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I asked this question on a previous thread, but it has since closed and no one offered an answer. (Guess I got lost in the shuffle )

The question is: I understand that in the BC church, a man can be married before being ordained, but why can't a priest marry after he is ordained?

Someone asked me this question, and I didn't know the answer.

Thanks

Dear Anastasia

I don't know if this is the correct answer, but it might be that a "dating" priest could cause scandal.

Imagine parishoners saying, "So, who's Fr Paul dating this week?" :rolleyes:

just guessing
denise

Dear Anastasia,

I'm not Orthodox so I don't know. Maybe it has something to do with what St Paul said:

1 Corinthians 7:20 Each one should remain in the situation which he was in when God called him.

in Christ,
Marshall

Anastasia,

The following is only my amateur guess.

I think that a priest's presbytera is seen largely as an extra hand to assist him (largely, but by no means completely - - - their marriage is still, of course, a two-way street like any other), to make his life less hectic so he can really focus on the Lord and his parishioners. But a dating priest does not have the luxury of a presbytera who helps him take care of things and sees after him. On the contrary, his time is spent looking for a potential wife, which means that less of his time is spent focusing on God and the laos in general.

Logos Teen

Dear Anastasia, thanks for posting this question. I still don't understand why that previous thread was suddenly closed.

This really is more a question of practice, tradition and discipline rather than something directly rooted in Scripture or the teachings of the Councils. I'm not sure there is a definitive theological answer to your question, since even among the Orthodox there has been variation with this.

For example an Antiochian priest, Fr. Joseph Allen, was granted permission to remarry as a priest after becoming a widower. This did, however create quite a stir amongst Orthodox priests and bishops.

I think this practice is another outward sign of the commitment to fidelity the priest or deacon and his wife make upon his ordination. Since they are icons of Christ and His Mother amongst the community, it is only fitting that a "higher level of commitment" be expected from the priest and his wife.

According to older Orthodox practice the wife of a deacon or priest would not typically remarry if her husband preceeded her in death.

Is it true that priests in the Assyrian Church of the East may marry after their presbyteral ordination?

Somewhere along the way in my reading, I came across the answer to this question.

If memory serves me correctly, it has to do with a theological understanding of the priest being "married" to the Church as he is configured to Christ by ordination. I don't remember where I have the fuller explanation that I would like to share. I'll have to look around. Perhaps someone else has seen this.

We have a somewhat similar situation here in Altoona where the Antiochian priest "resigned" the priesthood and remarried. It has caused quite a stir among the Russians and Greeks. It's even made some of the parishioners uneasy. Here's a man who had been hearing their most intimate faults in confession sitting next to them during the Sunday Liturgy.

In Christ,

BOB

You guys need boxes, curtains, and screens. :p

Not if you are claustrophobic you don't !! It just ain't possible then - I know

Was that screens or screams???

Not to mention a clear path to the exit :p

Oh I laugh about it but it really is a BIG problem

Anhelyna

Thank you all for your responses.

It seems that the seminarians are somewhat young to be entering marriage - but that's just my opinion .

Understanding that a priest is "married to the church" seems like a contradiction - he'd be married twice .

I can't understand the reasoning of dating being a scandal or too time consuming.

Diak, seems like your explanation that it's a "tradition/discipline" is the most plausible.

Theophan, if you find that fuller explanation, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks again.

Priority of Committments.

The first and primary blessing given to a married man is his wife, hopefully followed by children also. This is what he has first been entrusted with.

He then is ordained, his second blessing, but conditional upon his good stewardship of the first. [Don't take it from me, read it in the scriptures - the pastoral Epistles of Paul.]

So if he must choose between the two obligations/blessings, he chooses the first and the one upon which his ordained function is based. If he rejects the first (divorce) or neglects it, he is not fit to continue in an ordained capacity. At a minimum, he must cease serving until he arrives back at being a good husband. If necessary, in order to be faithful to the first committment blessed by God (marriage), he should put aside the second (ordination) temporarily (leave of absence, suspension) or permanently (laicization), knowing that the Church will endure and others will be ordained in his place.

Likewise, an unmarried ordained man must be faithful to his first blessing (ordination) and not allow anything else (marriage) to interfere or damage it. That is why he may not seek a wife (in addition to the excellent practical explanations given above), because marriage definitely will hinder his ability to serve and he will be obligated to give first priority (the office) and not the second (the wife). This could easily lead to tension, separation, or divorce. A marriage is not a replaceable item.

The canons prohibit bishops, priests, deacons, and subdeacons (in one canon but not all) from marrying, although married men may serve in all of these capacities. The Armenians allow a deacon to marry, but usually only to a maiden that he has already committed himself to prior to ordination, so the effect is the same.

With love in Christ,
Andrew

If this is the case, then why do Orthodox bishops allow unmarried ordained men (usually Catholic) to minister as priests after they left the Catholic Church and marry after ordination? Do the Orthodox consider Catholic ordination as valid?

JM

Brilliant explanation Andrew! Thanks