The Beginning of Women's Ministry: The Revival of the Deaconess in the Nineteenth-Century Church of England

Extracts from journals, diaries and official guidelines give a full picture of the role of the Victorian Deaconness.

The revival of religious orders in the mid—nineteenth century opened up a field of Christian ministry for women distinct from previous types of church work, which had been voluntary, part—time, and necessarily limited by contemporary identification of women with the domestic sphere. The Deaconess Movement posed a threat to the accepted gender order of Victorian society, creati...