Editing Celibacy (section)

==Christianity==
[[File:KateriTekakwitha.jpg|thumb|Saint [[Kateri Tekakwitha]], an [[Algonquin people|Algonquin]]-[[Mohawk people|Mohawk]] [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] [[laywoman]] who took a private vow of perpetual virginity]]
[[File:Saint Jean-Baptiste au désert, Raphaël (Louvre INV 606) 01.jpg|thumb|''St. John the Baptist in the Wilderness'' by [[Raphael]], {{Circa|1517}}. John is considered the forerunner of Christ, who lived a celibate life of abnegation and penance.]]
<!--According to a view, when Jesus discusses marriage, he points out that there is some responsibility for a man marrying a woman. Not having assets of their own, women needed to be protected from the risk of their husbands' putting them on the street at whim. In those times marriage was an economic matter.<ref name=Chadwick>Henry Chadwick, The Early Church, {{ISBN|978-0140231991}}</ref> A woman and her children could easily be rejected.{{Citation needed|date=August 2016}} Restriction of divorce was based on the necessity of protecting the woman and her position in society, not necessarily in a religious context, but in an economic context.<ref>Jonathan Hill, What Has Christianity Ever Done for Us?: How It Shaped the Modern World 978-0830833283</ref> However, Jesus primarily points out that a married couple, man and woman, becomes but one flesh rather than two and thus their union as an absolute, for "no man can separate what God united", and does not mention any context when stating that divorce and remarriage, resulting from the "hardness of the heart", constitutes adultery. He also points out that there are those "which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake", but in the original Greek, the word εὐνοῦχος means "castrated person". It was the custom at the time Jesus lived for priests of some ancient gods and goddesses to be castrated.<ref name="Versluis, Arthur 2008">Versluis, Arthur, The secret history of western sexual mysticism. Vermont 2008.</ref> In the pre-Christian period [[Vestal Virgin|Vestal]]s, who served the [[virgin]] goddess of the [[hearth]], were obliged to forgo marriage, and so were some priests and servants of some ancient deities such as [[Isis]].<ref name="Versluis, Arthur 2008"/>-->

There is no commandment in the New Testament that [[Jesus Christ]]'s disciples have to live in celibacy.<ref name=Chadwick>Henry Chadwick, The Early Church, {{ISBN|978-0140231991}}</ref> However, it is a general view that Christ himself lived a life of perfect [[chastity]]; thus, "Voluntary chastity is the imitation of him who was the virgin Son of a virgin Mother".<ref>Vernon Staley, ''The Catholic Religion, A Manual for Instruction for Members of the Anglican Communion, A. R. Mowbrey & Co., 1917, p. 248</ref> One of his invocations is "King of virgins and lover of stainless chastity" ''(Rex virginum, amator castitatis)''.<ref>Pius Parsch, ''The Church's Year of Grace''</ref><ref>The Sarum Rite, Common of Virgins</ref>

Furthermore, Christ, when his disciples suggest it is "better not to marry," stated "Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone accept this who can" (Matthew 19:10-12, NRSV). While [[eunuchs]] were not generally celibate, over subsequent centuries this statement has come to be interpreted as referring to celibacy.<ref name="Hester">{{Citation
| last = Hester
| first = J. David
| title = Eunuchs and the Postgender Jesus: Matthew 19.12 and Transgressive Sexualities
| journal = Journal for the Study of the New Testament
| volume = 28
| issue = 1
| pages = 13–40
| language = English
| date = Sep 2005
| doi = 10.1177/0142064X05057772| s2cid = 145724743
}}</ref><ref name="Kuefler">{{cite book
| last = Kuefler
| first = Mathew
| title = The manly eunuch: masculinity, gender ambiguity, and Christian ideology in late antiquity
| publisher = University of Chicago Press
| series = The Chicago series on sexuality, history, and society
| date = 2001
| location = Chicago, IL
| pages = 437
| language = English
| isbn = 978-0-226-45739-0}}</ref>
<!--While the Jewish sect of [[essene]]s practiced celibacy the general practice of the Jewish community by that time prescribed marriage for everybody, and at an early age.<ref name=Chadwick/> [[Saint Peter]], also known as Simon Peter, the Apostle, was married; Jesus healed Simon Peter's mother-in-law (Matt. 8:14), and other apostles and church members among the early Jewish Christians were also married: Paul's personal friends, [[Priscilla and Aquila]] ({{Bibleref2|Romans|16:3}}), who were Paul's coworkers, [[Andronicus of Pannonia]] ({{Bibleref2|Romans|16:7}}), and [[Junia (New Testament person)|Junia]] ({{Bibleref2|Romans|16:7}}), who were highly regarded among the apostles, [[Ananias and Sapphira]] (Ap. 5:1), [[Apphia]] and [[Philemon (New Testament person)|Philemon]] (Phil. 1: 1). The early church historian [[Eusebius]] wrote that [[Paul the Apostle]] was also married, although Paul's first Letter to the Corinthians strongly suggests that Paul was celibate by the time he wrote his epistles.<ref>Eusebius. "''[https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2501.htm Historia Ecclesiastica]'' 3.30.1." www.newadvent.org/. Kevin Knight. Retrieved 30 January 2019.</ref><ref>Calvin J. Roetzel, [https://books.google.com/books?id=eAP94nJK3m4C&pg=PA157 ''Paul: The Man and the Myth''] (Continuum International 1999 {{ISBN|978-0-56708698-3}}), p. 23</ref> In fact, in 1 Corinthians 7:8–9, he explicitly writes, "Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do. But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion."-->

[[Paul the Apostle]] emphasized the importance of overcoming the desires of the flesh and saw the state of celibacy being superior to that of marriage.<ref name="CrooksBaur2010">{{cite book |author1=Robert Crooks|author2=Karla Baur|title=Our Sexuality |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MpRnPtmdRVwC&pg=PA11|year=2010|publisher=Cengage Learning |isbn=978-0-495-81294-4 |page=11|edition=11th}}</ref> Paul made parallels between the relations between spouses and God's relationship with the church. "Husbands, love your wives even as Christ loved the church. Husbands should love their wives as their own bodies" ([[Ephesians 5]]:25–28). Paul himself was celibate and said that his wish was "that all of you were as I am" ([[1 Corinthians 7]]:7). In fact, this entire chapter endorses celibacy while also clarifying that marriage is also acceptable.

The early Christians lived in the belief that the end of the world would soon come upon them, and saw no point in planning new families and having children. According to Chadwick, this was why Paul encouraged both celibate and marital lifestyles<ref name="Chadwick" /> among the members of the Corinthian congregation, regarding celibacy as the preferable of the two.<ref name="Chadwick" />

In the counsels of perfection ([[evangelical counsels]]), which include chastity alongside poverty and obedience, Jesus is said to have "[given] the rule of the higher life, founded upon his own most perfect life", for those who seek "the highest perfection" and feel "called to follow Christ in this way"—i.e. through such "exceptional sacrifices".<ref>Vernon Staley, ''The Catholic Religion, A Manual for Instruction for Members of the Anglican Communion'', A. R. Mowbrey & Co., 1917, p. 248</ref>

A number of early [[Christian martyr]]s were women or girls who had given themselves to Christ in perpetual virginity, such as [[Saint Agnes]] and [[Saint Lucy]]. According to most Christian thought, the first sacred virgin was [[Mary (mother of Jesus)|Mary]], the mother of Jesus, who was consecrated by the Holy Spirit during the Annunciation. Tradition also has it that the Apostle Matthew consecrated virgins. In the Catholic Church and the Orthodox churches, a [[consecrated virgin]] is a woman who has been consecrated by the church to a life of perpetual virginity in the service of the church.

===Desert Fathers===
[[File:St Macarius the Great with Cherub.jpg|thumb|''Saint [[Macarius of Egypt|Macarius]] and a Cherub'' from [[Saint Catherine's Monastery]], Sinai, Egypt]]
The [[Desert Fathers]] were Christian [[hermit]]s and [[ascetics]]<ref name="Chryssavgis15" /> who had a major influence on the development of Christianity and celibacy. [[Paul of Thebes]] is often credited with being the first hermit or [[anchorite]] to go to the desert, but it was [[Anthony the Great]] who launched the movement that became the Desert Fathers.<ref name="Waddell30">[[#refWaddell1957|Waddell 1957]], p. 30.</ref> Sometime around AD 270, Anthony heard a Sunday sermon stating that perfection could be achieved by [[Jesus and the rich young man|selling all of one's possessions, giving the proceeds to the poor, and following Christ]] ([[Matthew 19]]:21). He followed the advice and made the further step of moving deep into the desert to seek complete solitude.<ref name="Chryssavgis15">[[#refChryssavgis2008|Chryssavgis 2008]], p. 15.</ref>

Over time, the model of Anthony and other hermits attracted many followers, who lived alone in the desert or in small groups. They chose a life of extreme [[asceticism]], renouncing all the pleasures of the senses, rich food, baths, rest, and anything that made them comfortable.<ref name="Riddle43">[[#refRiddle2008|Riddle 2008]], p. 43.</ref> Thousands joined them in the desert, mostly men but also a handful of women. Religious seekers also began going to the desert seeking advice and counsel from the early Desert Fathers. By the time of Anthony's death, there were so many men and women living in the desert in celibacy that it was described as "a city" by Anthony's biographer.<ref name="Chryssavgis15" />

The first Conciliar document on clerical celibacy of the Western Church ([[Synod of Elvira]], {{circa|&nbsp;305}} can. xxxiii) states that the discipline of celibacy is to refrain from the use of marriage, i.e. refrain from having carnal contact with one's spouse.<ref>Roman Cholij ''Clerical Celibacy in East and West''. Gracewing 1990; 2nd Rev. ed., p. 36.</ref>

According to the later [[Jerome|St. Jerome]] ({{circa|347}}{{snd}}420), celibacy is a moral virtue, consisting of living in the flesh, but outside the flesh, and so being not corrupted by it (''vivere in carne praeter carnem''). Celibacy excludes not only libidinous acts, but also sinful thoughts or desires of the flesh.<ref>art. Celibacy, clerical, in ''Dictionary of Moral Theology''. Compiled under the Direction of H. E. Cardinal Roberti. Ed. Mgr. Pietro Palazzini. London: Burns & Oates Publishers of the Holy See 1962;</ref> Jerome referred to marriage prohibition for priests when he claimed in ''[[Against Jovinianus]]'' that Peter and the other apostles had been married before they were called, but subsequently gave up their marital relations.<ref>''Aduersus Jovinianum I'', 7. 26 ([[Patrologia Latina|PL]] 23, 230C; 256C).</ref>

In the Catholic, [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] and [[Oriental Orthodox Church|Oriental Orthodox]] traditions, bishops are required to be celibate.<ref>{{Cite CCC|2.1|1577-1579}}</ref><ref>"[https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2002/04/27/orthodox-priests-have-the-option/b095af1d-9c4f-4e2a-af79-fb0cb83fd1b3/ Orthodox Priests Have the Option.]" ''The Washington Post''. Retrieved 23 July 2021</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/celbish.htm | title=Why Orthodox Bishops are Celibate }}</ref> In the Eastern Catholic and Orthodox traditions, priests and deacons are allowed to be married, yet have to remain celibate if they are unmarried at the time of [[ordination]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://ncronline.org/news/faith-parish/first-married-man-ordained-priest-us-maronite-catholic-church|title=First married man ordained priest for U.S. Maronite Catholic Church|date=2014-02-28|work=National Catholic Reporter|access-date=2021-07-23|language=en|archive-date=5 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305072535/http://ncronline.org/news/faith-parish/first-married-man-ordained-priest-us-maronite-catholic-church|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>"[https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2015/10/of-marriage-and-orthodox-priests Of Marriage and Orthodox Priests - Wesley J. Smith.]" firstthings.com. Retrieved 23 July 2021.</ref>

===Augustinian view===
[[File:Nuns in procession.jpg|thumb|Nuns in procession, French manuscript, {{circa|1300}}]] 
In the early Church, higher [[clergy|clerics]] lived in marriages. Augustine taught that the [[original sin]] of [[Adam and Eve]] was either an act of foolishness ''(insipientia)'' followed by pride and disobedience to God, or else inspired by pride.<ref>He explained to Julian of Eclanum that it was a most subtle job to discern what came first: ''Sed si disputatione subtilissima et elimatissima opus est, ut sciamus utrum primos homines insipientia superbos, an insipientes superbia fecerit'' ("But if we need a very precise and clear discussion, that we may know whether foolishness made the first men proud, or pride made them foolish." [''Contra Julianum'', V, 4.18; PL 44, 795])</ref> The first couple disobeyed God, who had told them not to eat of the [[tree of the knowledge of good and evil]] (Gen 2:17).<ref>Augustine of Hippo, ''On the Literal Meaning of Genesis'' (''[[De Genesi ad litteram]]''), VIII, 6:12, vol. 1, pp. 192–3 and 12:28, vol. 2, pp. 219–20, trans. John Hammond Taylor SJ;[[Bibliothèque Augustinniene|BA]] 49,28 and 50–52; [[Patrologia Latina|PL]] 34, 377; cf. idem, ''De Trinitate'', XII, 12.17; [[Corpus Christianorum|CCL]] 50, 371–372 [v. 26–31;1–36]; ''De natura boni'' 34–35; CSEL 25, 872; PL 42, 551–572</ref> The tree was a symbol of the order of creation.<ref>Augustine of Hippo, ''On the Literal Meaning of Genesis'' (''De Genesi ad litteram''), VIII, 4.8; [[Bibliothèque Augustinniene|BA]] 49, 20</ref> Self-centeredness made Adam and Eve eat of it, thus failing to acknowledge and respect the world as it was created by God, with its hierarchy of beings and values.<ref>Augustine explained it in this way: "Why therefore is it enjoined upon mind, that it should know itself? I suppose, in order that it may consider itself, and live according to its own nature; that is, seek to be regulated according to its own nature, viz., under Him to whom it ought to be subject, and above those things to which it is to be preferred; under Him by whom it ought to be ruled, above those things which it ought to rule. For it does many things through vicious desire, as though in forgetfulness of itself. For it sees some things intrinsically excellent, in that more excellent nature which is God: and whereas it ought to remain steadfast that it may enjoy them, it is turned away from Him, by wishing to appropriate those things to itself, and not to be like to Him by His gift, but to be what He is by its own, and it begins to move and slip gradually down into less and less, which it thinks to be more and more." ("[http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/130105.htm On the Trinity]" (''De Trinitate''), 5:7; [[Corpus Christianorum|CCL]] 50, 320 [1–12])</ref> They would not have fallen into pride and lack of wisdom, if Satan had not sown into their senses "the root of evil" ''(radix mali)''.<ref>Augustine of Hippo, ''Nisi radicem mali humanus tunc reciperet sensus'' ("Contra Julianum", I, 9.42; PL 44, 670)</ref> Their nature was wounded by [[concupiscence]] or [[libido]], which affected human intelligence and will, as well as affections and desires, including sexual desire.<ref>In one of Augustine's late works, ''Retractationes'', he made a significant remark indicating the way he understood difference between spiritual, moral libido and the sexual desire: "Libido is not good and righteous use of the libido" ("libido non-est bonus et rectus usus libidinis"). See the whole passage: ''Dixi etiam quodam loco: «Quod enim est cibus ad salutem hominis, hoc est concubitus ad salutem generis, et utrumque non-est sine delectatione carnali, quae tamen modificata et temperantia refrenante in usum naturalem redacta, libido esse non-potest». Quod ideo dictum est, quoniam "libido non-est bonus et rectus usus libidinis". Sicut enim malum est male uti bonis, ita bonum bene uti malis. De qua re alias, maxime contra novos haereticos Pelagianos, diligentius disputavi''. Cf. ''De bono coniugali'', 16.18; PL 40, 385; ''De nuptiis et concupiscentia'', II, 21.36; PL 44, 443; ''Contra Iulianum'', III, 7.16; PL 44, 710; ibid., V, 16.60; PL 44, 817. See also {{cite book |title= Le mariage chrétien dans l'oeuvre de Saint Augustin. Une théologie baptismale de la vie conjugale |author= Idem |year= 1983 |publisher= Études Augustiniennes |location=Paris |page=97}}</ref>
The sin of Adam is inherited by all human beings. Already in his pre-Pelagian writings, Augustine taught that original sin was transmitted by [[concupiscence]],<ref>Augustine of Hippo, ''Imperfectum Opus contra Iulianum'', II, 218</ref> which he regarded as the passion of both soul and body,<ref>In 393 or 394 he commented: "Moreover, if unbelief is fornication, and idolatry unbelief, and covetousness idolatry, it is not to be doubted that covetousness also is fornication. Who, then, in that case can rightly separate any unlawful lust whatever from the category of fornication, if covetousness is fornication? And from this we perceive, that because of unlawful lusts, not only those of which one is guilty in acts of uncleanness with another's husband or wife, but any unlawful lusts whatever, which cause the soul making a bad use of the body to wander from the law of God, and to be ruinously and basely corrupted, a man may, without crime, put away his wife, and a wife her husband, because the Lord makes the cause of fornication an exception; which fornication, in accordance with the above considerations, we are compelled to understand as being general and universal" ("[http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/16011.htm On the Sermon on the Mount]", ''De sermone Domini in monte'', 1:16:46; [[Corpus Christianorum|CCL]] 35, 52)</ref> making humanity a ''massa damnata'' (mass of perdition, condemned crowd) and much enfeebling, though not destroying, the freedom of the will.

In the early 3rd century, the [[Canons of the Apostles|Canons]] of the [[Apostolic Constitutions]] decreed that only lower clerics might still marry after their ordination, but marriage of bishops, priests, and deacons were not allowed.<ref>Constitutiones apostolorum 8, 47, 26 (SC 336, 280, 83f.) τῶν εις κληρον παρελθόντων ἄγαμον κελεύομεν Βουλομένους γαμεῖν αναγνώστας και ψαλτας μόνους.</ref><ref>[[Socrates of Constantinople|Socrates Scholasticus]], ''Historia ealesiastica'' I, 11, 5 (GCS Socr. 42, i9f.)</ref><ref>Stefan Heid (2000),''Celibacy in the Early Church'', p. 170</ref><!-- Augustine's view of sexual feelings as sinful affected his view of women. For example, he considered a man's erection to be sinful, though involuntary,<ref>Augustine of Hippo, ''City of God'', 14.17</ref> because it did not take place under his conscious control. His solution was to place controls on women to limit their ability to influence men.<ref name="Reuther, R.R. 2007 pp. 47-68">Reuther, R.R. (2007). "Augustine: sexuality gender and women", pp. 47–68 in J.C. Stark (Ed.), ''Feminist interpretations of Augustine'', University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press, {{ISBN|027103257X}}.</ref> He equated flesh with woman and spirit with man.<ref>Augustine of Hippo, as cited in Trombley, C. (2003). Who said women can't teach? God's vision for women in ministry. Gainesville, FL: Bridge-Logos, p. 239, {{ISBN|1458796329}}.</ref>
He believed that the serpent approached Eve because she was less rational and lacked self-control, while Adam's choice to eat was viewed as an act of kindness so that Eve would not be left alone.<ref name="Reuther, R.R. 2007 pp. 47-68"/> Augustine believed sin entered the world because man (the spirit) did not exercise control over woman (the flesh).<ref>Edwards, B. (2011) ''Let My People Go: A Call to End the Oppression of Women in the Church'', Charleston, SC: Createspace, {{ISBN|1466401117}}.</ref> Augustine's views on women were not all negative, however. In his ''Tractates on the Gospel of John'', Augustine, commenting on the Samaritan woman from John 4:1–42, uses the woman as a figure of the church.

According to Raming, the authority of the ''[[Decretum Gratiani]]'', a collection of Roman Catholic [[canon law]] which prohibits women from leading, teaching, or being a witness, rests largely on the views of the early church fathers, especially St. Augustine.<ref>Raming, I. (2004). A history of women and ordination volume two: The priestly office of women – God's gift to a renewed church. (B. Cooke & G. Macy, Trans.). Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press Inc. pp. 29–30, {{ISBN|0810848503}}.</ref> The laws and traditions founded upon St. Augustine's views of sexuality and women continue to exercise considerable influence over church doctrinal positions regarding the role of women in the church.<ref>Edwards, B. (2011). "Let My People Go: A Call to End the Oppression of Women in the Church." Charleston, SC: Createspace, {{ISBN|1466401117}}.</ref>-->

===After Augustine===
[[File:Bp-priests.jpg|thumb|Catholic priests from all over the world in Budapest, 2013]]
One explanation for the origin of obligatory celibacy is that it is based on the writings of [[Saint Paul]], who wrote of the advantages of celibacy allowed a man in serving the Lord.<ref name="Schreck255">Schreck, p. 255.</ref> Celibacy was popularised by the early Christian theologians like [[Saint Augustine of Hippo]] and [[Origen]]. Another possible explanation for the origins of obligatory celibacy revolves around more practical reason, "the need to avoid claims on church property by priests' offspring".<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/22/nyregion/22egan.html | work=The New York Times | title=On Eve of Retirement, Cardinal Breathes Life into Debate on Priestly Celibacy | first=Paul | last=Vitello | date=22 March 2009 | access-date=1 April 2010}}</ref> It remains a matter of [[Canon Law]] (and often a criterion for certain [[religious order]]s, especially [[Franciscans]]) that priests may not own land and therefore cannot pass it on to legitimate or illegitimate children. The land belongs to the Church through the local diocese as administered by the Local Ordinary (usually a bishop), who is often an ''[[ex officio]]'' [[corporation sole]]. Celibacy is viewed differently by the Catholic Church and the various Protestant communities. It includes [[clerical celibacy]], celibacy of the [[consecrated life]]<ref>[https://diolc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Priesthood-Consecrated-Life-and-Celibacy.pdf  Diocese of Lacrosse Priesthood, Consecrated Life and Celibacy]</ref> and voluntary celibacy.

The [[Protestant Reformation]] rejected celibate life and sexual continence for preachers. Protestant celibate communities have emerged, especially from [[Anglican]] and [[Lutheran]] backgrounds.<ref>[https://arlyb.org.uk/directory/section-2/ Anglican Religious Life Yearbook, Section 2: Dispersed celibate Religious]</ref><ref>[https://christusbruderschaft.de/de/communitaet/christusbruderschaft-aus-der-regel.php  Communität Christusbruderschaft Selbitz, Aus der Regel]</ref> A few minor Christian sects advocate celibacy as a better way of life. These groups included the [[Shakers]], the [[Harmony Society]] and the [[Ephrata Cloister]].<ref>[http://uk.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761565340/Celibacy.html Celibacy]. Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2009. [https://web.archive.org/web/20080314174700/http://uk.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761565340/Celibacy.html Archived] 31 October 2009.</ref>

Many evangelicals prefer the term "abstinence" to "celibacy". Assuming everyone will marry, they focus their discussion on refraining from premarital sex and focusing on the joys of a future marriage. But some evangelicals, particularly older singles, desire a positive message of celibacy that moves beyond the "wait until marriage" message of abstinence campaigns. They seek a new understanding of celibacy that is focused on God rather than a future marriage or a lifelong vow to the Church.<ref>Colon, Christine, and Bonnie Field. Singled Out: Why Celibacy Must Be Reinvented in Today's Church. Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos, 2009.</ref>

There are also many Pentecostal churches which practice celibate ministry. For instance, the full-time ministers of the Pentecostal Mission are celibate and generally single. Married couples who enter full-time ministry may become celibate and could be sent to different locations.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://wordwillsave.com/cpm/ |title=TPM (CPM) PENTECOSTAL MISSION {{!}} WORD WILL SAVE |last= |website=wordwillsave.com |date=July 2010 |language=en-US |access-date=2018-01-17}}</ref>

===Catholic Church===
{{See also|Clerical celibacy in the Catholic Church}}
During the first three or four centuries, no law was promulgated prohibiting clerical marriage. Celibacy was a matter of choice for bishops, priests, and deacons.<ref>{{cite book |title=The early church |author=Henry Chadwick |date=1993 |publisher=Penguin Books |location=London |isbn=978-0140231991 |edition=Rev. }}</ref>

[[File:Conventual Franciscan.JPG|thumb|Conventual [[Franciscan]] [[friar]], 2012]]
Statutes forbidding clergy from having wives were written beginning with the Council of Elvira (306) but these early statutes were not universal and were often defied by clerics and then retracted by hierarchy.<ref name="New Catholic Encyclopedia 1967, p. 366">New Catholic Encyclopedia, vol 3, Catholic University of America: Washington, D.C. 1967, p. 366</ref> The Synod of Gangra (345) condemned a false asceticism whereby worshipers boycotted celebrations presided over by married clergy.<ref>The HarperCollins Encyclopedia of Catholicism, 1995, ed. O'Brien, Richard, NY: Harper Collins Publishers, p. 290</ref> The Apostolic Constitutions ({{circa|400}}) excommunicated a priest or bishop who left his wife "under the pretense of piety" (Mansi, 1:51).<ref>New Catholic Encyclopedia, vol 3, Catholic University of America: Washington, D.C. 1967 p. 370</ref>

"A famous letter of Synesius of Cyrene ({{circa|414}}) is evidence both for the respecting of personal decision in the matter and for contemporary appreciation of celibacy. For priests and deacons clerical marriage continued to be in vogue".<ref>New Catholic Encyclopedia, vol 3, Catholic University of America: Washington, D.C. 1967, p. 323</ref>

"The Second Lateran Council (1139) seems to have enacted the first written law making sacred orders a direct impediment to marriage for the universal Church."<ref name="New Catholic Encyclopedia 1967, p. 366"/> Celibacy was first required of some clerics in 1123 at the [[First Lateran Council]]. Because clerics resisted it, the celibacy mandate was restated at the [[Second Lateran Council]] (1139) and the [[Council of Trent]] (1545–64).<ref name="newadvent.org">New Advent, [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03481a.htm "Celibacy of the Clergy"]</ref> In places, coercion and enslavement of clerical wives and children was apparently involved in the enforcement of the law.<ref name="ReferenceA">The Catholic Encyclopedia vol 3, New York: The Encyclopedia Press, Inc., 486</ref> "The earliest decree in which the children [of clerics] were declared to be slaves and never to be enfranchised [freed] seems to have been a canon of the Synod of Pavia in 1018. Similar penalties were promulgated against wives and concubines (see the Synod of Melfi, 1189 can. xii), who by the very fact of their unlawful connexion with a subdeacon or clerk of higher rank became liable to be seized by the over-lord".<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

In the [[Roman Catholic Church]], the [[Twelve Apostles]] are considered to have been the first [[Priesthood in the Catholic Church|priests]] and [[bishop]]s of the Church. Some say the call to be [[eunuch]]s for the sake of Heaven in Matthew 19 was a call to be sexually continent and that this developed into celibacy for priests as the successors of the apostles. Others see the call to be sexually continent in Matthew 19 to be a caution for men who were too readily divorcing and remarrying.

The view of the Church is that celibacy is a reflection of life in Heaven, a source of detachment from the material world which aids in one's relationship with God. Celibacy is designed to "consecrate themselves with undivided heart to the Lord and to "the affairs of the Lord, they give themselves entirely to God and to men. It is a sign of this new life to the service of which the Church's minister is consecrated; accepted with a joyous heart celibacy radiantly proclaims the Reign of God."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p2s2c3a6.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100111024309/https://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p2s2c3a6.htm|url-status=dead|title=Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church, 1579|archivedate=11 January 2010}}</ref> In contrast, [[Saint Peter]], whom the Church considers its first [[Pope]], was married given that he had a [[Healing the mother of Peter's wife|mother-in-law whom Christ healed]] (Matthew 8). But some argue that Peter was a widower, due to the fact that this passage does not mention his wife, and that his mother-in-law is the one who serves Christ and the apostles after she is healed.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-07-08 |title=Was Saint Peter Married? |url=https://catholicstraightanswers.com/was-saint-peter-married/ |access-date=2022-10-04 |website=Catholic Straight Answers |language=en}}</ref> Furthermore, Peter himself states: "Then Peter spoke up, 'We have left everything to follow you!' 'Truly I tell you', Jesus replied, 'no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much'" ([[Mark 10]],28–30).

Usually, only celibate men are ordained as priests in the [[Latin Church]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Canon 1037 |url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P3R.HTM |publisher=Vatican |work=1983 [[Canon law (Catholic Church)|Code of Canon Law]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080218110036/https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P3R.HTM |archive-date=18 February 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Canon 1031 |url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P3Q.HTM |publisher=Vatican |work=1983 [[Canon law (Catholic Church)|Code of Canon Law]]|access-date=9 March 2008}}</ref> Married clergy who have converted from other Christian denominations can be ordained Roman Catholic priests without becoming celibate.<ref>{{cite web |last=Cholij| first=Roman |title=Priestly Celibacy in Patristics and in the History of the Church|url=https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cclergy/documents/rc_con_cclergy_doc_01011993_chisto_en.html |publisher=Vatican |year=1993}} A priest who is married at time of ordination continues to be married, with full obligation to all expectations of the marriage, but cannot remarry and remain in the practice of the priesthood.</ref> Priestly celibacy is not ''doctrine'' of the Church (such as the belief in the [[Assumption of Mary]]) but a matter of discipline, like the use of the vernacular (local) language in Mass or Lenten fasting and abstinence.<ref name="Catholic.com Article">{{cite web|title=Celibacy and the Priesthood |url=http://www.catholic.com/library/Celibacy_and_the_Priesthood.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205100019/http://www.catholic.com/library/Celibacy_and_the_Priesthood.asp |archive-date=5 December 2008 }}</ref> As such, it can theoretically change at any time though it still must be obeyed by Catholics until the change were to take place. The [[Eastern Catholic Churches]] ordain both celibate and married men. However, in both the East and the West, bishops are chosen from among those who are celibate.<ref>{{cite web | last =Niebuhur | first =Gustav | title =Bishop's Quiet Action Allows Priest Both Flock And Family | work=The New York Times | date =16 February 1997 | url =https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C07EEDD133FF935A25751C0A961958260}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = 1990 Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium, Canons 285, 373, 374, 758| publisher=Libreria Editrice Vaticana |year= 1990| url = http://www.gwo.cz/pravda/1990_Code_of_Canon_Law.htm}}</ref> In Ireland, several priests have fathered children, the two most prominent being bishop [[Eamonn Casey]] and [[Michael Cleary (priest)|Michael Cleary]].

[[File:Carmelitas de la comunidad de Nogoyá.jpg|thumb|Discalced Carmelites from Argentina, 2013]]
The classical heritage flourished throughout the Middle Ages in both the Byzantine Greek East and the Latin West. When discerning the population of Christendom in medieval Europe during the Middle Ages, [[Will Durant]], referring to Plato's [[The Republic (Plato)|ideal community]], stated on the ''oratores'' (clergy):<ref name="Durant">{{cite book |first=Will |last=Durant |year=2005 |title=Story of Philosophy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=suLI7RoaBEEC&pg=PA34 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=978-0-671-69500-2}}</ref>

"The clergy, like Plato's guardians, were placed in authority not by the suffrages of the people, but by their talent as shown in ecclesiastical studies and administration, by their disposition to a life of meditation and simplicity, and (perhaps it should be added) by the influence of their relatives with the powers of state and church. In the latter half of the period in which they ruled [AD&nbsp;800 onwards], the clergy were as free from family cares as even Plato could desire; and in some cases it would seem they enjoyed no little of the reproductive freedom accorded to the guardians. Celibacy was part of the psychological structure of the power of the clergy; for on the one hand they were unimpeded by the narrowing egoism of the family, and on the other their apparent superiority to the call of the flesh added to the awe in which lay sinners held them".<ref name="Durant"/>

With respect to clerical celibacy, Richard P. O'Brien stated in 1995, that in his opinion, "greater understanding of human psychology has led to questions regarding the impact of celibacy on the human development of the clergy. The realization that many non-European countries view celibacy negatively has prompted questions concerning the value of retaining celibacy as an absolute and universal requirement for ordained ministry in the Roman Catholic Church".<ref name="Catholicism 1995, p. 291">The HarperCollins Encyclopedia of Catholicism, 1995, ed. O'Brien, Richard, NY: Harper Collins Publishers, p. 291</ref>

===Celibate homosexual Christians===
Some [[Christianity and homosexuality|homosexual Christians]] choose to be celibate following their denomination's teachings on homosexuality.<ref name="religionnews1">{{cite web|url=http://www.religionnews.com/2014/08/04/gay-christian-celibate-changing-face-homosexuality-debate/ |title=Gay, Christian and ... celibate: The changing face of the homosexuality debate – Religion News Service |date=4 August 2014 |publisher=Religionnews.com |access-date=2015-07-07}}</ref>

In 2014, the [[American Association of Christian Counselors]] amended its code of ethics to eliminate the promotion of [[conversion therapy]] for homosexuals and encouraged them to be celibate instead.<ref name="religionnews1"/>