They can celebrate the eucharist and become the normal ministers in the secondary churches within a larger city, or in the absence of the bishop. Number of presbyters seems to have been a function of community needs. With the permission of the bishop, the presbyters can also perform baptism and reconcile sinners to the community. When the bishop was traveling for meetings, we may suppose that the presbyters functioned in his stead. During the Decian persecution, the Roman church declined to elect a new bishop after the execution of the incumbent.
Deacons are administrative assistants to the bishops.
They acquire some specific ritual roles, particularly in baptism, as being the agent of the actual washing of the person in the water. The deacon usually read the gospel at the eucharist. The deacons were responsible for the property and furnishing of the church. The number of deacons was usually limited to seven in a given church, based on the precedents in Acts. As the office of bishop became more complex, it was not unusual for the principal deacon to be chosen as the replacement when the bishop died thus Athanasius became bishop of Alexandria.