Stories of deacons who have gone before us...

• St. Callistus - A Deacon who became Pope
  Callistus (also spelled Calistus and Calixtus) is mentioned in Eusebius as being Bishop of Rome for about five years, he died a martyr and was buried at the 3rd mile on the Via Aurelia on October 14, 222.

• St. Ephrem - Deacon and Doctor
  St. Ephrem (also spelled Ephraem and Ephraim) was born around 306 A.D. in Nisibis, Mesopotamia. He is the only Syrian father who is honoured as a doctor of the Universal Church. His feast day in the Roman calendar is celebrated on June 9.

• St. Fructuosus, Augurius and Eulogius -- A Bishop and His Two Deacons, Martyrs
  St. Fructuosus was the bishop of Tarragona in Spain. Augurius and Eulogius were his deacons. All three suffered martyrdom at Tarragona in the year 259 during the persecution of Valerian and Gallenius.

• St. Lawrence - Deacon and Martyr
  Lawrence was one of the seven deacons of Rome who, along with Pope Sixtus II and other Roman deacons, suffered martyrdom in the year 258 during the persecution of Valerian.

• Nicostratus - Deacon and Rogue and An Unnamed Deacon Noted For His Insolence
  One embarrassment to the order of the diaconate is known to us by name. He is mentioned in correspondence between Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage (A.D. 248-258), and Cornelius, Bishop of Rome (A.D. 249-251). Two of their letters discuss Nicostratus, a dishonest deacon who defrauded widows and orphans and robbed the Church.

• Philip -- Deacon and Evangelist
  Philip was one of the original group of "seven men of good reputation, filled with the Spirit and with wisdom," (Ac 6:3) who were selected from amongst the Christian Hellenists, around the year 34, to assist in the daily distribution of food to their own widows.

• St. Romanus of Caesarea -- Deacon and Martyr
  Romanus was a native of Palestine, a deacon and exorcist in the parish of Caesarea. He was martyred at Antioch, probably in the year 304, during the persecution of Diocletian.

• Sanctus of Vienne - Deacon and Martyr
  Sanctus, the deacon of Vienne, was one of the heroic Gallic martyrs.

• St. Stephen -- Deacon and Martyr
  St. Stephen suffered martyrdom in Jerusalem about the year 34. He is reckoned as both the first Christian martyr (the protomartyr) and as one of the first deacons. All that we know of his life is found in the Acts of the Apostles.

• St. Vincent of Saragossa -- Deacon and Martyr
  St. Vincent suffered martyrdom at Valencia in Spain in the year 303 during the persecution of Diocletian and Maximian.