Deaconess (and also deacon) comes from a Greek word diakonos (διακονος). This Greek word means a servant or helper and occurs frequently in the Christian New Testament of the Bible and is sometimes applied to Christ himself. Deaconesses trace their roots from the time of Jesus Christ through the 13th century. Evidence for the presence of ordained female deacons in the early Christian period in portions of the Eastern Church, is “clear and unambiguous" according to religious scholar Valerie Karras. Deaconesses existed from the early through the middle Byzantine periods in Constantinople and Jerusalem; although the office may not have been in existence throughout the Europe churches. The female diaconate in the Byzantine Church of the early and middle Byzantine periods was recognized as one