Clerical marriage is the practice of allowing
clergyClergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. The term ultimately comes from the Greek κλῆρος - klēros, "a lot", "that which is assigned by lot" or metaphorically, "inheritence"....
to
marryMarriage is a social union or legal contract between individuals that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged by a variety of ways, depending on the culture or demographic...
. Clerical marriage is found in
ProtestantismProtestantism is a branch within Christianity, containing many denominations with some differing practices and doctrines, that principally originated in the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation. It is considered to be one of the major divisions within Christianity, together with the Roman...
,
JudaismJudaism is a set of beliefs and practices originating in the Hebrew Bible , as later further explored and explained in the Talmud and other texts...
,
AnglicanismAnglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures...
,
Independent Catholic ChurchesIndependent Catholic churches are Catholic congregations that are not in communion with the Roman Catholic Church or any other churches whose sacraments are recognized by the Roman Catholic Church . Some groups in the Independent Catholic movement claim to have valid apostolic succession for their...
, and some sects of
BuddhismBuddhism, as traditionally conceived, is a path of salvation attained through insight into the ultimate nature of reality. It encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha...
.
ProtestantProtestantism is a branch within Christianity, containing many denominations with some differing practices and doctrines, that principally originated in the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation. It is considered to be one of the major divisions within Christianity, together with the Roman...
churches practise clerical marriage.
Eastern parish clergy are usually married, but as stated below, their marriage must have occurred when they were still
laymenIn religious organizations, the laity comprises all persons who are not clergy. A person who is a member of a religious order who is not ordained clergy is considered as a member of the laity, even though they are members of a religious order .In the past in Christian cultures, the term lay priest...
, before ordination as a deacon (or, in some churches, even before
subdeacon-Eastern Orthodoxy and Eastern-Rite Catholicism:A subdeacon is the highest of the minor orders of clergy in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches. This order is higher than the reader and lower than the deacon...
). If the wife of a deacon or priest dies, he may not remarry but must remain celibate.
Clerical marriage is the practice of allowing
clergyClergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. The term ultimately comes from the Greek κλῆρος - klēros, "a lot", "that which is assigned by lot" or metaphorically, "inheritence"....
to
marryMarriage is a social union or legal contract between individuals that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged by a variety of ways, depending on the culture or demographic...
. Clerical marriage is found in
ProtestantismProtestantism is a branch within Christianity, containing many denominations with some differing practices and doctrines, that principally originated in the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation. It is considered to be one of the major divisions within Christianity, together with the Roman...
,
JudaismJudaism is a set of beliefs and practices originating in the Hebrew Bible , as later further explored and explained in the Talmud and other texts...
,
AnglicanismAnglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures...
,
Independent Catholic ChurchesIndependent Catholic churches are Catholic congregations that are not in communion with the Roman Catholic Church or any other churches whose sacraments are recognized by the Roman Catholic Church . Some groups in the Independent Catholic movement claim to have valid apostolic succession for their...
, and some sects of
BuddhismBuddhism, as traditionally conceived, is a path of salvation attained through insight into the ultimate nature of reality. It encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha...
.
Present-day practice
ProtestantProtestantism is a branch within Christianity, containing many denominations with some differing practices and doctrines, that principally originated in the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation. It is considered to be one of the major divisions within Christianity, together with the Roman...
churches practise clerical marriage.
Eastern parish clergy are usually married, but as stated below, their marriage must have occurred when they were still
laymenIn religious organizations, the laity comprises all persons who are not clergy. A person who is a member of a religious order who is not ordained clergy is considered as a member of the laity, even though they are members of a religious order .In the past in Christian cultures, the term lay priest...
, before ordination as a deacon (or, in some churches, even before
subdeacon-Eastern Orthodoxy and Eastern-Rite Catholicism:A subdeacon is the highest of the minor orders of clergy in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches. This order is higher than the reader and lower than the deacon...
). If the wife of a deacon or priest dies, he may not remarry but must remain celibate. Generally, if a deacon or priest divorces his wife, he may not continue in the ministry.
BishopA bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
s are elected from among those clergy who have chosen, usually by taking monastic vows, to remain celibate, or from widowed clergy. Among the Orthodox, bishops must always be
monkA monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, whilst always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
s, not simply celibate. If a widowered priest is elected bishop, he must take monastic vows before he can be
consecratedConsecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups.A synonym for consecration is to...
. Eastern Catholic Churches, in
fullFull communion is a term used in Christian ecclesiology to describe the relationship of communion, with mutually recognized sharing of the same essential doctrines, between a Christian community and other communities or between that community and individuals....
communionThe term Communion is derived from Latin communio . The corresponding term in Greek is κοινωνία, which is often translated as "fellowship". In Christianity, the basic meaning of the term communion is an especially close relationship of Christians, as individuals or as a Church, with God and with...
with the
PopeThe pope is the Bishop of Rome and, as such, is leader of the worldwide Catholic Church...
, follow much the same tradition as the Orthodox from whom they came.
In Protestant denominations, there is generally no requirement that a
pastorThe term pastor usually refers to an ordained person within a Christian church. In some countries the term is more usually used in traditional Protestant churches but is also used in reference to priests and bishops within the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox churches. The...
be already married nor prohibition against marrying after "answering the call". Being married is commonly welcomed, in which case the pastor's marriage is expected to serve as a model of a functioning Christian marriage, and the pastor's spouse often serves an unofficial leadership role in the congregation. For this reason, some Protestant churches will not accept a
divorceDivorce or dissolution of marriage is the final termination of a marriage, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between two persons...
d person for this position. In denominations that ordain both men and women, a married couple might serve as co-pastors.
Since they permit an unmarried ordained pastor to marry, these denominations do admit clerical marriage, not merely the appointment of already married persons as pastors. But in view of , , , some do not admit a second marriage by a widowed pastor.
Certain groups (notably some of the
BrethrenThe Brethren are a number of Protestant Christian religious bodies using the word "brethren" in their names. In some cases these similarities of name reflect roots in the same early Brethren groups, and in others the adoption of "Brethren" as part of the name reflects an independent choice to...
fellowships) require a prospective pastor to be married before he can be ordained, based on the view (drawn from 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1) that a man must demonstrate the ability to run a household before he can be entrusted with the church. Even in these strictest groups, a widower may still serve. This again concerns marriage before appointment as pastor, not clerical marriage.
Exceptions in Christian churches
The
Roman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
, the
Eastern Orthodox ChurchThe Orthodox Church, also officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to in English speaking countries as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the world's second largest Christian communion, estimated to number 225 million members...
and
Oriental OrthodoxyOriental Orthodoxy is the communion of Eastern Christian Churches that recognize only three ecumenical councils — the First Council of Nicaea, the First Council of Constantinople and the Council of Ephesus. They rejected the dogmatic definitions of the Council of Chalcedon...
do not allow clerical marriage: they may, with certain limitations, permit married men to become clergymen, but they do not permit clergy to marry after
ordinationIn general religious use, ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination itself varies by religion and denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is...
.
The
Latin RiteThe Latin Church or Rite is the majority Rite or particular church within the Catholic Church, comprising roughly 80% of its membership. The Latin Rite is one of the 23 sui iuris particular Churches within the Catholic Church...
of the Roman Catholic Church follows the discipline of
clerical celibacyClerical celibacy is the practice in various religious traditions, in which clergy, monastics and those in religious orders adopt a celibate life, refraining from marriage and sexual relationships, including masturbation and "impure thoughts"...
: as a rule, only celibate men are allowed to be ordained, though from time to time married clergymen of other
denominationA religious denomination is a subgroup within a religion that operates under a common name, tradition, and identity.The term describes various Christian denominations...
s are ordained after being received into the Roman Catholic Church. For example, occasionally some married Anglican priests who leave the
Church of EnglandThe Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the oldest among the communion's thirty-eight independent national and regional churches...
are admitted to the Roman Catholic priesthood. Sometimes priests are granted
dispensationIn the Canon Law of the Roman Catholic Church, a dispensation is the suspension by competent authority of general rules of law in particular cases...
from the obligation of celibacy but only if they leave the priesthood. Their subsequent marriage is thus seen as the marriage of a
laymanIn religious organizations, the laity comprises all persons who are not clergy. A person who is a member of a religious order who is not ordained clergy is considered as a member of the laity, even though they are members of a religious order .In the past in Christian cultures, the term lay priest...
, not clerical marriage.
The
Eastern Orthodox ChurchThe Orthodox Church, also officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to in English speaking countries as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the world's second largest Christian communion, estimated to number 225 million members...
, Oriental Orthodox Churches and Eastern Catholic Churches do not practice clerical marriage. Married men may become
deaconDeacon is a role in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
s and
priestA priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities. Their office or position is the priesthood, a term which may also apply to such persons collectively.Priests and priestesses...
s but may not marry once they become clergy by
ordinationIn general religious use, ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination itself varies by religion and denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is...
. These churches have from ancient times both celibate and married clergy: "black clergy", who are celibate (i.e.,
monasticMonasticism is the religious practice in which one renounces worldly pursuits in order to fully devote one's life to spiritual work...
), and white clergy", who are married.
History
Within the period known as
Early ChristianityEarly Christianity is commonly known as the Christianity of the roughly three centuries between the Crucifixion of Jesus and the First Council of Nicaea in 325....
, i.e. before the
First Council of NicaeaThe First Council of Nicaea was a council of Christian bishops convened in Nicaea in Bithynia by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in 325 CE...
(325), the Council of Elvira prohibited marriage for bishops, priests and deacons. Roman Catholic scholars hold that a tradition of clerical
continence existed, whereby married men who became priests were expected to abstain from sexual relations with their wives. In this view, the early Church did not consider legitimate marriage by those who were already priests.
In
Western ChristianityWestern Christianity is a term used to include the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church, the Churches of the Anglican Communion and Protestant Churches, which share common attributes that can be traced back to their medieval heritage. The term is used in contrast to Eastern Christianity...
, not only the prohibition of clerical marriage, which was in force in the East as well as the West, but also clerical celibacy became a rule that was further strengthened when the Second Lateran Council declared that marriage by deacons and priests was to be considered not only illicit and sinful, as previously, but also invalid.
The practice of clerical marriage was initiated in the West by the followers of
Martin LutherMartin Luther changed the course of Western civilization by initiating the Protestant Reformation. As a priest and theology professor, he confronted indulgence salesmen with his The Ninety-Five Theses in 1517. Luther strongly disputed their claim that freedom from God's punishment of sin could...
, who himself, a former priest and monk, married
Katharina von BoraKatharina Luther born Katharina von Bora was a German Catholic nun who became the wife of Martin Luther, the leader of the Protestant Reformation, who often fondly called her "my lord Katie." Beyond what is found in the writings of Luther and some of his contemporaries, little is known about her...
, a former
nunA Nun, or also known as a Sister in some cases, is a woman who has taken special vows committing her to a religious life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
, in 1525. It has not been introduced in the East.
External links