 |
 |
medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture This is a question on which I´d appreciate both general thoughts and actual statistics from particular parts of Europe, if there are any. I have always assumed that since not all those advancing in the ecclesiastical hierarchy became priests, there would, in general, be more subdeacons than deacons and more deacons than priests, even though we may hear more about priests than the others. In my sources, for example, we are told whether a church must have a resident priest; less commonly one or more deacons is also required. This reflects the finances of the church, not the availability of deacons - deacons are only going to be mentioned at very rich churches. However, I´m assuming that there were lots more deacons 'out there', either working towards the priesthood or, for whatever reason, never moving any further up the hierarchy. On the other hand, it is possible (though probably not considered advisable) for someone to get several levels or ordination at the same time. I think the 'triangular' model would surely be the case in cities, but am less certain about the situation in rural areas. Any comments will be greatly appreciated, Meg ********************************************************************** To join the list, send the message: subscribe medieval-religion YOUR NAME to: [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it to: [log in to unmask] To leave the list, send the message: unsubscribe medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: [log in to unmask] For further information, visit our web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/medieval-religion