Celibacy (Latin Celibatus, French Célibat, German Ehelosigkeit) - a term of civil and canon law, meaning a state outside of marriage, single life. This state can occur either from the reluctance of an individual to get married - celibacy voluntary, or may exist due to any legal requirements caused by certain considerations - celibacy mandatory, or forced. In ancient times, voluntary celibacy attracted attention from the point of view of morality and politics. IN Ancient Greece both religion and the state condemned celibacy. The state, which absorbed the individual, was interested in the marriage union supplying it with the largest possible number of citizens and soldiers, as well as religious beliefs forced to take care of procreation. Plato (“Laws”) insists on marriage between the ages of 30 and 35 and considers it a crime to evade marriage, demanding for this an annual pension and exclusion from participation in the honors that young people bestow on elders. This view of Plato indicates to us that already in Athens celibacy met with a certain amount of opposition from the state, which is also confirmed by the testimony of Plutarch and Pollux. Legislative measures directed against celibacy, judging by the silence of ancient orators about them, during the 4th century. BC ceased to be used in practice, but a trace of them was preserved in the provision cited by Dinarch, according to which an orator or strategist, in order to gain public trust, had to certify that he had children born in a legal marriage. In Sparta, certain punishments were also established not only for the celibate, but also for those who married late or inappropriately, but we do not know what exactly these punishments were. Plutarch and Athenaeus only mention that these individuals were often mocked and did not enjoy the respect of young people. In Rome, where population size has always been considered one of the most essential conditions of state power, where the government has always been concerned with increasing the number of its citizens, celibacy has always been looked upon as an unworthy and indecent state for a Roman citizen, who, although considered by Roman law to be an independent private person , however, to a significant extent he had to sacrifice his independence in favor of national interests. This view is based on the ancient tax established by Servius Tulius on singles and widows, the income from which was intended for the maintenance of the riders' horses. Further Roman legislation from the time of the Republic, on the one hand, encouraged marriage with various advantages granted to married people over single people, for example, when choosing for public office (magistracy) or when taking places at public spectacles, on the other hand, it entrusted censors (see this next. ) condemn celibacy if it was the result of frivolity. Celibacy attracted the special attention of the legislator in the time of Augustus, who, wishing to increase the number of citizens, significantly reduced by civil wars, issued a law known as "Lex Julia et Papia Poppaea." The direct purpose of this law was to promote legal marriage, or at least to force citizens to view it as a state service. By this law, the celibate and childless were completely eliminated or only partially limited in the rights of inheritance under a spiritual will, and the property following the spiritual will in their favor was completely or only in a certain part "disappeared" from them, which is why the property of the fallen was called “caducum”, and the law itself was called “lex caducaria”. Celibates were considered completely unqualified to receive an inheritance under a will - "incapaces"; partially incapable, i.e., having the right to receive only half of the property bequeathed in their favor, were recognized "orbi" - childless, that is, a man or woman who does not have legitimate children, living or at least conceived. This law also determined the rights of the so-called “pater solitarius” (solitary father), that is, a widow who has not remarried but has one or more children. This meant only legal marriage (justae nuptiae) and legitimate children (ex justis nuptiis aut in justo matrimonio orti), and not concubinage and children born in it. In view of the goal pursued by the caducar laws, only the natural and not the legal basis was taken into account, which gave rise to the relationship of children to their parents and vice versa, i.e., only birth, and not adoption (adoptio), so that adopted children were always considered in such cases for their parents, and not for their adoptive parents, and provided the former with all the benefits determined by this law. In addition, a hundred-day period (diskretionis) was given to the celibate to marry, and to the childless to conceive a child. The beginning of this period was considered the day of “apertura tabularun”, i.e. the moment the rights to testamentary refusal were established. On the contrary, to reward persons who satisfy the requirements of the legislator, marry and provide the state with a younger generation, in addition to some official advantages (thus, when choosing for the position of praetor, persons who have not reached the age established for this position could take it so many years earlier, how many legitimate children they had), they were also given the right to receive the so-called “proemia patrum”, which consisted in the fact that the remaining free (fallen away) part of the property refused to the celibate or childless by spiritual will went to the benefit of “patres”, i.e. those who were denied anything by the same will and who were married or had children or descendants from a son (ex filio). Thus, this law also reflected the main principle of Roman family law - paternal power (patria potestas) and excluded the right of women to take advantage of the above-mentioned benefits, although in relation to the emancipated and adopted, the lex Julia allowed a deviation from this principle, since on its basis these persons delivered to their natural fathers all the advantages granted to the "patribus". Pars caduca was divided among all patres instituti succesores, and in case of shortage of instituti succesores went in favor of the patres legatarii (see Will and Legacy) established in the same will. In the absence of both, the caducum went to the aerarium, and from the time of Caracalla - to the fiscus. The middle position between incapacities (incapaces) and fathers (patres) was occupied by persons for whom marriage was not considered obligatory, these are the so-called personae exceptae, namely: men under 25 and over 60 years of age; women under 20 and over 50 years of age, as well as relatives and in-laws of the testator up to the sixth degree. A widow received, according to the Lex Julia, “vacation time” (vacatio) in the amount of 1 year from the date of her husband’s death, and a divorcee received 6 months from the date of divorce; these terms were subsequently increased by the lex Papia, the first to 2 years, and the second to 18 months. All these persons had “solidi capacitas”, that is, they could receive in full everything denied to them according to the spiritual will, but did not, however, have the right to “praemium patrum”. In addition to these regulations that were restrictive for the celibate and childless, it is also necessary to keep in mind that according to Roman law, the number of legitimate children also influenced the mutual rights of spouses, who could not inherit after each other more than one tenth of the property of the deceased, but by right "three childhoods"(jus tria liberorum) it was granted to spouses with three or more children to bequeath to each other as many tenths as they had children. This right, which is of great importance, was subsequently granted by the Roman emperors to persons who had no children at all. All these measures, restrictive towards the celibate and encouraging marriage, were canceled one after another by Emperor Constantine V. and his successors under the influence of the reaction in favor of celibacy that occurred since Christianity became the dominant religion. But this new religious view of celibacy in the sense that it was understood christian church, that is, in the sense of chastity, considered by the apostles and church fathers to be the highest degree of Christian perfection, rested on grounds completely opposite to the political and legal view of the Romans. The Old Testament adhered to the principle arising from the words spoken by the Lord after the creation of man: “Grow and multiply and fill the earth” (Genesis I, 28). The entire history of the Jews shows us that they considered marriage an honorable and obligatory state for one and all, and according to this, celibacy and childlessness were always looked upon with contempt. Not only should priests not be celibate, but on the contrary, their rank could only be passed on to their children. In contrast, in the New Testament there are indications that should have led Christians to the conclusion that celibacy is incomparably higher than the marital state. In the Gospel we find the following text (Matt. Ch. XIX, 11-12): “Christ said: not everyone can receive this word, but to those who have been given it. For there are eunuchs who were born from their mother’s womb in this way; and there are eunuchs who are castrated. from men; and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven. This saying could not fail to make a strong impression on the minds of the first Christians. In the first letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul, answering the questions asked of him, writes (chapter VII): “It is good for a man not to touch a woman. But to avoid fornication, each one should have his own wife and each one should have his own husband (1-2)”... “but each one has his own gift from God: one this way, the other another. But to the unmarried and to the widows I say: it is good for them to remain as I am. But if they cannot abstain, then it is better for them to marry than to become inflamed" (7-9). “The unmarried man cares about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord, and the married man cares about the worldly things, how to please his wife. There is a difference between a married woman and a virgin: the unmarried woman cares about the Lord’s things, how to please the Lord, so that she can be holy in both body and spirit; and the married woman cares about the worldly things, how to please your husband" (32-34) and "he who gives his maiden in marriage does well, but he who does not give it away does better" (38). These words show that the apostle leaned towards celibacy mainly due to the fact that it allows those who are doomed to it to completely indulge in spiritual life, without at all needing to worry about the affairs of this world in order to please their wife or husband. However, ap. Paul preaches only such celibacy, which presupposes the presence of calm spiritual chastity, devoid of all sensual lusts; to those who are kindled, he himself advises them to get married; finally, such celibacy seems to be a special grace of God, which is bestowed only on a small number of the elect. None of the texts cited above contains a positive requirement for celibacy, but it cannot help but notice that all these instructions are aimed at presenting the celibate state in the most ideal light. This view of celibacy in the very first times of Christianity prompted a considerable number of believers to devote themselves to abstinence. Already in a letter from Ignatius (who died between 107-115) to Polycarp, the first praises the chaste, instructing them, however, not to put themselves therefore above their bishop, who, in all likelihood, had a wife. Athenagoras in his "Πρεςβεία περι τών χριςτιανών" (written at the end of 176) speaks of those who grow old in celibacy with the goal of living in closer communion with God. The most striking manifestation of the force with which the doctrine of the celibate life was spread in the first centuries of Christianity is, on the one hand, the fanaticism of Origen, on the other, the praise of virginity contained in the dialogue entitled “Convivium inter decem Virgines” and written by Methodius of Tire, the most ardent opponent of Origen. With the passage of time and the strengthening of Christianity, the doctrine of celibacy became more and more widespread. Women developed a special view according to which, devoting themselves to the virgin life, they considered themselves betrothed to the Lord. The Gnostic teaching about the impurity of the flesh also did not remain without influence in this case. The Church struggled with this teaching, but still experienced its influence, to which it, however, was already predisposed by its own principle of opposing the spirit to the flesh and therefore could not help but see in the union of the sexes at least a temporary enslavement of the spirit by the flesh. This principle gave rise to asceticism, which strives by mortifying the flesh to give the spirit victory over it. All those who, doomed to a celibate, chaste life, realized the difficulty of avoiding temptations among a corrupt, pagan society, resorted to him. Celibacy, combined with asceticism, acquired in the eyes of Christians the significance of the apogee of religiosity, and with the transition of asceticism into Cenovitism, it became a necessary condition for monastic life in both the Western and Eastern churches, and finally, in the first of them, it was decisively placed above marital cohabitation by the canon of the Council of Trent, threatening anathema to anyone who will argue that the marital state is to be preferred to celibacy, or that the latter is not at all better than the former (Ses. XXIV, Cap. X). This justification for celibacy could not but influence the rule that was subsequently established in the Western Church. mandatory celibacy of the clergy . Neither the Gospel nor other Scriptures of the apostolic canons contain any instructions that give grounds to diminish the dignity of marriage or consider it an obstacle to the performance of priestly duties. The most severe theologians admit that Christ, who graced the marriage in Cana of Galilee with his presence, did not reject the union of a man with a woman. Peter, the first of His apostles, called by Catholics “the prince of the apostles” (Princeps apostolorum) and considered by them the founder of the papacy, was married, as Holy Scripture testifies (Matt. VIII, 14). Words of St. Paul (1 Corinth. IX, 5) give reason to believe that most of the apostles had their wives with them during their wanderings. It is clear that the apostles, not observing celibacy themselves, could not demand it from those whom they appointed as their successors. Some objected to this, arguing that the apostles, having their wives with them, abstained from marital cohabitation with them. This objection is refuted, however, by the fact that if the apostles had really demanded the celibacy of the clergy, then, obviously, they would have avoided incurring suspicion of not fulfilling what they themselves demanded. Moreover, ap. Paul, who himself doomed himself to celibacy, did not at all prefer celibates to married people when electing a bishop. On the contrary, he points out that a bishop must be a family man who knows how to lead his family, and therefore capable of leading his flock. It has been indisputably proven that during the first three centuries the Christian Church did not consider marriage a state incompatible with the priestly office, provided only that the person appointed was the husband of one wife; There are many examples of married bishops, priests and deacons, but there is no evidence to suggest that marriage was permitted after the priesthood. This prohibition was based on the XXV Apostolic Canon, which allows marriage after entering the clergy only for choristers and clerics, and therefore does not allow this for bishops, presbyters and deacons. The Neo-Caesarean Council (315) threatens to deprive the violator of this rule, while the Ancyra Council (314) allows the deacon to announce his intention to marry before the ordination, and therefore to carry out his intention after the ordination. On the other hand, contrary to the false opinions expressed by some that the sanctity of sacred service and the purity of life required by the priesthood are incompatible with married life, the apostolic canons forbade clergy to leave their wives under the pretext of piety, threatening disobedients with excommunication from church communion, and if they persisted, with complete deprivation church degrees. At the 1st Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, supporters of celibacy, already quite numerous at that time, proposed to prohibit those appointed to the clergy from continuing marital cohabitation with their wives, but they were unable to normalize this due to the fact that Paphnutius, Bishop of Upper Thebaid, was a great associate and virgin , convinced the fathers of the council not to impose such a heavy yoke on the initiates, which could bring terrible harm to the morality of both the clergy themselves and the wives they left behind. The Council of Gangra (340) pronounces a curse as blasphemers of God-established marriage on all those who, like the supporters of Evgrafiy, Bishop of Sevasta, did not recognize the power of sacred rites performed by married presbyters. While not requiring the clergy to renounce married life, the Christian Church, at the same time, never made it an indispensable condition that only married people should join the clergy, but accepted celibates as well. This is indicated to us both by examples from church history and by those church rules that presuppose the presence in the clergy of persons who have taken a vow of virginity. These are, for example, the rules that condemn a cleric who turns away from marriage not for the sake of the feat of abstinence; provide persons admitted to the clergy as celibates to marry at their request while serving in lower clergy positions, and require a vow of chastity from those who do not wish to, protect the home life of clergy members who do not have wives from temptation and suspicion, etc. These initial church rules about the elevation of married persons to the degree of priesthood from the end of the 4th century. began to be subject to restrictions regarding the episcopal rank. The lofty concept of virgin life, created by the Gospel teaching, awakened in Christian society the desire to have from among those who took upon themselves this feat, if not all the clergy, then at least the highest church pastors, who, not being bound by family ties, could devote themselves entirely to serving the benefits of the church and being real representatives of all the qualities and perfections of the Christian life. Thus, little by little, a custom was established according to which, when filling the episcopal position, they began to prefer celibates to married ones, so that already in 410 the election of Synesius as bishop of Ptolemais, who agreed to accept the proposed rank only so that he would not be prohibited from continuing marital cohabitation, is an exceptional example. The development of monasticism, which acquired high respect in society and enormous influence on church affairs, more firmly established this custom, which from the 6th century. was elevated to a mandatory rule, initially by state and then by church legislation. Justinian V. ordered that monastics or those without wives, or those separated from them, be appointed bishops. The Council of Trullo (692) decreed that the wife of a person elevated to episcopal dignity, having previously separated from her husband by common consent, upon his ordination as a bishop, should enter a monastery far removed from the place of residence of this bishop, which, however, is obliged to provide her with maintenance. Although neither this council nor subsequent church legislation required monasticism from bishops, little by little in the East they began to elect bishops exclusively from among monks, probably due to the belief that persons trained in monastic discipline are more capable of fulfilling the high duties of the episcopal rank. In addition, the same council confirmed permission for subdeacons, deacons and presbyters who married before ordination to continue marital cohabitation with their wives, while threatening clergy who married after accepting the priesthood, and bishops who continued marital cohabitation, with deprivation of the priesthood. Imperial orders, on the basis of which children born in such marriages were recognized as illegitimate, prompted deacons and priests to marry before accepting the priesthood. This custom over time became mandatory in the Eastern Church, where all clergy must be married, but can neither marry a widow nor enter into a second marriage. - In Russia, until recently, this rule was observed with all strictness; An unmarried person appointed to a parish clergy position must be married before ordination, and widowers could not be appointed at all; both the lack of a wife and a second marriage equally blocked their access to the priesthood. In the old days, the severity extended to the point that a widowed priest or deacon had to become a monk, otherwise he would be prohibited from serving in the priesthood. This order was caused by the temptations produced by the unclean life of many widowed clergy, and was given by the All-Russian Metropolitan St. Peter (XIV century) and then repeated by Metropolitan. Photius (beginning of the 15th century) and Russian cathedrals (Moscow 1503, Stoglav 1551, etc.). The Moscow Council of 1667, although it recognized this decree as practically useful, however, canceled it as not consistent with the canons of the Universal Church. However, even after that, widowed clergy had to have from their bishop special permission for service, namely: priests - epitrachelion letters, and deacons - orar or posticharion. These rules were abolished in 1765. If such measures were taken by the church authorities of ancient Russia regarding clergy who had lost their wives, then it goes without saying that at the same time it could not allow the appointment of single persons or widowers to parish priests or deacons. Since 1869, the law has allowed the white clergy to appoint unmarried persons (i.e., single and widowed after their first marriage) to the clergy, if they are completely known to the diocesan bishop for their zeal for the church and completely impeccable life, and moreover, they have at least 40 years old. Thus, the Eastern Church, paying due respect to the feat of virginity according to the Gospel teaching, left its fulfillment to the discretion of each individual, without at all demanding mandatory celibacy from the white clergy. On the contrary, in the West, little by little, canons were developed establishing celibacy for the entire clergy. In the Latin Church, the initial measures directed against the marital life of the clergy were taken in Spain at the Council of Elvira (303 or 309), whose decrees prohibited deacons, presbyters and bishops from having marital cohabitation with their wives. In the letter of Pope Siricius to Gemerius, Bishop of Tarragona (385), which is the first decretal, the authenticity of which is beyond doubt, it is stated that bishops, priests and deacons who do not observe chastity do not deserve any leniency, since it is necessary to treat wounds with an iron (knife). resistant to other medications. In two decretals to the bishops of Rouen Victricius and Exsuperius of Toulouse (405), Innocent I renewed the above prohibition, threatening for violation of it deprivation of dignity. Leo I (443) and Gregory V. (590-604) continued to carry out the views of their predecessors. The Councils of Orang (441), Arles (442 or 452), Tours (461), and Toledo (653 and 659) established canons that carry out with full consistency the beginning of the incompatibility of married life with the holiness of the clergy. Finally, the vow of chastity became obligatory for priests, deacons and even subdeacons, to which the churches of the entire West, with the exception of Lombardy, submitted, at least officially. The Milan Church, relying on the authority of the saints. Ambrose, her patron, alone dared to resist the claims of Rome and held out until the end of the 11th century. in relation to marriages of the clergy, the same rules that were established in the Eastern Church. For a long time, the popes had to fight both with the independence of the Lombard Church, which belittled the authority of the apostolic see and prevented the uniform application of the rules of church discipline, and with the clergy of other countries, which, despite the papal prohibition of marriage, continued to live as before. Many priests openly had concubines, others preferred to marry. In the X and XI centuries. There are married priests and even bishops not only in Italy, but also in Spain, Germany, France and England. Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury (961-968), ordered married priests to separate from their wives and replaced with monks the positions of those of them who refused to fulfill this order; but this measure did not have an impact for long and soon another Canterbury archbishop, Anselm, had to again prescribe celibacy to priests throughout England at a local council in Westminster (1102). In 1018, Benedict VIII achieved a resolution at the Council of Pavia according to which. spiritual children born to free women became church slaves without the right to ever be released; in 1031 The Council of Bourges developed in the same spirit a whole series of canons, distinguished by extreme severity. Hildebrandt also held the same view on the marriage of clergy, who managed to win over to his side in this regard those popes whom he so skillfully led. After the above measures directed against the children of the clergy, no less strict orders followed regarding the wives of clergy. Leo IX (1048-1054) issued the “Constitutum de castitate clericorum” (Regulations on the chastity of clerics), according to which women living with clergy were recognized as slaves. Wanting to arouse indignation among the people against priests who violated the vow of celibacy, the church declared heresy what was only a simple violation of church discipline, and began to call such spiritual “Nicolaitans,” equating them with this name to the sectarians who were anathematized in the first century. Nicholas II, with the help of the crowd excited by the monks, managed to humble the stubbornness of the Milan church; penance was imposed on its clergy, and the archbishop, as a sign of his humility, had to take part in a council in Rome, at which the laity were forbidden to listen to the liturgy if it was served by a priest who had a woman in his house (1059). These decrees were also confirmed by Alexander II (1059-1063), but in practice they did not have of great importance, since they were not enforced with due rigor. Hildebrandt, having become pope under the name of Gregory VII, convened a council in Rome in 1074, at which the previous decrees regarding the celibacy of the clergy were confirmed and supplemented by the prohibition from entering the church for priests guilty of “fornication” (fornicatio), which term was equally denoted as concubinage. , so is marriage. Gregory energetically set about enforcing these rules and, in order to overcome any opposition, convened councils in Erfurt, Paris (1074) and Mainz (1075), which he instructed to force the priests to immediately separate from their wives and concubines. The Councils of Erfurt and Mainz ended in terrible confusion; at the Council of Paris, all those who participated in it formally rejected the papal orders, recognizing them as reckless, as requiring a feat that exceeded human strength; finally, in other areas, bishops directly refused to announce them to the flock and the clergy subordinate to them. Gregory sent legates everywhere, equipped with extensive powers, who managed to incite the people against the stubborn priests. Many bishops began to receive complaints about hitherto unprecedented insults inflicted by the people on the clergy, but the pope remained unshaken. With the help of monastic orders and the crowd excited by them, he soon managed to overcome all resistance and force the clergy of most Western European states to submit to his decision. This victory of the papacy was greatly facilitated in Germany by the feudal princes and bishops, who, being in constant struggle with the imperial power, sought support from the popes. Thus, the papacy insisted on the celibacy of clergy, citing moral and religious considerations as the main motives, although the real goal that the Roman Curia achieved in pursuing clergy marriages was purely political nature. The main basis for the establishment of compulsory celibacy of the clergy was clearly formulated by Gregory VII himself in the following provision: “Non liberari potest Ecclesia a servitute laicorum, nisi liberentur clerici ab uxoribus” (the church cannot free itself from subordination to the laity unless the clergy free themselves from their wives). With the rise of papal power, there naturally should have been a desire to break the ties by which the clergy is connected with the family, and through it with the state; only a priest completely free from all family and civil ties and duties guaranteed the Roman Church its complete independence from the state and could serve in the hands of the Roman high priests as a reliable instrument for achieving their extensive and ambitious political plans. However, none of the theologians, not excluding even the most zealous ultramontanes, considers the obligatory celibacy of the clergy either a Divine institution or a dogma of the West. churches; The Roman Curia itself does not adhere to this rule with full consistency, allowing the marriage of Greek-Uniate and Maronite priests. Celibacy of the clergy, finally elevated to church law by Gregory VII, could not actually be established for a long time. After his death, married priests are often still found in practice, as can be judged from the order of Pope Urban II (1089) and the decrees of the Councils of Reims (1119) and two Lateran Councils (1123 and 1139). In addition, in various localities, from time to time, the resistance of the clergy to the implementation of the rules of celibacy was renewed, often even causing armed clashes. Only in the 12th century. celibacy of the clergy was finally established in the West, although in states more distant from Rome, such as for example. in Hungary, in Poland, back in the 13th century. the clergy did not obey this order of the Roman throne. In Poland, the papal decree on celibacy, announced by Cardinal Peter in 1197 at the synod of the Gniezno archbishopric, extremely outraged the clergy participating in it, who almost killed the representative of Rome. Prince Vladislav Lyaskonsky, prompted by the bulls of Innocent III, began to imprison and oppress the rebellious clergy in every possible way (1206). In subsequent Polish history there are many examples of clergy marrying; in the 16th century under the influence of the Reformation, many opponents of celibacy emerged from among the Polish clergy, among whom the first place belongs to Stanislav Orzhekhovsky, canon of Przemyslov, who, after being ordained into the clergy, married Magdalene Kholmskaya (1551), devoted his entire life to the fight against this institution that oppresses the clergy and sharply condemned him in many of his writings (see Orzhekhovsky). In 1556, King Sigismund Augustus, on behalf of the entire people, demanded that Paul IV abolish the celibacy of the clergy. In Hungary in 1267, Cardinal Guidon demanded that priests be legally married, although in the future he completely forbade them to marry. The establishment of celibacy of the clergy, which had at least the apparent goal of raising the entire clergy to the heights of the Christian ideal of virginity, in reality did not in the least contribute to the improvement of the morality of the clergy, which, being deprived of legal wives, inevitably had to come to concubinage. The beginning of that terrible debauchery and decline of morals into which the clergy fell, especially in the 14th and 15th centuries, should be largely sought in this unnatural demand of the Roman throne. Wanting to put an end to such licentiousness, representatives of some churches proposed openly establishing concubinage for priests who were deprived of the opportunity to enter into legal marriage. The Church, however, which generally recognizes only marriage in Christ, that is, legal, could not agree with these proposals and silently endured what it was unable to prevent, especially since some of the popes of the 14th and 15th centuries. often surpassed the bishops and priests subordinate to them in immorality, which gave Savonarola a reason to preach the correction of the morals of the entire church, both its head and all members (in capite et membris). Protests against the celibacy of the clergy have been expressed since the very beginning of the 14th century; at the end of it and at the beginning of the 15th century. Czech theologians, led by Matvey Yanov, imbued with the teachings of Wyclef, sharply condemn him. In the Hussite movement, the question of celibacy plays an important role, and finally, by the Prague compacts, the clergy of the Czech Utraquists (see this word) were granted, as an exception, the right to marry; but the Roman Curia did not recognize this concession made by the Council of Basel as legal. From the first moment of its inception, the Reformation overthrew the yoke of celibacy of the clergy. In his “letter to the Christian nobility of the German nation” (Schrift an den christlichen Adel deutscher Nation,” 1520), Luther thoroughly substantiated the principle of the need for clergy to marry, and in 1525 he decided to confirm it with his own example, which some evangelical priests had already fulfilled before him. Confession (art. 23) and Apology (art. 11), just like the Reformed symbolic writings (for example, the First Helvetic Confession, art. 37; the Second Helvetic Confession, art. 29), as well as the Anglican Church, found the right the clergy to marry according to the natural conditions of human nature, Holy Scripture and ancient Christian custom, bearing in mind the consequences of forced celibacy, Rome could not show any compliance at this point: with permission for the clergy to marry, it would not only have to abandon all traditions. , but also from the most essential principle of papal policy, which consists in the unconditional independence of the church from what in his language is called the world. The limit of compliance on the part of the Roman Curia could only be a dispensation given in respect of the special needs of the church and only in the form of an exceptional measure, preserving the right to cancel it. These considerations served as a point of view on which the so-called “Interim” (Interim, 1548) could to a certain extent condone the marriages of the Protestant clergy, but King Ferdinand I could not immediately make such a significant demand at the Council of Trent; His subsequent efforts to eliminate the harm from the celibacy of the clergy, supported by Duke Albert V of Bavaria and even the three spiritual electors, had no success due to the evasive policy of Pius IV, who, with the help of the Jesuits, managed to persuade the emperor not to present this matter to the Council for consideration (1563). The decrees of the Council of Trent defined in more detail those provisions of the canon law of Rome. cat. churches that still remain strong today. These provisions regarding the celibacy of the clergy are that married persons can be ordained to the highest (clergy) degrees only if their wives take a solemn vow of chastity; subdeacons, deacons, priests and bishops who marry after ordination are deprived of their positions and rank, and their marriage is declared invalid; on the contrary, marriages concluded by clergy of the lower (clerical) degrees of the priesthood are considered valid, and the bishop can allow them to perform the duties assigned to them, if only they are married to virgins, and not to widows or divorcees. The newest attempts to achieve the abolition of these rules were energetically rejected by Gregory XVI and Pius IX, while the movement of the Old Catholics, although it led the latter to overthrow the yoke of celibacy, but caused a split in the bosom of the church itself. There is no doubt that secular state power does not have the right to cancel canonical decrees regarding the celibacy of the clergy. But at the same time, it is certain that she is not at all obliged to carry them out by coercive measures. In view of this, both the Prussian Land Code (Landrecht) and the French Civil Code (Code Civil) ignore the canonical rules about the B. of the higher degrees of the priesthood. In France, however, a judicial practice has been established, although disputed by many, leaning towards recognizing the invalidity of marriages entered into by clergy. The same provision is directly established by Austrian legislation (although according to the law of May 25, 1868, the impossibility of marriage disappears for the clergy when he transfers to another confession). Decrees on the invalidity of marriages of Catholic clergy were abolished in Italy with the introduction of civil marriage, as well as in Bavaria, Saxony, Baden and, in general, in all countries where common German law is in force, with the publication of the imperial law of February 6. 1875, according to which throughout Germany clergy were granted the right to marry. Our legislation, which allows persons of all Christian denominations to enter into marriages according to the rules and rituals of their churches, cannot but recognize as valid marriages concluded by the Catholic clergy (St. Zak., vol. X, part 1, art. 61). In the Middle Ages, celibacy was an essential condition not only for spiritual status, but also for belonging to knightly orders, and initially to members of the Hanseatic League. In our country it was observed by the Zaporozhye Cossacks. IN modern times There are no restrictive measures similar to the ancient Roman ones against voluntary celibacy found in modern legislation, and only in the current 1890 the Senate of the Venezuelan Republic established a law according to which every bachelor over 35 years of age must pay a special tax in the amount of one percent of annual income if this income does not exceed twenty-five thousand francs. Income exceeding this amount will be subject to a two percent tax. The explanatory note to the draft law provides reasons that single people are in an exceptional position and bear much less burden than fathers of families, and therefore imposing a special income tax on single people is completely consistent with the principles of justice. It is clear that this measure, in contrast to the above, was caused only by purely fiscal motives. In our legislation, celibacy affects the amount of deductions made to satisfy the debt from the salaries received by the debtor (see Arrest). The provisions of canon law in Roman cat. churches still retain their power in relation to both black and white clergy. According to the rules Orthodox Church and our legislation (St. Zak., vol. X, part 1, art. 2; vol. IX, art. 252, paragraph 1), only black clergy are subject to celibacy, while persons of the white clergy who are forbidden to marry , as long as they are in the priesthood or deaconship, they are subject to celibacy only in the event of the death of their wives. In addition to all of the above, it must be borne in mind that celibacy may also have the meaning of a punishment imposed by law under certain circumstances on one of the spouses or on both together, being in this case forced celibacy. In the meaning of a punitive measure, celibacy is already known to Roman law, according to which, in cases where a marriage was dissolved for adultery, the perpetrator was forbidden to marry the person who participated in the adultery. Byzantine The legislation allowed for a distinction between husband and wife: an unfaithful wife upon divorce was condemned to celibacy, but an unfaithful husband was not subject to this punishment. Canon law prohibits marriage between participants in adultery only if the latter was committed by prior agreement of the perpetrators with the express purpose of dissolving the previous marriage of one of them, to gain the opportunity to unite with each other in a new marriage. Austrian legislation literally adheres to Roman law, while French (Code Napoleon, § 298) and Prussian - canonical . According to Russian church law When a marriage is dissolved due to adultery, the guilty spouse is condemned to celibacy. Our civil law(St. Law. t. X, part I, art. 40-42), allowing persons separated from cohabitation because their marriage was concluded during the existence of another, to continue cohabitation with their formerly married spouses, if those left behind consent to this persons, prohibits them from entering into any new marriage even after the death of these persons. In the same way, one of the spouses is condemned to celibacy if he leaves the other in the dark for more than five years; however, lower ranks of the military department who have been in captivity or unknown absence in war for more than 5 years are not prohibited from entering into a new marriage upon their return if their previous marriage has already been dissolved. By foreign charter confession(St. Zak., vol. XI, part I, art. 213 and 215) for Russian subjects of the Lutheran religion the following rules are established: 1) in case of divorce on the basis of adultery, the party guilty of it is prohibited from marrying the person with whom which was followed by a violation of marital fidelity, and 2) persons whose entry into a new marriage is prohibited by a court decision on divorce are subject to celibacy. Lutherans also have temporary celibacy, or short-term, consisting in the following: a widower is doomed to celibacy for 6 weeks after the death of his wife, and a widow for 3 months after the death of her husband; but if the question of the widow’s pregnancy is in doubt, then within 6 months, but if the pregnancy is beyond doubt, celibacy ends no earlier than 6 weeks after her pregnancy is resolved. In addition to these cases, which are punitive in nature, celibacy is also established for persons who have reached the age of eighty, and for those who are widowed or divorced after a third marriage (Vol. X, Part I, Holy Civil Law, Art. 4 and 21). And finally, always and in all Christian legislation, celibacy is an essential condition for marriage. Our legislation (St. Zak., vol. in celibacy. Literature: E. Me (Mau), "Elements du droit romain"; Accarias, "Précis du droit romain"; Heineccius, "Ad legem Juliam et Papiam"; Riviere, "Des successions en droit romain"; Abbé Chavard, "Le célibat des prètres et ses conséquances" (Geneva, 1874); Smith and Cheetman, "Celibacy" (in Dictionary of Christian antiquities, London, 1875); Schmidt, "Histoire de l"Eglise d"Occident pendant le moyen âgê" (Paris, 1885); Augustin Theiner, "Die Einführung der erzwungenen Ehelosigkeit bei den christlichen Geistlichen und ihre Folgen" (2 vols., Altenburg, 1828; 2nd ed. 1845); Lanrin, "Der Celibat der Gelistlichen nach kanonischen Recht" (Vienna, 1880); Henry Lea, "An historical sketch of sacerdotal celibacy in the Christian church" (Boston, 1884); von Schulte, "Der Coelibatzwang und dessen Aufhebung" (Bonn, 1876); Holtzendorf, "Der Priestercoelibat" (Berlin, 1875).
Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron. - S.-Pb.: Brockhaus-Efron. 1890-1907 .
Synonyms:- Dictionary Ushakova
CIVILITY, I, cf. (book). Preservation of virginity; single or unmarried life. Monastic vow of celibacy. | adj. celibate, oh, oh. Ozhegov's explanatory dictionary. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949 1992 … Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary
CELIBACY- Celibacy, non-marriage throughout life. B. can be forced (poor health, the presence of physical or mental abnormalities), as well as the result of a bad situation on the marriage market or belonging to a certain group. social group (eg... Demographic encyclopedic dictionary
Celibacy- (Russian - without marriage) - the state of a person who deliberately does not marry (single, unmarried man, unmarried woman). Celibacy can be voluntary when a person does not marry due to lack of or fidelity to a loved one, due to... Fundamentals of spiritual culture (teacher's encyclopedic dictionary)
celibacy- I, only units, p. 1) Single and unmarried life. ...Many girls, who for some reason have given up their intention to get married, devote themselves to higher education. But in these cases, celibacy is not the result of increased mental... ... Popular dictionary of the Russian language
Celibacy- (or celibacy) one of the duties of the clergy of the Roman Catholic Church. The establishment of this rule was greatly influenced by ascetic views on marriage, and perhaps also by the Gnostic teaching about the impurity of the flesh. Already the Council of Trent decidedly... ... Complete Orthodox Theological Encyclopedic Dictionary
celibacy- ▲ absence of a partner, (to be) in, a person’s life, celibacy, absence of a partner in his personal life; life without marriage. idle. bachelor. bachelor (simple). unmarried. unmarried. in girls (to stay late #). in girls. lonely. old maid on... ... Ideographic Dictionary of the Russian Language
Vow of virginity, refusal to marry. (
The vow of celibacy, or celibacy, is taken only for religious reasons. This is how Orthodox priests explain it. Officially, it is possible only when a person accepts the monastic rank. Actually, for every person, the church believes, there are only two main roads: monasticism, one of the obediences of which is the vow of celibacy, or family life.
The path of a layman who wishes to take a vow of celibacy is not considered celibacy: this is the personal choice of each person, a small path between two big roads. However, the clergy remind, people need to remember even without any vows: any relationship ( we're talking about about sex) outside marriage is nothing more than fornication, i.e. sin. Some people with a superficial knowledge of religion argue that celibacy does not mean the absence of sexual relations. This is wrong. Any kind (with women, men, especially - this is fornication and sin.
Celibacy of the clergy
The vow of celibacy is associated only with men, because a woman cannot be a priest. The Church does not insist on taking this vow, but explained: a person who is not burdened by marriage ties thinks more about the spiritual, while a person who has a wife and children thinks more about the carnal, earthly and worldly. This does not prevent him from serving God, but an unmarried priest still does it better. Celibacy in Orthodoxy is mandatory only for bishops, and in Catholicism - for most priests, deacons, and bishops.
However, history knows of cases where widowers became bishops. They accepted celibacy only after receiving the rank. The vow of celibacy applies not only to marriage, but also to all types of sex, including masturbation.
Reasons for celibacy
The main reason for taking a vow of celibacy is the desire to please and serve God in every possible way, to forever get rid of carnal sins, which are also considered a test of willpower. However, it is not only for religious reasons that people take vows. The famous journalist, atheist and polymath Anatoly Wasserman took a vow of celibacy at the age of 17 so that his wife would not interfere with his pursuit of science.
However, this is not celibacy: Wasserman, by his admission, only refused marriage. If we talk about women, the vow of celibacy that they take is most often called the vow of chastity. It is given either by fanatical believers or feminists.
How to take a vow of celibacy?
The vow can be made for life or for a limited period. Violating it is a grave sin. Anyone who is going to take this step should know this. Tell your loved ones about your vow - they will be able to help when the time of temptation comes. You can contact the priest: his recommendations are not included. However, you don’t have to attend church to make a vow.
About the harm of a vow
The lack of sexual release necessary for men leads to systematic masturbation (which is already a sin), and sometimes to sexual crimes.
Some priests, believing that the Bible only prohibits sex with women, become pedophiles or homosexuals.
Absence often leads to the development of diseases of the male genital area: prostatitis, atrophy bladder, cancer
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People interested in religion often ask the question: “Celibacy - what is it?” In this article we will reveal the meaning of this term and talk in detail about its role in the life of church ministers.
Celibacy - what is it?
First, let's find out the meaning of this word. Celibacy is a vow of celibacy that is most common among the Catholic clergy, but is also found in other religions. It was legalized in the 11th century by Pope Gregory VII. The main reason was the negative attitude of the church towards the transfer of its own property from the clergy to the heirs. In 1967, Catholic celibacy was officially confirmed by Pope Paul VI. However, according to the Bible, the vow of celibacy is a voluntary choice of every person and cannot be forced into it. Christ spoke about this in a conversation with his disciples: “Whoever is given to contain, let him contain...” That is, whoever wants to accept celibacy and remain single, let him do so. Consequently, a forced vow of celibacy is contrary to the biblical canons, and can also cause sexual and nervous disorders in a person.
"Actions" of the Church Fathers
However, sexual abstinence is not at all the norm for Catholic clergy. Moreover, the longer it lasted, the more terrible the consequences were. This is confirmed by numerous facts from forensic psychiatry. The most striking example was the case of pedophile priests from the Boston metropolis. In 2002, the “holy fathers,” who know the answer to the question: “Celibacy - what is it?”, raped more than 500 boys and girls.
There are also frequent cases of wild and bloody violations of the vow of celibacy. For example, in Mexico City, clergyman Dagoberto Arriaga was sentenced to 55 years in prison for the murder of his 16-year-old son. He decided to take this action to hide the fact of violation of celibacy. Having carefully prepared, Arriaga kidnapped his son, took him to another city and carried out his plan.
Research results
According to Professor Mapelli's research, 60% Catholic priests have serious sexual problems, 30% constantly violate their vow of celibacy, and only 10% strictly observe it. This suggests that it is from these 60% that the army of pedophiles and maniacs in robes is replenished. Polish professor Jozef Baniak conducted a survey of 823 Catholic priests and found that celibacy has the most negative effect on a person’s physical health and psyche. It causes stress, leads to loneliness and makes people angry and withdrawn.
Sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests became known back in the mid-20th century. Now this problem is so widespread that the Catholic Church in the United States has its own “security service.” Its head, Terry McKiernan, said that 14 thousand children were victims of clergy. IN at the moment According to lawsuits, they received more than $2.5 billion from perverted priests.
Celibacy in other religions
So, we found out the answer to the question: “Celibacy - what is it?” Finally, we’ll tell you how the vow of celibacy is viewed in other religions besides Catholicism.
Eastern teachings say: “Sex is the main karmic task of a person, and it must be completed to the end.” Since vital energy is released and exchanged during intercourse, sex has always been of paramount importance to people. If the task is not completed, then the person can transform into a sexual vampire. In other words, with prolonged abstinence, the hormonal background can mutate, and then unused energy will splash out in the wrong direction.
Celibacy in Orthodoxy extends to receiving higher ecclesiastical ranks, such as bishop. Candidates are selected only from celibates. The lower and middle ranks of the church may well be married.
To some extent, celibacy is inherent in Buddhism and Hinduism. However, there is no unpredictable perversity in it. The thing is that the spiritual teachings of Eastern religions offer a number of meditations that normalize a person’s energy and allow him to receive pleasures of a higher order than sexual ones. These practices do not allow sexual energy to stagnate. If such meditations are not used by a person, then the energy spring compressed inside will certainly unclench, which will lead to criminal consequences. Unfortunately, Christian and Catholic priests are not taught meditation in theological seminaries.