A hierodeacon (Greek: Ἱεροδιάκονος, Ierodiákonos; Slavonic: Ierodiakón), sometimes translated "deacon-monk", in Eastern Orthodox Christianity and all other Churches that follow Byzantine Rite is a monk who has been ordained a deacon (or deacon who has been tonsured monk).
[1] The term literally translates as "sacred servant (of God)", in accordance with early Byzantine usage of the adjective "sacred" to describe things monastic.
[citation needed] To be eligible for ordination to the diaconate, a man must be either married or he must be tonsured a monk.
[citation needed] In the Church hierarchy, a hierodeacon or a secular (i.e. non-monastic) deacon is of lower rank than a hieromonk (a priest-monk) or a secular priest.
Within their own ranks, hierodeacons are assigned order of precedence according to the date of their ordination.