This is another title borrowed from the early years of the Christian Church, deacons were servants who ministered to the sick and poor and managed the charitable activities of religious communities; an activity symbolised by the purse some church deacons still wear as part of their ceremonial dress. By the Middle Ages, deacons had evolved into assistant priests and today ordination as a deacon precedes ordination as a priest in most Christian denominations.
In Freemasonry, there is evidence that some Scottish Lodges had Deacons in the 17th century, but the term appears to have been interchangeable with Warden. The Lodges affiliated to the Premier Grand Lodge of England of 1717 did not have Deacons, while those who adhered to the Antient Grand Lodge of 1751 did have Deacons. There were disputes over whether the symbol on the Deacons’ wands of office should be Mercury (the Roman equivalent of Hermes, messenger of the Gods of Mount Olympus), or the Dove (the bird which brought the olive branch back to Noah’s ark, thus becoming a messenger of peace). In the end, the Dove eventually prevailed. One of the duties of the Deacons in a Lodge was to ‘charge’ (fill) the glasses of the Brethren, so that each toast could be appropriately honored. Following the Union of the two rival Grand Lodges of England in 1813, Deacons have become an established feature of all Lodges, and play central roles in the ceremonies
