In this essay, written as a submission to the Theological Committee of the Episcopal Assembly of Orthodox Bishops for Great Britain and Ireland, Fr Gregory Hallam examines the role of the diaconate in the Orthodox Church today in the light of its historical development, and calls for its renewal for the benefit of the Church and the world. Fr Gregory is Dean of the Antiochian Orthodox Deanery of the United Kingdom and Ireland.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams says that the ultimate test of the Christian religion is not whether it is useful, beneficial or helpful to the human race but whether or not its central claim – the resurrection of Jesus Christ – actually happened.