The Blessing of a Married Priesthood

Recently, I visited a Catholic bookstore that boasted a solid Orthodox theology section.

A number of shelves there also contained Latin Rite liturgical books I have never heard of before.

These were liturgical books for use by "lay-ministers."  Such ministers include Deacons, Nuns and Laypersons who are duly appointed to baptize and perform marriages and funerals. 

Catholics may now be "carried, married and buried" in church by people other than priests.  There are even "Eucharistic Ministers" and can perform Eucharistic services that resembles the Mass, but does not have an ordained priest officiating.

The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Ottawa has recently made a statement confirming the use of such lay-ministers.

One would get the impression that the vocations crisis in Catholicism has reached epidemic proportions.  Good priests are few and far in between, so the church has had to do something.

But in the Roman Catholic Church, the shortage of priests is a problem of its own making.

There are over 70,000 Roman Catholic priests (as one source indicated) throughout North America alone (with a similar number in Europe) who have been forced to leave the active ministry because they got married.

These priests (and no one may ever somehow "take away" their priesthood) remain so and sign annual petitions to the Vatican to ask it to allow them to continue as priests.  The answer is always "no."

Mandatory celibacy has been imposed on the Catholic clergy since the eleventh century.

One reason for the rule is that it was designed to break up the priestly "caste" system where priestly families seemed to dominate church appointments.

One could argue, however, that similar "caste" systems have always existed, especially in the West, with or without married priests.

Another reason for the imposition of celibacy is the monastic influence over the secular clergy exercised by monastic popes.

Efforts to somehow "canonize" celibacy by Scripture fail since neither Christ nor St Paul ever made it mandatory.  In fact, we are taught that the marriage bed is undefiled and that a minister of Christ should be a man of one wife!

We know that prior to the Schism of AD 1054, both East and West had a married priesthood.

A married man could be ordained deacon and priest and even, until the practice was later banned, bishop.

The Orthodox Church has always believed that a priest is someone called from among the people.  He assists the Bishop as he attend to the spiritual welfare of the flock entrusted to them. 

The attitude of the Orthodox Church has tended to be one where marriage is encouraged for those seeking to be parish priests.  Monastic clergy who perform their duties for their own monastic communities remain, of course, celibate.

The Priest exists, first and foremost, to help the People of God, the "Laos" to fully exercise their calling as members of the Royal Priesthood.  We are all called to be priests, to share in the Eternal Priesthood of Christ.

To sin is really an instance when we refuse to be a priest, to fulfill our calling of sacrifice, prayer, selflessness and obedience to God's Will.  But we really need that Priest in order to do that!

A married priest is someone who shows his intimate connection with the people of God and their daily life. 

He can fully understand the trials and tribulations of the people he serves because he himself undergoes them.  He can rejoice with his faithful because he has firsthand experience with what joy really is. 

For the married priest, life is not a set of theories.  It is something that one participates in all the time.

I grew up with a grandfather who was a priest.  What struck me most, however, was the role that my grandmother, a presbytera, played in his life.

Marriage completes the two people with each other's strengths.  My grandmother, Irene, did all the "public relations" work and kept my grandfather, John, on the "straight and narrow."

People went to my grandfather for Confession, but consulted his wife on matters that were of a much more personal and emotional nature.  Somehow they felt she understood in way only a woman can.

Some of my Roman Catholic friends have suggested that married priests might have their attention diverted from the struggle for holiness, something that I suggested back, is complete rubbish.

Wives of priests have their own calling as presbyteras.  They exercise a priestly ministry all their own.

Their spiritual lives are therefore most vibrant.

My grandmother set an example for all of us when she took a mandatory half hour or more to pray both morning and evening.  She also prayed at two more periods during the day and this in addition to attending Church and her duties with the people.

My grandfather prayed because he was a priest.  My grandmother prayed within a context that was less defined in terms of her particular role, but all the more challenging.  After sixty years together, and on the eve of their parting by death, their motto to us was to "pray always."

The presbyteras that I have had the privilege of knowing are great people of prayer and action.  When I call for advice, they are the ones who I like getting it from.  Their directives are my marching orders!

The Roman Catholic church does a great disservice, I believe, when it denies its flock the benefit and blessing of a married priesthood.

Well, it does allow for converting Anglican and Lutheran married ministers to become Catholic priests only because they come from a context of "invincible ignorance" or some such nonsensical and legalistic category from their convoluted "canon law."

But is that fair?  And is it fair to apply Roman law to Eastern Catholic married priests and somehow make them feel "second-class" because they are married?

The holier than thou attitude that is really at the root of the mandatory celibacy issue is so contrary to the spirit of the New Testament.

It is a man-made tradition that the "higher-ups" simply refuse to acknowledge is a problem.

In the Acts of the Apostles, St Peter has a dream where a vessel laden with all sorts of food that is not washed in accordance with Jewish tradition is placed before him and he is told to get up and eat (Acts 10:9-16).

Peter states that he never eats "unclean" food.  The Lord then tells him not to call that which He has collected and consecrated "unclean."

This, of course, refers to the Gentiles and their eventual inclusion within the Church of Christ.

But, in another context, it could also refer to married priests.  The inclusion of more lay-ministers will not make for an enhanced understanding of the Priesthood.  The recognition of the mutually supportive role of Presbyters and Presbyteras will.

For those who will, however, there is always the Orthodox Church!

Dr. Alexander Roman  alex@unicorne.org