Michael the Deacon  Michael the Deacon was a deacon in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in the 16th century A.D. In 1534, Michael the Deacon travelled to Wittenberg and met with Martin Luther, a leader in the Reformation. During the meeting, the two compared the Lutheran Mass with that used by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and found that they were in agreement with one another. Michael the Deacon also affirmed Luther's Articles of the Christian Faith as a "good creed". As such, the Lutheran Churches extended full communion to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.