Empowered by the Spirit

A call to challenge inadequate theories around the hierarchy of the diaconate and priestly ministries.

Are “deacon” and “theologian” incompatible terms? Does examining the theology of the diaconate constitute a service to deacons as marginalized ministers? In Empowered by the Spirit, Professor and Deacon Hilmar Pabel seeks to empower the minds and hearts of all members of the church to approach the diaconate with theological gravitas, to locate deacons among the synodal People of God with due theological and sacramental consideration for their ordained ministry. 

In Empowered by the Spirit, Pabel proposes a robust theology of the diaconate to challenge the conceptual and actual marginalization of deacons in the church. The book emphasizes the Holy Spirit in the sacramentality of the diaconate, in the ministerial communion of deacons with their bishop and priests, and in the role of deacons as servant-leaders in a synodal church. Emphasizing the need for a radical discussion of diaconal ordination, Pabel advocates for reforms to integrate deacons into a communion of ministers—to better serve the communities they lead and thrive in the contemporary church.

Hilmar Pabel is a professor of early modern European history at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia and a deacon in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver, where he serves as Coordinator of Diaconal Formation. He holds a PhD in history from Yale University and a Licentiate in Sacred Theology (STL) from the Clough School of Theology and Ministry at Boston College. As a beneficiary and advocate of the Catholic intellectual tradition, Dr. Pabel proposes a synergy between scholarship and teaching on the one hand and ministry on the other.