Why do the Orthodox allow for married priests but not married bishops?
The Bible and ancient church had married bishops? When and why did the Orthodox do away with them?
The Eastern custom of limiting candidacy for the office of Bishop to celibate clergy is only that: a custom like that of total clerical celibacy among the modern Roman Catholics. On that basis is it acceptable practice to require that Bishops in the Eastern churches be celibate. However, the claim that a married man cannot be Consecrated a Bishop is erroneous Sacramental Theology. It is a denial of the Holy Orders of present day Bishops because they are derived from the married Apostles and married Bishops of the early years of the Church. It is also a claim that what was once a valid practice of the Church is now heterodox. It is a claim that the fashion of the times and ethnic custom are the arbiters of what is proper in the Church. That is schismatic thinking. The fact that the local council which tried to impose this custom was itself rejected indicates the problematical nature of this question.
The case for married Bishops has Orthodox precedents. After all, eleven of the men that Christ chose as Apostles were married and many of the Bishops of the early Church were married. [St. Matthew 8:14.]
The Apostolic Canons, which follow Holy Scriptures, accept married Bishops. The local anti-mission council of Trullo (also called the Quinisext council) which opposed married Bishops was unratified at the time of the Great Schism of 1054. The Undivided Church rejected the idea of requiring all churches to elect only monks as Bishops. The only canons of Trullo which have ecumenical status are Canon 73 and 82 because they were the only canons read into the record of the Seventh Ecumenical Council. The Seventh Ecumenical Council resisted wholesale written approval of Trullo, and Trullo is not listed among the Councils accepted by the Seventh Ecumenical Council. One reason Trullo may have been rejected is that it states that valid Baptisms must be performed only in properly constructed church buildings. That is incorrect Sacramental Theology which would invalidate Baptisms by missionaries, or Baptisms in churches which are under persecution by the "State."
The Scriptural readings of the Consecration of a Bishop of the Celtic churches speak of married Bishops with children. Saint Patrick was himself a monk, but asked a friend to suggest a "a man of one wife and one child" for ordination. Saint Patrick decided to make the candidate, Saint Fiacc, the first native-born Bishop in Ireland. This choice may have been influenced by the fact that Saint Hilary of Poitiers had been a married Bishop. The father of the St. Gregory Nazianzus the Theologian, from Neocaesarea in Cappadocia, was also a married Bishop. In any case, Saint Patrick’s Consecration of Saint Fiacc was considered legitimate by the Undivided Church.
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October 15 2009 11:45 am | Uncategorized
Johhny on 15 Oct 2009 at 5:09 pm #
because they are trying to keep constant the teachings of the unmarried apostles, except for peter the pope.
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? on 15 Oct 2009 at 5:45 pm #
The most likely answer is that the Orthodox Churches made a rational compromise between the ideal of celibacy and the reality of sexual desire. At the time when the Orthodox and Catholic churches were a single church, the ideal of celibacy for priests was established. The reasons are complex and don’t make a great deal of sense to me. However, that was the established ideal. Over time, the Orthodox Churches began to realize that this principle was causing them to lose a number of people who would make good priests, but who also wanted to marry and have a family. They retained the ideal — celibacy — for the higher offices of the Church, but allowed pastors (the priests who ministered to congregations) to marry. This follows the principle enunciated by St. Paul: "It is better to marry than to burn."
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pudlasz on 15 Oct 2009 at 6:23 pm #
The Bishops would not have enough time for their families after ruling a diocese. What is more almost all modern Bishops were monks and monks are not allowed to be married.
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Eastern Orthodox Christian
Dom the Groucho Marxist on 15 Oct 2009 at 6:50 pm #
The Eastern custom of limiting candidacy for the office of Bishop to celibate clergy is only that: a custom like that of total clerical celibacy among the modern Roman Catholics. On that basis is it acceptable practice to require that Bishops in the Eastern churches be celibate. However, the claim that a married man cannot be Consecrated a Bishop is erroneous Sacramental Theology. It is a denial of the Holy Orders of present day Bishops because they are derived from the married Apostles and married Bishops of the early years of the Church. It is also a claim that what was once a valid practice of the Church is now heterodox. It is a claim that the fashion of the times and ethnic custom are the arbiters of what is proper in the Church. That is schismatic thinking. The fact that the local council which tried to impose this custom was itself rejected indicates the problematical nature of this question.
The case for married Bishops has Orthodox precedents. After all, eleven of the men that Christ chose as Apostles were married and many of the Bishops of the early Church were married. [St. Matthew 8:14.]
The Apostolic Canons, which follow Holy Scriptures, accept married Bishops. The local anti-mission council of Trullo (also called the Quinisext council) which opposed married Bishops was unratified at the time of the Great Schism of 1054. The Undivided Church rejected the idea of requiring all churches to elect only monks as Bishops. The only canons of Trullo which have ecumenical status are Canon 73 and 82 because they were the only canons read into the record of the Seventh Ecumenical Council. The Seventh Ecumenical Council resisted wholesale written approval of Trullo, and Trullo is not listed among the Councils accepted by the Seventh Ecumenical Council. One reason Trullo may have been rejected is that it states that valid Baptisms must be performed only in properly constructed church buildings. That is incorrect Sacramental Theology which would invalidate Baptisms by missionaries, or Baptisms in churches which are under persecution by the "State."
The Scriptural readings of the Consecration of a Bishop of the Celtic churches speak of married Bishops with children. Saint Patrick was himself a monk, but asked a friend to suggest a "a man of one wife and one child" for ordination. Saint Patrick decided to make the candidate, Saint Fiacc, the first native-born Bishop in Ireland. This choice may have been influenced by the fact that Saint Hilary of Poitiers had been a married Bishop. The father of the St. Gregory Nazianzus the Theologian, from Neocaesarea in Cappadocia, was also a married Bishop. In any case, Saint Patrick’s Consecration of Saint Fiacc was considered legitimate by the Undivided Church.
References :