The ministry of deaconesses is an international movement that began in the 19th century to foster the Christian ministry of women to the sick and needy. Florence Nightingale was particularly influential in bringing the deaconess movement from Germany, where the diaconate of women had been revived by Pastor Theodore Fliedner, to England.
The Deaconesses in Sydney date back to 1891, when they were founded as the Church of England Deaconess Institution. The Ministry of the Deaconesses in Sydney was encouraged by Mrs Martha Archdall (nee Karow), who was familiar with the German model and, with her husband and the support of the Church of England Sydney Diocesan Synod, founded The Church of England Deaconess Institution Sydney on 17 August 1891. Deaconess House, on the grounds of Sydney University in Newtown, is now Mary Andrews College at St Andrews House.
Last updated:
11 May 2022
Cite this: http://www.findandconnect.gov.au/guide/nsw/NE01510
First published by the Find & Connect Web Resource Project for the Commonwealth of Australia, 2011
Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License