arch·dea·con (ärch-d??k?n)n. A church official, as in the Anglican Church, who is in charge of temporal and other affairs in a diocese, with powers delegated from the bishop.[Middle English archedeken, from Old English arcediakon, from Late Latin archidi?conus, from Late Greek arkhidi?konos : Greek arkhi-, archi- + Greek di?konos, deacon.]arch·dea?con·ate (-k?-n?t) n.arch·dea?con·ship? n.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.archdeacon (???t??di?k?n) n1. (Anglicanism) an Anglican clergyman ranking just below a bishop and having supervisory duties under the bishop2. (Ecclesiastical Terms) a clergyman of similar rank in other ChurchesCollins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014arch?dea?con (??rt??di k?n) n. an ecclesiastic who ranks next below a bishop and has administrative responsibility for a diocese. [before 1000] arch`dea?con?ate, arch`dea?con?ry, n. Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.