Cheryl

I think I know what is happening with the word “Deacon”. The word “deaconess” apparently didn’t come into use until much after the New Testament time, therefore the word “Deacon” that was used in both Romans 16:11 and 1 Timothy 3:8 is the term that was used for men (and at least one woman) and no strictly feminine word “deaconess” was used in scripture.