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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deaconess
Noun
-
McColumn is a retired Brigadier General and clergyman from Warner Robins, Georgia.—
Irene Wright,
USA Today,
27 Apr. 2026
-
The clergyman warns that failure to do so would jeopardize the future of Iran as well as the stability of the entire Middle East, unleashing an even more volatile and repressive regime in the war’s wake.—
Angie Leventis Lourgos,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The priestess worked only during days in which Apollo was believed to be present at Delphi to channel his wisdom to the Pythia.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Apr. 2026
-
Jump to Answer In Sinners, Wunmi Mosaku’s character, Annie, is the resident priestess.—
Craigh Barboza,
HollywoodReporter,
15 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
For his part, Marshall, who has served as an elder and a deacon in his own church, previously championed removing a federal prohibition on churches and other religious organizations directly engaging in political campaigns.—
Kacen Bayless,
Kansas City Star,
24 Apr. 2026
-
In 2010 then-primate Nicholas Okoh endorsed the ordination of women as deacons, though only in limited forms of ministry such as service in hospitals or schools.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Francis also invited the female Anglican bishop, Jo Bailey Wells, into a private meeting of his cardinal advisers in 2024 to discuss the role of women in the Catholic Church.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
27 Apr. 2026
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Cecil Newton, a Pentecostal bishop, was present for the entire hearing but did not testify.—
Julia Coin,
Charlotte Observer,
27 Apr. 2026
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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Mike McDonald, who graduated from Bellarmine in 1957, was the dean of the group, with 1960 Notre Dame graduates Marilou Cristina and Colleen Block providing more than equal representation for the women’s side.—
Sal Pizarro,
Mercury News,
25 Apr. 2026
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The performance also comes as Shelly Berg, the dean of the Frost School of Music, prepares to retire in May.—
Megan Fitzgerald,
Miami Herald,
24 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Patterson, an ordained clergywoman with a background in healthcare, joined the Legislature via a special election in 2020.—
oregonlive,
oregonlive,
8 Nov. 2022
Noun
-
Meanwhile, churchmen claimed the authority to restrain violence, encouraged just wars and threatened violent behaviors with spiritual sanctions.—
Joëlle Rollo-Koster,
Fortune,
15 Apr. 2026
-
Not all birth rituals depended on the intercession of a saint or the authority of a churchman.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Deaconess.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deaconess. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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