Eucharist was foremost among them, affirming that the consecrated bread and wine “became the
very substance of Christ’s body and blood.” 29
The work of the Council can be divided into three terms: Sessions 1-10 were held from
December 13, 1545, to June 2, 1547, sessions 11-16 were held from May 1, 1551, to April 28,
1552, to December 4, 1563. It was in the third term, which was the most attended, that the
discussion of Holy Orders and the diaconate would arise. In response to the denials of the
reformers, the Council of Trent would justify the existence of the hierarchy of the Church. This
hierarchy would lead to the distinction between the different grades within the sacrament of Holy
Orders, the diaconate being one of those grades. 30 The Council would also endeavor to define
dogmatically, Holy Orders as a sacrament. Although it is not clear to what extant the diaconate
was to be included in the sacramentality and sacramental character of Holy Orders, the Council
was influenced by St. Thomas Aquinas’ teaching on the diaconate. Aquinas considered the
diaconate as belonging to the sacrament of Holy Orders because of its special relation to the
eucharist. Because the diaconate is a sacrament, it is an ordo which imprints a character on the
soul. 31 Although not a major issue of the Council the question of the diaconate did emerge.
As Edward P. Echlin points out, “If the council was to reform the Church of Rome this could be
done not by returning to the Middle Ages but by conformity to scripture and the early Church.
And an active diaconate was evident in scripture and the early Church.” 32 The council would
reinforce that the diaconate was directly mentioned in the New testament. In their discussions on
29
Ozment, Steven. The Age of Reform 1250-1550: An Intellectual and Religious History of Late Medieval and
Reformation Europe (Yale and London: Yale University, 1980), 407.
30
Cf. International Theological Commission. From the Diakonia of Christ to the Diakonia of the Apostles, 18-21
31
Ibid.
32
Edward P. Echlin. The Deacon in the Church: Past and Future. (Staten island, NY: Alba House, 1971), 99
21