Celibate bishops/married priests

[CelticRebel]

Again trying to understand the Orthodox position: Why are bishops required to be celibate but priests are allowed to marry?

 

[buzuxi02]

Traditionally bishops tend to be monks.

 

[CJtheSearcher]

It is a one word answer: tradition.

 

[prodromos]

Again trying to understand the Orthodox position: Why are bishops required to be celibate but priests are allowed to marry?

Priests are not allowed to marry.
Married men can become priests but if an unmarried man becomes a priest he cannot susequently marry.
Although in the early Church some bishops were married, it has since become standard that only unmarried priests can be candidates for being ordained as bishops. There have been cases where widowed priests have been made bishops but as a general rule they only select bishops from the unmarried priests.

 

[jckstraw72]

i think it's mainly a matter of practicality. a good bishop simply won't have time for a wife, and a good husband simply won't have time for his parishes.

 

[gzt]

Also note this is a matter of discipline and practice, not a dogma or doctrine. That said, it's a very practical one that has served us well.

 

[CelticRebel]

Priests are not allowed to marry.
Married men can become priests but if an unmarried man becomes a priest he cannot susequently marry.
Although in the early Church some bishops were married, it has since become standard that only unmarried priests can be candidates for being ordained as bishops. There have been cases where widowed priests have been made bishops but as a general rule they only select bishops from the unmarried priests.

That being the case, why do you think it was abandoned?

 

[CelticRebel]

Thanks, everybody, for your responses.

 

[MoreCoffee]

That being the case, why do you think it was abandoned?

Probably for practical reasons and also on the advice of saint Paul in First Corinthians chapter seven. The example of the Lord Jesus Christ and the apostles of our Lord also seem suggestive of celibacy as advantageous for those who rule in the church.

 

[Knee V]

It is my understanding that after persecutions stopped, it became more difficult to find truly qualified bishops. Thus they turned to the monastics.

 

[Cappadocious]

That being the case, why do you think it was abandoned?

Dioceses got bigger and more complex and required more time to manage.

 

[ArmyMatt]

yeah, it just became easier and since monasticism (ideally and in general) is Christian maximalism, there is no one better than to lead the Church.