Session 2 - History of Clerical Celibacy
While it is true that celibacy was not required in the first years of the Church, there is every indication that continence was demanded of the Apostles and the priests of the early Church. Which is to say, in places where the faith flourished the most and where the disciplines of the Church were most carefully kept, even when a married man was ordained he would cease from that time from relations with is wife and would even separate from married life.
From the very beginning, Holy Orders has been moving more and more towards clerical celibacy.
Listen online [here]!
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Priestly Celibacy
The History and Theology of the Church’s
Discipline
Session 2: History of the Development of Clerical Celibacy
Note on
Schedule: Session 1, Introduction.
Session 2, History. Session 3, Theological Reflections. Session 4, Celibacy and
the Nature of the Priesthood.
I. Review
of Key Terms
A.
Continence vs Celibacy
B.
Virginity vs Celibacy
C. Vows
vs Promises
D.
Ordaining married men as clerics vs Allowing deacons/priests to get married
E. The
East vs The West
I.
Biblical Foundations:
A. Is
virginity/celibacy a “higher calling” than Marriage? Yes.
St Paul
would prefer that all be celibate: “I would that all men were even as myself;
but every one hath his proper gift from God .... But I say to the unmarried and
to the widows, it is good for them if they so continue, even as I.” (1 Cor
7:7-8) and “But I would have you to be without solicitude. He that is without a
wife is solicitous for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please
God. But he that is with a wife, is solicitous for the things of the world, how
he may please his wife: and he is divided. And the unmarried woman and the
virgin thinketh on the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body
and spirit. But she that is married thinketh on the things of this world how
she may please her husband. And this I speak for your profit, not to cast a
snare upon you, but for that which is decent and which may give you power to
attend upon the Lord without impediment.” (1 Cor 7:32-35)
St John
Paul II, Familiaris Consortio, 16 – “the Church, throughout her history, has
always defended the superiority of this charism [celibacy] to that of marriage.”
B. Is
celibacy possible for all? By God’s grace
“At this,
his disciples said to him, If the case stands so between man and wife, it is
better not to marry at all. That conclusion, he said, cannot be taken in by
everybody, but only by those who have the gift. There are some eunuchs, who
were so born from the mother’s womb, some were made so by men, and some have
made themselves so for love of the kingdom of heaven; take this in, you whose
hearts are large enough for it.”
(Matthew 19:10-12)
C. Did
the Apostles embrace perfect continence? Yes.
“Hereupon
Peter said, And what of us? we have forsaken all that was ours, and followed
thee. Jesus said to them, I promise you, everyone who has forsaken home, or
parents, or brethren, or wife, or children for the sake of the kingdom of God...” (Luke 18:28-30)
D. The
witness of St Paul, who had embraced celibacy for the sake of the Kingdom.
E. The
witness of other apostles: We know Peter was married, and likewise generally
held that Simon the Zealot was the groom from the wedding at Cana. Very likely
that many of the apostles were married – and yet, it is equally certain that
they did not continue living with their wives in a normal married state.
II. The
Priesthood in the Old and New Testaments
A. We can
say much more about this when we discuss the theology of clerical celibacy, but
notice that the priesthood of the Old Testament was hereditary and passed from
father to sons; but the priesthood of the New Testament is wholly spiritual.
B. To be
among the Chosen People in the Old Testament was to be born of a Jewish father
and mother, but to be among the Chosen People of the New Testament is to
experience spiritual rebirth through faith and baptism.
C. The
celibacy of Christ and the continence/celibacy of the New Testament priesthood
points to this change from the Old to the New.
III. The
First Period of the Church
A. St.
Paul teaches (1 Timothy 3:2, 12, and Titus 1:6) that a bishop or a deacon
should be "the husband of one wife". These passages seem fatal to any
contention that celibacy was made obligatory upon the clergy from the
beginning, but on the other hand, the Apostle's desire that other men might be
as himself (1 Corinthians 7:7-8) precludes the inference that he wished all
ministers of the Gospel to be married. The words beyond doubt mean that the
fitting candidate was a man, who, amongst other qualities which St. Paul
enunciates as likely to make his authority respected, possessed also such
stability of divorce, by remaining faithful to one wife. The direction is
therefore restrictive, no injunctive; it excludes men who have married more
than once, but it does not impose marriage as a necessary condition.
1. What is more striking than the
statement that bishops could have been married, is that they could only have
been married once. Why does St Paul insist, only once? Perhaps because
something about being ordained meant that they could not remarry – and if they
had already needed to remarry (after the death of their wife, etc) then there
is no certainty that the man would be able to persevere in celibacy?
2. In fact, this indicates that, from
the time of the Apostles, it was understood that, once ordained, a man could
never marry. Why could he not marry? Perhaps tied to a practice of continence –
that man left off ever having relations even with his wife. If he is bound to
continence by virtue of ordination, this would explain why he couldn’t remarry.
B. There
is good reason to believe, and we need to be fearful to accept, that celibacy
was not demanded universally in the Early Church. In fact, we know that many
men who approached Orders had been married.
1.
We need not even maintain that it was universally mandated that all married
priests/deacons embrace continence – although we do know that this was the
practice in many places.
2.
We do point out that, even in those places (for example, some places in the
East) in which it was common for married men to be ordained and to continue in
normal marriage relations with their wives, it was the practice to abstain for
a period of time prior to offering the Divine Liturgy (Mass) – and this is
still the practice in many of the Eastern Churches today. Where the daily
offering of the Mass was more highly valued and commonly practiced [as we know
it was in the first days of the Church], perpetual continence was kept in
connection to abstinence for the sake of offering Mass.
3.
The practice of abstaining from relations prior to offering Mass is connected
to the practice of abstinence of the Old Testament priesthood. This aspect of
the Old Testament priesthood pointed prophetically to the celibacy of the New
Testament priesthood – even as the periodic abstinence of the East points to
the celibacy of the West.
C. Witness
of St Epiphanius: “Holy Church respects the dignity of the priesthood to such a
point that she does not admit to the diaconate, the priesthood, or the episcopate,
no nor even to the subdiaconate, anyone still living in marriage and begetting
children. She accepts only him who if married gives up his wife or has lost her
by death, especially in those places where the ecclesiastical canons are
strictly attended to.”
1.
However, while he maintains this is the ideal, he admits that there are some
places where this practice is not strictly held.
2.
Still, it is clear that in many places throughout the early Church, continence
was demanded of the clergy. And, even in other places were it wasn’t strictly
enforced, continence/celibacy was still honored.
D. Many
recent studies (example: Cardinal Stickler, “The Case for Clerical Celibacy”
and Cochini, “The Apostolic Origins of Priestly Celibacy” and Heid, “Celibacy
in the Early Church”) are showing that celibacy or continence were practiced
from the earliest days of the Church – it seems that variations from this are
more likely examples of laxity rather than the preservation of authentic
customs.
IV.
The Second Period, The Time of the Councils
A.
By AD 300, there were synods in Spain expressly mandating celibacy for deacons,
priests, and bishops. In other parts of the world, synods and canons mandate at
least that, once ordained, the deacon/priest cannot remarry. In many places, at
least continence is mandated.
B.
The West is more explicit and forceful in mandating both celibacy and
continence in the various local Churches. By the late 300s, the Popes were
mandating that married deacons/priests must embrace perpetual continence.
Consider the wonderful quote from St Jerome: “Though some priests have wives,
they are no longer husbands.” By 450s, the law of celibacy was recognized
generally throughout the West.
C.
Even in places (for example, Germany and northern France) where some married
men were still being permitted to be ordained as deacons/priests – forceful
decrees by the 500s were mandating not only that they embrace continence, but
even that they cease to live with their wives.
D.
Notice how quickly and universally this practice of celibacy was accepted in
the West, following upon the Apostolic Tradition of continence. It is no easy
thing for men to embrace celibacy – what can account for this excepting that
celibacy is of Apostolic Origin and tied to the very nature of the
priesthood? It is especially noteworthy
that, in the places where the faith and devotion was healthiest, continence and
celibacy were most quickly accepted and practiced.
E.
In the East, there is a general refusal of continence, though it is admitted
that deacons/priests cannot be remarried. Further, bishops generally were chosen
only from those who had embraced celibacy. Again, although married
priests/deacons were permitted to continue with their wives, abstinence was/is
generally mandated for the days prior to assisting at or offering Mass.
V.
The Medieval Period, Mature Formation of the Law of Celibacy
A.
By the year 1,000 there was great moral decline throughout Europe and even
among the clergy. The famous “Book of Gomorrah” of St Peter Damian was written
to the Pope and refers to the sins of the clergy of his day – many of whom were
guilty of the sins of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. In this book, St Peter Damian also laments
that many of the married clergy continue to live with their wives, and refuse
to accept continence.
B.
St Gregory VII (Hildebrand), the Great Reformer! Truly, one of the greatest men
of all times!
1. Lived 1020-1085, and advised
six Popes before being elected Pope himself. After one of the times of greatest
corruption came one of the greatest popes in history! And the renewal and reform
of Pope St Gregory VII opened the door to the great flourishing of the Church
in the 1100s and 1200s, the founding of the Mendicant Orders and establishment
of Universities. This is hopeful in our
own times – to remember that only 200 years after a time of great depravity
came the golden age of the Church!
2. When Gregory VII sent legates
to northern Europe to remind the married priests of the obligation of
continence, the legates were tortured and some even killed. In response to this
Pope St Gregory VII took a very stern position against incontinent married
priests – forbade them from saying Mass or administering any sacraments.
Further, the Pope very strictly insisted upon the requirement of celibacy for
all who would be ordained in the future.
This decisive reform (which was part of a great renewal of the whole
Church) has set the West firmly in place until our own time.
VI.
The Modern Case of Married Deacons and Priests in the West
A.
For married men who are to be ordained deacons, their wives must agree to this.
Why? Perhaps because their wives must renounce their claims to marital intimacy
– the wives must accept continence. At
the very least, it seems clear that the wives must accept that their married
life must now come second to the demands of clerical life. [however, this is often precisely the
opposite of what married deacons are told when being formed – but were does
anything state that the married vocation comes before their diaconal
ministry?!]
B. The Code of Canon Law currently states that all clergy (apparently including married deacons and married priests) are bound to continence. [Canon 277.1 – All clergy are bound to perfect and perpetual continence]. An early draft of Canon Law excepted married deacons from this requirement, but this was removed – seemingly because the Church does intent to mandate continence for married deacons/priests.
C.
Why is it that a married man can be ordained a deacon, but a deacon can’t get
married? Is there any logic to this law – unless it is related to continence?
That, by virtue of ordination, a man renounced not only any future marriage,
but even renounces marital relations within his marriage? Possibly there are other explanations – but
looking at the history of how the practice developed in the West (recognizing
that the East has a different history), is there any more likely or more
reasonable explanation?
