What is a Deacon? The question is of great importance both for a recovery of the doctrine of the Christian ministry, and for the true Christian service of the world about which the Church is so conscious these days. In this volume Dr. Parker, a renowned Barthian scholar, has assembled a team which includes some very distinguished British and American scholars. They investigate the true Christian origins, the historical valuation, the modern understanding and the challenge for the contemporary Church contained in the concept of Diakonia. These essays are in honor of one whom Pope Pius XIIth called ""the greatest systematic theologian since St Thomas Aquinas.""