Eastern Catholic Married Clergy

Authority level: Authoritative doctrine
Disciplinary status: Church discipline
Theological status: Theological synthesis
Evidence type: Historical account
GuideThe equal dignity of Eastern Catholic patrimonies is authoritative teaching; admission of married men to orders and clerical continence are governed by the Eastern Churches' law and legitimate discipline, whose practice has a long history.
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Eastern Catholic Married Clergy is the ancient Eastern discipline under which qualified married men may be ordained deacons and priests while clerical celibacy also remains honored.

An honored Catholic discipline

The Eastern Catholic Churches preserve a longstanding discipline in which both celibate and married clergy are held in honor. The Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches praises celibacy chosen for the kingdom and fitting to the priesthood, while also honoring the state of married clerics sanctioned by the practice of the early Church and the Eastern Churches through the centuries. A married Eastern Catholic priest is not a partial or exceptional priest: he receives the same sacrament of Holy Orders.[1][2]

Whether married men may be admitted to sacred orders is governed by the particular law of the candidate's Church sui iuris and special norms of the Apostolic See. Formation, suitability, freedom, family responsibilities, the wife's written consent, and the competent hierarchy's judgment all matter. The existence of an Eastern tradition does not give any individual an entitlement to ordination.[3]

Marriage precedes ordination

The Church ordains married men; clergy do not ordinarily marry after ordination. A candidate who will live as a married cleric contracts a valid marriage before receiving Holy Orders. Once ordained, Holy Orders is a diriment impediment to attempting a new marriage. A widowed priest therefore does not become free to remarry merely because his wife has died; any dispensation belongs to the competent authority under the strict terms of law.

Married and celibate clerics alike are bound to chastity according to their state. Married clerics must offer an exemplary family life and care for the Christian education of their children. Their wives and children are not accessories to ministry, and prudent ecclesial provision must take their real spiritual and material needs seriously.

Priests, deacons, and bishops

The married discipline applies to candidates for the diaconate and presbyterate, not to bishops: Eastern canon law requires a candidate for the episcopate not to be bound by marriage. Many Eastern Catholic priests and deacons are celibate, especially monastics. The difference from the ordinary Latin discipline is a legitimate Catholic diversity governed by each Church's law, not a contradiction in doctrine about Holy Orders.[4]

References

  1. 1.Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, part I — Official Latin text governing the structure and clergy of the Eastern Catholic Churches
  2. 2.Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, part II — Official Latin text, including Holy Orders and sacramental sharing
  3. 3.Orientalium Ecclesiarum — Vatican II's affirmation of the equal dignity and authentic discipline of the Eastern Churches
  4. 4.Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1579–1580 — The Latin discipline of celibacy and the legitimate Eastern practice of ordaining married men