www.byzcath.org Forums News & Events Church News Vatican stops suspending married men ordained for Eastern churches

Certainly there is a need both for the restoration of the potential for married diocesan clergy as well as a reinvigorating of the potential for monastic life in North America.

Although one thing that Arturo mentioned made me a bit uncomfortable and that is the statement about "radical monastic vision". I suspect that this is perhaps putting the cart before the horse. Spiritual masters, like Teresa of Avila, etc. have always emphasized the prayer aspects of being a monastic and the deep need felt by the individual to "go away" and struggle to come closer to God. I'm not sure that there is anything inherently radical in that process unless, as a result of long prayer, fasting and self-abnegation, there is a grace-inspired impetus to share some specific vision that calls the Church on a different pathway. While monastic life is seen as radically different from that of the lay person by the lay person, in itself it is not really radical. In fact, it seems that the daily consistency of prayer, meditation, and work can become rather 'tedious'. It is only the constant reinforcement of the "God-seeking" goal that enables people to continue their journey through the Dark Castle.

Christ is Risen!!

Father Maximos (Davies) of Holy Resurrection Monastery recently wrote a wonderful article in Father Richard John Nieuhaus' First Things magazine about the relation between celibate monastic and married parochial clergy in the Eastern Churches in December, 2002, at http://www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft0212/opinion/davies.html

Dear Dr. John, I think the monastic life is a radical departure from the world, not from lay life per se. Anyone attempting to live the Christian life lives in radical contradiction to the world. St. Basil wrote his Longer Rules for not only monastics, but also lay families living a Christian life in common.

I think the strict and firm division which has come to pass between "religious" and "secular" clergy is yet another thing borrowed from the Latins and we should avoid creating a pseudo-clericalist attitude by taking this line of thinking too far.

Sorry, I got stuck in a "double post vortex"...... (Did I see that on a Dr. Who episode )

Dear Friends,

Three of our UGCC priests who were ordained, all married, were suspended by Rome and yet served in our Eparchy for years.

Rome finally ended up withdrawing the suspension, with colourful canonical letters and these really neat seals attached to them . . .

The spirit of the time is encapsulated in a response I received from one of them when I asked him about an Orthodox saint who was against Rome . . .

"And who isn't?" came the reply . . .

Alex

Dear Readers,

There are numerous inaccuracies in this article, starting with the title. The last time the Vatican attempted to suspend a married man ordained to the priesthood to serve the Church in North America was 1988 and that attempt failed. As noted in another thread, a more accurate account of this issue can be found in "Married Priests in the Eastern Catholic Churches, 1884-1998" in 'Eastern Churches Journal' vol IX number 1, pages 7 to 69.

Admin

Dear Administrator,

Well, when our priestly threesome were suspended, they really were!

It is just that the suspensions were ignored by us in the Eastern Eparchy and treated very much like sidewalk scribblings of street youth . . .

Ultimately, Rome relented. But we didn't really care then either.

Alex

Glory to Jesus Christ!
Glory to Him Forever!

Dear all,

Does this mean that a married man can be trained and ordained to the Byzantine priesthood IN the United States? I was aware that you could be a Byzantine Catholic priest in the US, but had to be ordained outside the country. Does this allow ordinations within the country? Thanks.

A sinner,

Adam

Adam, that depends on the jurisdiction. The Melkites and Ukrainians have ordained married men to the priesthood in the USA and both have married candidates studying for the priesthood. The Byzantine-Ruthenian Metropolia is currently not ordaining married men to the priesthood.

Dear Diak,

So what are they doing with all those married men?

Alex

Alex,

They are supplying the Orthodox with pastors.

Joe

There is only one way to make Rome stop thinking they can suspend married men as priests in our churches: make them visit us in person and tell the people in each parish they will have to close their church doors because we are breaking their club rules.

Then the bureaucratic pencil pushers can explain why Vatican II's decree on the Eastern Churches, all those flowery papal encyclicals, Instructions and pronouncements on us, our right to exist, and the equality of our traditions aren't worth the paper they are written on.

The fact that we still have bishops who act as if Rome's mandate still exists (with penalties) is beyond me. What will they do, fire them? Can they suspend a priest but not suspend a bishop who rightfully ordains him? How can a bunch of bureaucrats fire those who were basically hired by one of our bishops?

As Patrick would say, "Who ARE these people?"

Joe

The Roman curia is painfully slow at doing its work.

Listen to the Holy Father, V2, and your Tradition Then DO IT!

And God bless the American Eastern Bishops who have the courage to do their jobs including ordaining married priests.

Paul

I think that most married men are discouraged from even attempting to get the proper training because of the ambivalence of the church.

We cannot ordain married men if they will not prepare now .

Secondly there may also be a reaction from single individuals that might be willing to make a celebate commitment if they absolutely knew it was the only option, but quite reasonably would wait if they thought there might be a change in the regulations.

I would like to see more married individuals prepare for the priesthood even if they may not be sure of ordination. If we had a group of these backed up waiting for ordination the bishop could justifiably push the issue but the BCC seems to have no candidates right now.

Why should a married man waste his (and his family's) time studying for something where there is no inclination to utilize his services? What is the value of another useless degree hanging on a wall with no place to apply it? Why should a single man, hoping to be married someday, be left wondering about the future? After all the nice words about our traditions, why should anyone rush to embrace the yoke of the Latin mandate? Our Metropolia has become a vineyard for other church jurisdictions, Catholic and Orthodox alike.

Joe