The Seven Deacons were leaders elected by the Early Christian church to minister to the people of Jerusalem

Jerusalem in Christianity

For Christians, Jerusalem's place in the ministry of Jesus and the Apostolic Age gives it great importance, in addition to its place in the Old Testament, the Hebrew Bible.-Jerusalem in the New Testament and early Christianity:...

. They are described in the Acts of the Apostles

Acts of the Apostles

The Acts of the Apostles , usually referred to simply as Acts, is the fifth book of the New Testament; Acts outlines the history of the Apostolic Age...

, and are the subject of later traditions as well; for instance they are supposed to have been members of the Seventy Disciples

Seventy Disciples

The seventy disciples or seventy-two disciples were early followers of Jesus mentioned in the Gospel of Luke . According to Luke, the only gospel in which they appear, Jesus appointed them and sent them out in pairs on a specific mission which is detailed in the text...

 who appear in the Gospel of Luke

Gospel of Luke

The Gospel According to Luke , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Luke or simply Luke, is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels. This synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. It details his story from the events of his birth to his Ascension.The...

. The Seven Deacons were Stephen Protomartyr

Saint Stephen

Saint Stephen The Protomartyr , the protomartyr of Christianity, is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox Churches....

, Philip the Evangelist

Philip the Evangelist

Saint Philip the Evangelist appears several times in the Acts of the Apostles. He was one of the Seven Deacons chosen to care for the poor of the Christian community in Jerusalem . He preached and performed miracles in Samaria, converted Simon Magus, and met and baptised an Ethiopian man, an...

, Prochorus

Prochorus (deacon)

Prochorus was one of the Seven Deacons chosen to care for the poor of the Christian community in Jerusalem . According to the later tradition he was one of the Seventy Apostles sent out by Jesus in Luke 10....

, Nicanor

Nicanor the Deacon

-References:...

, Timon, Parmenas

Parmenas

Parmenas was one of the Seven Deacons. He is believed to have preached the gospel in Asia Minor. Parmenas suffered martyrdom in 98, under the persecution of Trajan.-Notes:...

, and Nicholas.
Only Stephen and Philip are discussed in much detail in Acts; tradition provides nothing more about Nicanor or Parmenas.