Given the shortage of priests in the Catholic and Orthodox worlds, the deacon service has unfortunately become more and more common.  In all cases, there is no consecration as that is a priestly function.  The deacon distributes previously consecrated communion to the faithful. This is a short survey of the practices among these traditions.

Orthodox/Eastern Catholic denominations

The most common form of deacon communion service in the Eastern Churches is that of typika. This service is part of the monastic office and is normally offered after the Sixth hour of prayer except during Lent when it is offered after the Ninth Hour.  Holy Communion may be distributed if a deacon is present. Orthodox priests traditionally may only celebrate one Divine Liturgy per day. If a second Divine Liturgy is considered necessary, a typika service will replace it.  The text of the typika celebrated by the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Winnipeg can be found here. A video of typika being celebrated by a priest can be found here.

Roman Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church began the deacon service shortly after the diaconate was restored after the Second Vatican Council. The norms for this service were published by the Vatican in 1973 and can be found here. The text of the service for the Diocese of Austin can be found here. Interestingly enough, the text does not mention a deacon, replacing him with a “minister”. This contemplates a service where even a deacon might not be available.  A video of a deacon communion service can be found here.

Polish National Catholic Church

The PNCC also has a deacon communion service that went into effect shortly after the diaconate was reconstituted.  The service very much mirrors the Roman Catholic deacon service. The current communion service was promulgated in 2007 and remains in effect now.  A video of a deacon celebrating a communion service can be found here.