impediments to the priesthood?

[Jomacawa]

In the Orthodox Church are there impediments to the priesthood which could or would prevent someone from becoming ordained?

 

[cobweb]

I'm pretty sure you have to have the right plumbing.

 

[Oblio]

There are several:

One of the more interesting ones is that you cannot hold an secular elected position or office.

 

[choirfiend]

You generally have to be a person in good health, without physical handicap because of the taxing requirements of the job and because of the idea of being the hands of Christ, one must be whole.

 

[eoe]

What about fornication? Is that one?

(gtsecc - please take note- no one is saying "inability to sing")

 

[Oblio]

What about fornication? Is that one?

No wonder it is hard to find priests in this generation of converts

 

[Oblio]

A sidenote is that IIRC most impediments (with the exception of the plumbing one ) can be mitigated through monastic tonsuring.

 

[Nickolai]

Let's see... off the top of my head. You have to be male, You can only have had one christian marriage, can't have any major physical handicaps (you need both hands, both legs, and you can't be completly blind or completly deaf). You can't have ever killed anyone (even accidental), no tatoos (this is ignored sometimes). Hmmm... That's pretty much it in the physical impediments catagory. There's stuff like being Christ-like, loving all, and being a good pastor, but those are all things that one can change.

Reader Nikolai

 

[DonVA]

Nickolai, your CF Character looks different today!

 

[Akathist]

I didn't know about the not holding of a public office. I had heard of the rest. I was surprised about the loss of a limb part when I heard of it. The even accidential killing of someone really hit me hard. When I heard about that one I was considering getting a CCW license as I work with criminals and have been threatened more than once. (Even had someone on his way to my home with a loaded gun and a handrawn map to my home who Thank God was stopped for driving suspiciously and arrested for drunk driving.)

After I heard that about Priest I made up my mind not to get a CCW. I had been wavering before going back and forth about it but that made up my mind.

 

[Nickolai]

Nickolai, your CF Character looks different today!

I got him some new duds about 2 weeks ago.


Reader Nikolai

P.S. As you can see, I'm sticking to my "extended leave" real well. I am posting less though, which is a good thing.

 

[ClementofRome]

Here is an interesting scenario that I am curious about:

What if said male believed that he was being called to the priesthood and many years earlier in his life a girlfriend he once had found herself pregnant and had an abortion against his will, yet he went along with it.

Would this person be negated from the priesthood due to being involved in a killing?

(BTW, a true story of one of my closest friends...he is not considering the Priesthood, but since I am so well aquianted with the story, it makes a good, "for instance.").

 

[Akathist]

Here is an interesting scenario that I am curious about:

What if said male believed that he was being called to the priesthood and many years earlier in his life a girlfriend he once had found herself pregnant and had an abortion against his will, yet he went along with it.

Would this person be negated from the priesthood due to being involved in a killing?

(BTW, a true story of one of my closest friends...he is not considering the Priesthood, but since I am so well aquianted with the story, it makes a good, "for instance.").

The Bishop of that jurisdiction and area would need to consider that when making the decision that the Priest could be ordained or not. My first thought is that maybe if this has been repented of they could, but I honestly do not know.

It is my understanding (albiet limited) that before a Priest is Ordained they once again do a lifetime confession. (Or for the first time if not a convert or if they didn't when they converted.) I think that part of the reason for this is to make sure there is no impediment but also to review one's life.

 

[Matrona]

There are several:

One of the more interesting ones is that you cannot hold an secular elected position or office.

What about Archbishop Makarios?

 

[Nickolai]

Here is an interesting scenario that I am curious about:

What if said male believed that he was being called to the priesthood and many years earlier in his life a girlfriend he once had found herself pregnant and had an abortion against his will, yet he went along with it.

Would this person be negated from the priesthood due to being involved in a killing?

(BTW, a true story of one of my closest friends...he is not considering the Priesthood, but since I am so well aquianted with the story, it makes a good, "for instance.").

I would say that that's a matter for the Bishop to decide. Remember that canon law is not always stuck to exactly, (exactly following a canon is called Akrevia) sometimes rules must be bent out of love (Economia - either being more strict or less strict than what a canon says). This is why the book of canons is called the "Rudder", it's there to guide the ship, and sometimes you have to turn to miss an Iceburg.

Reader Nikolai

 

[ClementofRome]

Intersting. Thank you Reader Nikolai and Xenia Rose.

 

[OnTheWay]

Here is an interesting scenario that I am curious about:

What if said male believed that he was being called to the priesthood and many years earlier in his life a girlfriend he once had found herself pregnant and had an abortion against his will, yet he went along with it.

Would this person be negated from the priesthood due to being involved in a killing?

(BTW, a true story of one of my closest friends...he is not considering the Priesthood, but since I am so well aquianted with the story, it makes a good, "for instance.").

Of course it would be up to the Bishop, but as we're having a theoritical discussion I'd say no dice. Based on the line "went along with it." Obviously men have no say when it comes to this, but one should oppose it as much as it within their power to do so. Now, if he had fully opposed it and she did it anyway I would say he bears no guilt because it was beyond his ability to stop.

 

[Greg the byzantine]

What about Archbishop Makarios?

Special Cirucmstances, food for thought though since he was Archbishop before he became president.

 

[Akathist]

Intersting. Thank you Reader Nikolai and Xenia Rose.

yw clement.

In my parish we have four men interested in the Priesthood. (Considering that we have rarely more than 30 people in attendance this is a high percentage and speaks well of our great Priest.) They have to be recommended to seminary by a Priest or Bishop or monastic and that would be the first step in the process I would think of ruling out impediments. Then in Seminary they continue to have the same Spiritual Direction that all of us have and this matter would be discussed there again I am sure.

I highly doubt that by the time that lifetime confession occurs that something big would have been missed. Therefore I kind of doubt someone would go all the way through Seminary, become a Reader, a Deacon, etc etc and then be denied the ability to be Ordained at the last minute.

I think the Lifetime confession is more of a stop gap in case something was missed.

This reminds me of one of the reasons my Priest does lifetime confessions. He has had too many young men convert who were already thinking of becoming a Priest that he set that as the standard for all of his converts. Our Bishop does not require lifetime confessions but allows them.

 

[gzt]

actually, they need a recommendation from both their bishop and their parish priest/spiritual father to go to seminary.

i was also under the impression that there were other rules about grave sins, for instance, fornication by an Orthodox Christian would be an impediment.