The article examines the works of the writers of the 19-20^th centuries, where various types of deacons are represented, assessed either as positive or as negative types by the clerical criticism. The images of the deacons did not reflect the sophisticated reality of clerical practices. Still, literary works familiarized the wider readership with these practices. Clerical critics analyzed the respective works from the religious and moral point of view, and modern literary scholars do not always fully take this into account.