Deacons at Sunday Celebrations
in the Absence of a Priest
A permanent deacon assigned to our parish and I differ on his use of the presidential chair during Sunday Celebrations in the Absence of a Priest. Would you please clarify this issue for us?
Regarding the use of the presidential chair by a deacon during Sunday Celebrations in the Absence of a Priest, I would refer you to number 19 of that ritual, a paragraph which simply repeats number 30 of the Directory for Sunday Celebrations issued by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. Both paragraphs end with the sentence: "He [the deacon] uses the presidential chair."
This provision is made because the deacon "is called in a special way to lead these Sunday assemblies." (SCAP, number 18). "Since the deacon has been ordained for the nurture and increase of the people of God, it belongs to him to lead the prayers, to proclaim the gospel, to preach the homily, and to give communion." (SCAP, number 18).