October 11th–Philip the Deacon
October 11th–Philip the Deacon: I wanted to mention that today we celebrate the feast day of one of the first deacons, deacon Philip. The office of the deacon was the first auxiliary office in the church. It was established by the apostles in the very early days of the church. Deacons are the helpers of the church; their job is to be assistants to the priests, ministers, and pastors. As well as being assistants to the ministers, the deacons serve the congregations.
In the early days of the church, seven deacons were chosen to serve as helpers. Philip was one of these men. After the killing of the deacon Stephen and the onset of Christian persecution in Jerusalem, Philip departed Jerusalem for Samaria. There he spread the good news of the Gospel. Philip is also the man who preached to the Ethiopian eunuch and then baptized him.
Since today is the feast day of a deacon, I would like to take a moment to say that deacons also wear stoles. A deacon, however, wears his stole over his shoulder–generally, it sits on the left shoulder and falls down to cross below his right armpit. This is worn over his alb. A pastor or priest places the stole around his neck, letting it fall down over his stomach, and leaves it to hang uncrossed.
Ecclesiastical Stole
Although the patterns for stoles are not yet available in Ecclesiastical Sewing, check the store for them in the upcoming weeks. Carrie is working on having finished stoles and patterns, which should all be available soon. In the meantime, consider fabrics for stoles. The best fabrics for making a deacon or pastoral stole are ones that can withstand the rigors of embroidery stitches. The ones that come to mind are York Brocade, Winchester Brocade, Fairford Brocade, and Ely Crown.
Any rich, elegant, yet sturdy fabric will do the job quite nicely as long as they have a durable weave. By necessity, these true liturgical fabrics are not designed to be “flimsy” fabrics. A higher thread count and dense weaving offer the added advantage of weight, helping stoles hang straight and stay in place. Good luck with your endeavors if you are creating a deacon stole.
This evening, as you get ready for bed, think and contemplate about one of the first deacons of the church, perhaps even go read through Acts chapters 6, 8, and even 21. Also thank you for reading this short post and have a good evening.
~Nihil Sine Deo~
Be sure to visit our online store front Ecclesiastical Sewing where you may shop for Liturgical Fabrics, altar linen fabrics, church vestment-making patterns, liturgical machine embroidery designs, church vestment trims and notions and so much more. You may also find us on Ecclesiastical Sewing on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Sign up for our mailing list at the bottom of the page on our online store front and receive a free copy of our Small Linens Booklet as our way of saying thank you for following along.
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