www.byzcath.org Forums Mysteries: The Life of Worship The Other Sacramental Mysteries Celibate clergy

Hello.

I have a question I have been wondering about for a while.

What are the reasons for clergy who are single to remain non monastic? If a cleric is not married should be not be a monk? I understand the cleric may have to live in the world but I know of monks who have to work. Not too many, thank God, but it does happen.

I remember a talk by now Met. Jonah about vocations and he said adults should be either married or monastics. I think there is a ring of truth in that

I would like to know of people's thoughts about this

Thank you

John

I agree, but when the Latin Church adopted mandatory celibacy in the 11th century, it created the anomaly of celibate men living in the world. When celibacy was imposed on Eastern Catholic priests living in the Americas, this became another form of latinization. For many of the Orthodox Churches in the U.S. the problem is not a dearth of married priests, but of monastic priests, so that, e.g., ACROD could find no indigenous candidate to replace the late Metropolitan Nicholas. Failure to establish a robust monasticism here has proven as great a problem for the Orthodox as failure to maintain the married priesthood has for Greek Catholics. Both Churches need to reclaim the fullness of their ancient patrimony.

It's not just ACROD, the OCA has had the same problem. Most of their non-convert recent bishops have not been "true" monastic priests. Often the converts who become monastics in America are "hyperdox" and their zealotry and lack of pastoral insight has proven disastrous as well when given control of a real diocese.

I would just add that Bishop Gregory of ACROD has been well received by our people. He is unpretentious, humble and genuine. Although ordained as a monastic by the Greeks, his priestly experience had been exclusively from out of the monastery prior to becoming Bishop.

He preached at Fr. Michael Rosco's funeral from the heart this week and with that old fashioned thing our grandparents would call "duch". I realized that I had not heard the tone and cadence he used in American English(his native tounge) for many years. Not since the old timers who preached with an accent or in "po nashemu" had I heard that style. It reminded me of "last farewell" that our priests would address to the family of the deceased deceased prior to the kissing of the cross.

We were blessed that Archbishop Demetrios and Metropolitan Alexios of Atlanta were willing to allow him to be our Bishop rather than keeping him for the Greek community.

ACROD only had one monastery and they are now Catholic, they also did not want non NOSH candidates for the monastic life.

This is only tendentiously related to the thread:
I feel foolish asking, but what does NOSH mean? I am gathering that it seems to indicate 'cradle Byzantines' or 'ethnic Rusyns?'

Ethnic rusyn. "Our People" ..

As someone who isn't nosh, but is absolutely in love with the Byzantine Catholic Church, I find the whole, to borrow a southernism, "if you ain't nosh, you ain't nuthin'" concept insulting.

I am also not a cradle eastern catholic and I would agree , I am not "nosh" and do find the tendency to segregate hurtful

Not quite so, we had a monastery in Tuxedo, NY in the 1975-1990 period, Metropolitan Nicholas of thrice blessed memory was the abbot prior to 1983. There was simply a dearth of worthy candidates for the life, the overhead was high and it closed.

As to the DC monastery, it is an overstatement to claim it left over ethnic exclusivity. Like the OCA, we are receptive to converts and convert clergy. Look at our clergy/parish roster.

I will just say that the tension between monasteries and the Omophor of Bishops in Orthodoxy often boils over, sometimes over rubrics, sometimes over personalities and sometimes about problems dealing with personnel. So, there are always two sides to any story.

I think its time that when we say "our people" we aren't talking about ethnic background, but about the flock of our parish or our "Church."
I have use "our people" with the broader understanding and have been misunderstood. As American Greek Catholics (Byzantine) we should respect our roots, base traditions and customs as a foundation, but not exclusively. We haven't had any appreciable immigration for almost a century, so who are we trying to kid?


Regarding John's question, just a an adult layperson can be celibate and single, I can't think of any reason that a diocesan priest should considered differently. A pastoral priest and monastic priest theoretically have different charisms and calling.

Fr Deacon Paul

I am sorry, I did not mean to say that "Monastery of the Holy Cross" left over the issue of non-ethnic vocations. I have great respect for the ACROD and your Late Bishop, who was a great bishop and a kind man.

Has there been any discussion of the possibility of starting a new ACROD monastery?

I like Bishop Gregory a lot, but it would be nice to know that we could get bishops in the future who were raised in the Rusyn tradition.