To add to the grammatical evidence is the fact that at least one woman is expressly called “deacon” in the New Testament. In Romans 16:1 Phoebe is said to be a “deaconess of the church which is at Cenchrea.” There is also historical evidence which gives even further support to the meaning “office of deaconess.” Major documents such as the Syrian Didascalia Apostalorum (third century) and the Apostolic Constitutions (fourth century) indicate that the church interpreted this verse to mean an office