foundation · 33 · Jerusalem
The complaint was about food and about language: the Hellenists murmured against the Hebrews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution. The Twelve said it was not right that they should give up preaching to serve tables, and told the disciples to pick out seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom they would appoint to the duty. What follows is short and is the pattern for everything this dataset traces: the whole body chose, the apostles prayed and laid their hands on them. Every one of the seven names is Greek, which suggests the church solved the complaint by handing the whole business to the aggrieved party. Two of them are followed afterwards — Stephen, who is dead within a year, and Philip, who baptises the first foreigner. The office of deacon and the gesture of ordination both begin in this paragraph.
To settle a complaint that the Greek-speaking widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution.
Seven men ordained by prayer and the laying-on of hands — the first appointment to office in the church.