predator priests — went nowhere.—
Nicole Winfield,
Los Angeles Times,
6 June 2025
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On Friday, May 3, 1337, Anglican priest John Forde began a walk along downtown London’s Cheapside street after vespers (evening prayers) shortly before sunset.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
6 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Deaconess.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deaconess. Accessed 14 Jun. 2025.
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