An oath of clerical celibacy is the promise of a religious or clerical official to remain unmarried, or not to remarry. An oath (from Saxon eoth) is either a promise or a statement of fact calling upon something or someone that the oath maker considers sacred, usually a god, as a witness to the binding nature of the promise or the truth of the statement of fact. ... A promise is a transaction between two persons whereby the first person undertakes in the future to render some service or gift to the second person or devotes something valuable now and here to his use. ...

Background

In some Christian churches, priests and/or bishops must remain unmarried; in some churches, deacons and priests may not remarry if their wives die. In conjunction with church rules prohibiting sex outside of marriage, this implies a life of sexual abstinence. Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament writings of his early followers. ... Roman Catholic priest LCDR Allen R. Kuss (USN) aboard USS Enterprise A priest or priestess is a holy man or woman who takes an officiating role in worship of any religion, with the distinguishing characteristic of offering sacrifices. ... A bishop is an ordained member of the Christian clergy who, in certain Christian churches, holds a position of authority. ... Deacon is a role in the Christian Church which is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. ... Look up Sex in Wiktionary, the free dictionary A sex is one of two specimen categories of species that recombine their genetic material in order to reproduce, a process called genetic recombination. ... Marriage is a relationship and bond between individuals that plays a key role in the definition of many families. ... Sexual abstinence or chastity is the practice of voluntarily refraining from sexual intercourse and (usually) other sexual activity. ...

In some Christian churches, members of religious orders take a vow of chastity along with vows of poverty and obedience in order to imitate the life of Jesus of Nazareth. This vow of chastity is different from clerical celibacy because the promise is made directly to God, while the promise of clerical celibacy is made to the church alone. A religious order is an organization of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with religious devotion. ... A vow (Lat. ... Sexual abstinence or chastity is the practice of voluntarily refraining from sexual intercourse and (usually) other sexual activity. ... Poverty is the state of being without, often associated with need, hardship and lack of resources across a wide range of circumstances. ... Obedience is the willingness to follow the will of others. ... Jesus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...

Neither the Catholic nor the Orthodox church has ever considered celibacy rules to be among the infallible dogmas of the church. Rather, those rules are considered mutable by popes, ecumenical councils, patriarchs, or synods. The popes have altered the celibacy rules in the Catholic church a number of times. ... Celibacy may refer either to being unmarried or to sexual abstinence. ... Dogma (the plural is either dogmata or dogmas) is belief or doctrine held by a religion or any kind of organization to be authoritative. ... The Pope is the Catholic Bishop and patriarch of Rome, and head of the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches. ... In Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, an ecumenical council is a meeting of the bishops of the whole church convened to discuss and settle matters of Church doctrine and practice. ... Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. ... A synod (also known as a council) is a council of a church, usually a Christian church, convened to decide an issue of doctrine or administration. ...

Some Buddhist priests, nuns and monks also are bound by the promise of celibacy, although Zen Buddhists, in particular, are not. Statues of Buddha such as this, the Tian Tan Buddha statue in Hong Kong, remind followers to practice right living. ... A woodblock print by Yoshitoshi, (Japan, 1887) depicting Bodhidharma the founder of Chinese Zen. ...

Rules

Rules on celibacy differ between different religions and denomininations:

• In Latin-Rite (Western) Catholic churches, married men may (since the time of the Second Vatican Council in 1965) be ordained deacons, but may not be ordained priests or bishops, and one may not marry after ordination. Since the Second Vatican Council, exceptions may be allowed for married Protestant ministers who convert to Catholicism and wish to be Catholic priests, provided their wives consent. (Catholics consider Protestant ordinations invalid, and recognize Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox ordinations as valid.) In some cases, defrocked (or "laicized") priests are allowed to marry by special dispensation.
• In Eastern Orthodox churches, and in Eastern-rite Catholic churches (i.e., churches under the authority of Catholic patriarchs of the east and in full communion with the Roman Catholic church), married men may be ordained deacons or priests, but may not be ordained bishops, and one may not marry after ordination. It is believed by some that all Orthodox bishops must be monks, but canonically, they simply may no longer be living with their wives if they are to be consecrated to the episcopacy. (The canons stipulate that they must also see to their wives' maintenance.) Typically, the wife of such a man will take up the monastic life herself, though that is also not required. There are many Orthodox bishops currently serving who have never been tonsured to monastic orders. There are also many who are tonsured monastics but have never formally lived the monastic life. Further, a number of bishops are widowers, but because clergy cannot remarry after ordination, such a man becomes celibate after the death of his wife.
• The Oriental Orthodox churches and the Assyrian Church of the East follow the same rules that hold in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
• Anglican and almost all other Protestant denominations have no restrictions on the marriage of deacons, priests, bishops, or other ministers.
• In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church), all worthy men can become priests. Whether or not they become priests, strict abstinence from all sexual behavior is universally applied to all LDS men until they marry a woman. Gay men are bound to exactly the same rules as other men. Priesthood may be suspended in the event of unsanctioned inchaste conduct.
• Judaism has no history of celibacy for its leaders, rabbis or kohens. Some community functions are, as a rule, filled only by married men.

Latin Rite, in the singular and accompanied, in English, by the definite article, refers to the sui juris particular Church of the Roman Catholic Church that developed in the area of western Europe and northern Africa where Latin was for many centuries the language of education and culture. ... The Second Vatican Council, or Vatican II, was an Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church opened under Pope John XXIII in 1962 and closed under Pope Paul VI in 1965. ... Holy Orders in the modern Roman Catholic Church and in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Anglican, Assyrian, Old Catholic, and Independent Catholic Churches, includes three degrees: bishop, priest, and deacon. ... The Second Vatican Council, or Vatican II, was an Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church opened under Pope John XXIII in 1962 and closed under Pope Paul VI in 1965. ... Protestantism is a movement within Christianity, representing a split from the Roman Catholic Church during the mid to late Renaissance in Europe —a period known as the Protestant Reformation. ... Holy Orders in the modern Roman Catholic Church and in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Anglican, Assyrian, Old Catholic, and Independent Catholic Churches, includes three degrees: bishop, priest, and deacon. ... The term Oriental Orthodoxy refers to the churches of Eastern Christian traditions that keep the faith of only the first three ecumenical councils of the undivided Church - the First Council of Nicaea, the First Council of Constantinople and the Council of Ephesus - and rejected the dogmatic definitions of the Council... To defrock a priest is to deprive him of the right to exercise the functions of the priestly office. ... The term Eastern Rites may refer to the liturgical rites used by many ancient Christian Churches of Eastern Europe and the Middle East that, while being part of the Roman Catholic Church, are distinct from the Latin Rite or Western Church. ... Full communion is a kind of relationship between two or more organizations of Christians. ... A Roman Catholic monk A monk is a person who practices monasticism, adopting a strict religious and ascetic lifestyle, usually in community with others following the same path. ... The term Oriental Orthodoxy refers to the churches of Eastern Christian traditions that keeps the faith of only the first three ecumenical councils of the undivided Church - the councils of Nicea, Constantinople and Ephesus. ... The Assyrian Church of the East is a church that traces its origins to the See of Babylon, said to be founded by Saint Thomas the Apostle. ... The Eastern Orthodox Church (encompassing national Orthodox jurisdictions such as Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, etc. ... The term Anglican describes those people and churches following the religious traditions of the Church of England, especially following the Reformation. ... Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Marriage is a relationship and bond between individuals that plays a key role in the definition of many families. ... Since its coining, the term homosexuality has aquired multiple meanings. ... Judaism is the religious culture of the Jewish people. ... brendan is gay ... The position of a Kohens hands when he raises them to bless a Jewish congregation A Kohen (or Cohen, Hebrew priest, pl. ...

Celibacy in the Roman Catholic Church

The given reasons for clerical celibacy in the Catholic Church are both theological and practical. Foremost in the theological realm are the desire to follow the teachings of Jesus with regard to chastity and the sacrifice of married life for the "sake of the Kingdom" (Luke 18:28-30, Matthew 19:27-30; Mark 10:20-21), and to follow the example of Jesus Christ in being "married" to the Church, which is seen in Catholic theology as the "Bride of Christ". Also of import are the teachings of Paul of Tarsus that chastity is the superior state of life, and his desire expressed in I Corinthians 7:7-8, "I would that all men were even as myself- but every one has his proper gift from God; one after this manner, and another after that. But I say to the unmarried and the widows. It is good for them if they so continue, even as I." Theology is reasoned discourse concerning God (Greek θεος, theos, God, + λογος, logos, word or reason). It also refers to the study of other religious topics. ... Jesus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... The Gospel of Luke is the third of the four canonical Gospels of the New Testament, which tell the story of Jesus life, death, and resurrection. ... The Gospel of Matthew (literally: according to Matthew, Grk: kata Maththaion) is one of the four Gospel accounts of the New Testament. ... The Gospel of Mark is the second in the familiar sequence of the New Testament Gospels, as they were established by Jerome and appear in many but not all early manuscripts of complete gospels, and as they are commonly printed. ... A 19th-century picture of Paul of Tarsus Paul of Tarsus (originally Saul of Tarsus) or Saint Paul the Apostle (c. ... See also: Second Epistle to the Corinthians and Third Epistle to the Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians is a book of the Bible in the New Testament. ...

On a more practical level, the reasons for celibacy are given by the Apostle Paul in I Corinthians 7:7-8, 32-35: "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."

Roman Catholics allege that, from the Church's beginnings, Christian priests were to abstain from sexual contact, even from sexual contact with their wives. On the other hand, no such teaching or historical claim appears among the Eastern Orthodox or Oriental Orthodox. Catholics see their doctrine as foreshadowed by the periodic abstinence of the Old Testament Levites before they approached their altars. What Catholics see as the perfect priesthood of Jesus Christ, and in the examples of the Apostles, called for a much greater sacrifice. Their belief is that what the Old Testament priests offered at their altars was not salvific, but the bread and wine that is offered by New Testament priests becomes the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ Himself, Who is then "offered to the Father" as the perfect oblation.

It is further claimed that many married priests failed, though, to remain sexually continent from their wives, so celibacy was introduced, although this does not explain why celibacy is not imposed upon priests of those Catholic churches that follow the Eastern Rite but are still in communion with the Pope. The term Eastern Rites may refer to the liturgical rites used by many ancient Christian Churches of Eastern Europe and the Middle East that, while being part of the Roman Catholic Church, are distinct from the Latin Rite or Western Church. ...

Among the early Church statements on the topic of sexual continence and celibacy are "Decreta" and "Cum in unum" of Pope Siricius c. 385, which claimed that clerical sexual abstinence was the apostolic practice that must be followed by ministers of the Church. However, this claim was never given credence at any Ecumenical Council, even in the 4th century. Two Canons from the following Councils also help us understand the Roman Catholic position regarding continence and celibacy of the early Church's priests: St. ... Events February 11 - Oldest Pope elected: Siricius, bishop of Tarragona. ... In Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, an ecumenical council is a meeting of the bishops of the whole church convened to discuss and settle matters of Church doctrine and practice. ... (3rd century - 4th century - 5th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 4th century was that century which lasted from 301 to 400. ...

• Council of Elvira (300-306)

Canon 33: It is decided that marriage be altogether prohibited to bishops, priests, and deacons, or to all clerics placed in the ministry, and that they keep away from their wives and not beget children; whoever does this, shall be deprived of the honor of the clerical office.

• Council of Carthage (390)

Canon 3: It is fitting that the holy bishops and priests of God as well as the Levites, i.e. those who are in the service of the divine sacraments, observe perfect continence, so that they may obtain in all simplicity what they are asking from God; what the Apostles taught and what antiquity itself observed, let us also endeavour to keep... It pleases us all that bishop, priest and deacon, guardians of purity, abstain from conjugal intercourse with their wives, so that those who serve at the altar may keep a perfect chastity.

These canons are purely local to Latin-rite Roman Catholics, as the prohibitions are not even extended to the Eastern-Rite Catholics in communion with Rome.

Celibacy in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

In the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), pastors, or "ordained ministers" are allowed to be married to opposite-sex spouses. According to the ELCA's guidelines for pastors (called "Vision and Expectations" [1]), however: The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America or ELCA is a mainline Protestant denomination headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. ... Pastor - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...

"Ordained ministers who are homosexual in their self-understanding are expected to abstain from homosexual sexual relationships."

Therefore, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered pastors are required to take a vow of celibacy. Although the word gay originally exclusively meant happy, in contemporary usage this meaning is unusual and the term is usually used as synonymous with homosexual (though these words are not always interchangable). ... A lesbian is a homosexual woman. ... Bisexuality is a sexual orientation characterized by aesthetic attraction, romantic love and sexual desire for both males and females. ... Transgender is generally used as a catch-all umbrella term for a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups centered around the full or partial reversal of gender roles; however, compare other definitions below. ...

See also

• Roman Catholic Church sex abuse allegations
• Saint Paul-Reformation Lutheran Church

In the late 20th century, and especially at the turn of the 21st, the Catholic Church in several countries was confronted with a series of allegations concerning sexual abuse of children under the legal age of consent ¹ by Catholic clergy, the overwhelming majority of whom are priests. ... Saint Paul-Reformation Lutheran Church (SPR) is a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) located in St Paul, Minnesota. ...

External links

• On Clerical Celibacy in the Catholic Church, Part I
• On Clerical Celibacy in the Catholic Church, Part II
• The biblical foundation of priestly celibacy