Ordination to the diaconate is, in the great majority of Anglican provinces, the first stage of ordained ministry, conferred by a bishop and typically followed, after roughly a year of diaconal service, by priestly ordination for those on the standard path toward parish leadership, a transitional pattern broadly similar to the Roman Catholic transitional diaconate though without the same parallel tradition of a distinct, non-transitional permanent diaconate that Roman Catholicism restored after the Second Vatican Council; some Anglican provinces have nonetheless developed their own forms of permanent or vocational diaconate for those called specifically to diaconal rather than priestly ministry.
An Anglican deacon may preach, baptize, and assist at the Eucharist, but, in most provinces' canon law, may not preside at or consecrate the Eucharist independently, a restriction reserved to priests and bishops; deacons are also traditionally associated within Anglican theology and liturgy with a particular emphasis on service to the poor and marginalized, an emphasis the ordination rite's own language typically underscores directly, reflecting the diaconate's continuity with the New Testament account of the office's origin in organized charitable service to a community's most vulnerable members.