Note

What does the washing of the feet have to do with the diaconate? Well, diakonos means “servant,” and the washing of the Apostles’ feet is the preeminent sign of Jesus’ humble service. Moreover, this action takes place during the Last Supper, widely recognized as the establishment of the Eucharist as well as the priesthood, those two sacraments going hand in hand. But of course there is no “sacrament of the priesthood.” There is the one sacrament of Holy Orders. The sacramental grace of the priesthood was given to the Apostles at that time. But the Apostles were not merely priests. They would have possessed the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders, which includes the episcopacy, the priesthood — and the diaconate.