It seems in all of these discussions, the most important reason for celibacy in the Latin Church is not mentioned. It is money!
I believe celibacy was imposed on the priests in the West because the money that was given to the priest for performing his services, went to his children rather than the Church. In our Orthodox Church, the tradition of giving personal gifts continues with people from Greece...and in consequence, our bishops and Archbishops can become quite wealthy. Since the money given to them are personal gifts, they do not necessarily have to give them to the Church when they die.
Now before anyone becomes shocked, they must realize that our welfare system is quite a new innovation. At one time, the poor and needy were dependent on their priests and bishops for help. So in consequence, those priests and bishops were required to make quite affluent friendships. :rolleyes:
Today the priests are not paid by individuals for their services, but financially supporting priests with families can be very expensive for any church.
Zenovia