Editing Holy orders (section)

===Marriage and holy orders===
{{See also|Clerical celibacy|Clerical celibacy (Catholic Church)}}

Married men may be ordained to the diaconate as permanent deacons, but in the [[Latin Church]] of the [[Catholic Church]] generally may not be ordained to the priesthood. In the [[Eastern Catholic Churches]] and in the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], married deacons may be ordained priests but may not become bishops. Bishops in the Eastern Rites and the Eastern Orthodox churches are almost always drawn from among [[Monasticism|monks]], who have taken a vow of celibacy. They may be widowers, though; it is not required of them never to have been married.

In some cases, widowed permanent deacons have been ordained to the priesthood. There have been some situations in which men previously married and ordained to the priesthood in an [[Anglicanism|Anglican]] church or in a [[Lutheran]] church have been ordained to the Catholic priesthood and allowed to function much as an Eastern Rite priest but in a Latin Church setting. This is never ''[[sub conditione]]'' (conditionally), as there is in Catholic canon law no true priesthood in Protestant denominations. Such ordination may only happen with the approval of the priest's Bishop and a special permission by the Pope.

Anglican clergy may be married or may marry after ordination. In the [[Old Catholic Church]] and the [[Independent Catholic Churches]] there are no ordination restrictions related to marriage.