“They are to be doers of good works, exercising a general supervision day and night, neither scorning the poor nor respecting the person of the rich; they must ascertain who are in distress and not exclude them from a share in church funds, compelling also the well-to-do to put money aside for good works.”
Adolf Harnack (1851-1930) a German theologian, quoted the duties of deacons as outlined in the Apostolic Constitutions (c. 375-380) to show that they were set apart for the support of the sick, infirm, poor, and disabled (1908:1:161). Cf. Rodney Stark in The Rise of Christianity (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2007) 87.