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i am confused...are'nt all eastern catholic priests allowed to be married before ordanation? i keep reading that some are and some aren't. and i thought it depended on a particular church's status whether it was a patriarchate or not, and the armenian catholic church for example, i read that their priests must all be celibate ever since the late 1800s and they are a patriarchate. can anyone shine some light? thank you

Dear Mateusz:

Of course, monks who are also priests would not be allowed to marry in East or West.

As for non-monastic priests, I think what you might be referring to is the flap over married priests in North America and the Latin bishops' refusal to accept married "Catholic" priests on their territory. To make a long story short, a bargain was struck wherein EC bishops in North America would not ordain married men but "immigrant preists" were "allowed" to function (although not without some residual harassment).

In the past 25 years, there were several married UGCC saminarians that had to travel to Rome to be ordained by the Servant of God Patriarch Joseph the Confessor or, somehwat more recently, to Ukraine. Three of them are currently professors at the Sheptytsky Institute in Ottawa.

Hope this helps.

Yours,

hal

Mateusz,

As a consequence of the extreme latinization that it underwent, priestly celibacy is the rule in the Syro-Malabarese Catholic Church. It has been the rule for the Syriac (Syrian) Catholic Church since the late 1880s and I believe (someone will correct me if I'm wrong :rolleyes: ) in the Armenian Catholic Church from about the same date. In both, I believe the Patriarchs retain the right to dispense candidates for priestly orders from the requirement of celibacy. The Coptic and Ethiopian Catholic Churches (I think) have enforced celibacy since the turn of the 20th century, again with a retained right on the part of the Patriarch (Coptic) and Metropolitan Archeparch (Ethiopian) to dispense from the rule.

All of these Churches make exceptions for married priests who enter communion with them from their respective Orthodox counterparts.

As to the various Byzantine Churches, the situation is basically as Hal described (what's true for the US is also true in Australia, I believe), although the history is more rancorous than one might know from what he described.
The Ukrainians in Canada, the Melkites in both the US and Canada, and (I believe) the Romanians in the US have ordained married men as priests.

There are married priests (immigrants, those who came to communion from Orthodoxy, and others ordained outside the US) serving in US parishes of most of the Byzantine jurisdictions, as well as in one of the Byzantine Russian parishes. The Ruthenians have ordained none, but may have married priests among immigrants or those who have come into communion from Orthodoxy, I'm uncertain.

Many years,

Neil

In fact, the majority of priests in the Romanian Catholic Church in the USA are married. At least one of them was ordained here by Bishop John Michael. Perhaps his example will inspire others...

I was trying to be diplomatic.

Yours,

hal

SLAVA ISUSU CHRISTU!

One of my best friends left for Rome this past Monday. He has been a student in the Russicum.

He will be married on Sept 11 and will be ordained to the Holy Priesthood on Sept 15.

His father is a priest, who was ordained at the family's kitchen table.

His brother is also a priest, and his sister is a Basilian nun.

Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend either ceremony due to financial limitations. If anyone has $2,000 that they don't know what to do with, please let me know, I will put it to good use and would share fotos of ceremonies...

mark

Dear Medved,

This part sounded very interesting. Can you give us more details. It's the kind of thing I would like to include in my novel.

Thanks,

Hritzko

Daniel, with the exception of the Ruthenian eparchies the other Greek Catholic jurisdictions in the USA have married priests assisting them [Ukrainian, Romanian, Russian, and Melkite] and most have ordained married priests in the USA. There will be more of these in the future, and not just from Bishop John Michael.

The Pittsburgh Metropolia does have a married priest assisting them, but he is a married [former Lutheran] RC priest. Ironic, a married Roman priest assisting in a celibate Greek Catholic eparchy.

thanks for the info..but for the patriarchates of the catholic church, maronite, armenian, melkite, chaldean, syriac, do these have the right to have optional celibacy for priests if they so choose, the patriarch and synods that is.

Dear Irish Melkite,

The picture you paint about married Catholic priests sounds like very few EC priests are married (did I read you right?)

In my conversation with an BCC pastor he indicated that married priests are the majority in the ECC's. The Syro-Malabarese Catholic Church was not discussed.

Problem is I have found no stats in my Catholic Almanac or on the web that number celibate EC priests and married EC priests.

Who counts EC (and EO) married priests?

The Lord bless you,

Paul

Diak- yes, I'm aware that there are married priests in the other jurisdictions. Actually, and ironically, I believe there are more married priests- former Episcopalian and Lutheran ministers- in the Latin rite than in any of the Eastern rites. However, as far as I know, Bishop John Michael is the only American bishop to ordain a married man to the priesthood.
Bishop John Michael is quite the bishop. He set precedent and example by his unprecedented condemnation of the War in Iraq. Whatever one thinks of this I believe he emboldened other bishops to act like bishops - in refusing communion to proabortion politicians, for example. Let's hope other Eastern bishops will also follow his example.

There are 2 priests at the Ukranian Catholic Cathedral in Philadelphia. One is married, the other is not. Both are from Ukraine.
Archbishop Stefan sent the celibate students home from St. Josaphat's in Wash, DC. He has renovated the seminary to accomadate married men and their families.

Dear Mike:

That is very encouraging indeed. Do you think Met. Archbishop Stefan is heading toward ordaining married men into the priesthood?

Yours inquisitively,

hal

Dear Hal,

That little maple leaf on Metropolitan Stephan's episcopal crest means he is going to do things the right way - the Canadian way. Of course he is going to ordain married men.

Is the ban still on on married UGCC clergy in Poland ?

Hritzko

Daniel,

Bishop John (Elya) ordained Reverend Andre St. Germain, Chancellor of the Melkite Eparchy of Newton, who is married, to the priesthood.

(The newest priest in the Melkite Eparchy is also married, although Father Titus came to us that way from the Antiochian Orthodox. (His wife posts on another board and I'm presently trying to convince her to switch to here.) They are serving the new Melkite mission in So. Carolina.

Mateusz,

As far as I know, the imposition of celibacy, in those EC Churches which currently have such a discipline, was done by the Patriarchs and/or the patriarchal synods. Also, as I stated above, there is provision for the Patriarch (some speak of "the bishop") to dispense from the requirement. How often that happens, I can't say.

I am uncertain whether the Maronites enforce celibacy and have a suspicion that they do. Yuhannon? (or anybody else)

And I don't know what the siuation is with regard to the Syro-Malankarese? Anyone?

I failed to mention that there is one Byzantine Church which had celibacy imposed on it. The Italo-Grieco-Albanians, altho of the Byzantine Rite, are technically of the Patriarchate of the West. At one time, celibacy was imposed on them by Rome (surprise :rolleyes: ); I believe the requirement was subsequently lifted and that they do have married clergy in the Eparchies of Lungro and Piana. Anyone? If no one here can speak definitively to the question, I'll check this coming week with a Melkite priest who has done much scholarly writing on the subject of that Church.

Paul,

I don't know who, if anyone, counts them. I think married secular clergy are fairly common in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. We know that in Western Europe they have not been particularly welcomed by the Latins.

I don't believe there are many, if any, in the So. American jurisdictions or in Australia. In the US and Canada, there are quite a number, especially compared what their numbers were 12-15 years ago. I don't think they are the majority overall of clergy, though - probably not anywhere.

Now, if you calculate percentages of married vs. celibate secular clergy (and exclude the celibates of the religious and monastic orders), I suspect that the percentages (in the US and Canada) may be more even - except for the Ruthenians. In addition to those who were sent off to the homelands for ordination, the immigrant clergy of the Melkites, Ukrainians, and Romanians have clearly contributed to the increased numbers.

Many years,

Neil