Clarifications of Deacon-Sacerdote Policy

The office of Deacon-Sacerdote in Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica was announced by the Grand Master Sabazius during his keynote address at NOTOCON in August 2019. This document clarifies policy concerning the office of Deacon-Sacerdote. This information applies to E.G.C. within U.S. Grand Lodge only.

For brevity and clarity, the following abbreviations are used in this document:

• Deacon-Sacerdote: DS
• Priest or Priestess: P/Ps
• Knight of East and West: KEW

The following new and modified policies apply to the office of DS within Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica and United States Grand Lodge:

1. The office of DS is conferred automatically when a member attains both ordination as a Deacon and initiation as a KEW, in either order.
2. There are no gender requirements associated with the office of DS.
3. A DS may confer the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, marriage, and others with the authorization of their supervising Bishop, equivalently to an ordained P/Ps.
4. At least one of the three principal officers (Priest, Priestess, Deacon) in a public celebration of the Gnostic Mass must be one of the following. (The Primate may grant developing areas temporary exemption from this requirement.)
   1. A Bishop.
   2. A clerical member under supervision of a Bishop with recognized status as an ordained P/Ps or as a DS.

These existing policies remain unchanged, but are included here for clarity:

1. The Priest, Priestess and Deacon in a public celebration of the Gnostic Mass must each be one of the following.
   1. A Bishop.
   2. Ordained in the role in which they are serving, and under the supervision of a Bishop.
   3. A novice in the role in which they are serving, and authorized for such service by their supervising Bishop.
2. Eligibility for status as a novice P/Ps, ordination to these offices, and service in these offices in a public celebration of the Gnostic Mass are all constrained as follows:
   1. Priest: Gender assigned as male at birth, or a transgender person identifying primarily as male.
   2. Priestess: Gender assigned as female at birth, or a transgender person identifying primarily as female https://admin.oto-usa.org/ds-policy