Diaconia

[3] An alternative spelling, diakonia, is a Christian theological term from Greek (διακονία) that encompasses the call to serve the poor and oppressed.

Diaconia contained public bathing facilities to serve both the clerics and needy poor people.

For FLD (Diakonal Lutherans Foundation in Brazil)[1], diakonia means serve to change people's lives, to contribute to the construction of citizenship of the less fortunate.

The term Diakonie is a constant reminder of the selfless love taught by Jesus in such gospel passages as Luke 10:25–37, the story of the Good Samaritan.

In the 1830s initiatives within German Lutheranism started the creation of communities of men and especially of women who were dedicated exclusively to the works of charity so desperately needed in the wake of social dislocations created by industrialization and the Napoleonic wars.

The geographical spread was accompanied by the growth of a distinctively modern diaconal spirituality centered on the servant roles of the deacon and deaconess in their meeting the needs of the poor and the destitute.