Celibacy - what is it: a duty or a necessity?

Sometimes, when a conversation about the Catholic Church begins, the question arises: "Celibacy - what is it?" It is a question of the celibacy vows obligatory for priests . Entry to the dignity, according to the Western church tradition, is impossible if the holy father did not renounce all worldly. It's not even whether he is married or not, although this is most welcome. The question is that he must devote himself fully, including his own deeds, to God, serving in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

True, the modern world looks at different ways in different ways. This is primarily due to the fact that the nature of Catholicism, and the Roman Church itself has changed somewhat during this time. And they did not change for the better. The process of liberalization of views touched also the most conservative circles of Catholic clergymen. They are no longer able to control the total secularization of local communities, and the constant scandals surrounding the "godless behavior of the holy fathers" only pour oil on the fire. It becomes clear that celibacy itself is gone into the past, that this is only a tribute to the tradition, and, in principle, it takes a little more time for the unchangeable rule of celibacy to be replaced by a more mild formula, say, the right to marriage.

However, if we talk more seriously, then, arguing: "Celibacy - what is it: a duty or a necessity?" - it is possible to come to ambiguous conclusions. First, austerity does not mean total rejection of everything. Especially with regard to Catholic worship. After all, traditionally the Catholic Church has always remained the center of social, public, and economic life of regional communities. And in this respect the cleric did not exactly renounce all worldly things. Secondly, the priest, being in fact a political figure, did not care solely for the spiritual growth of entrusted parishioners. Thirdly, originally Christianity did not consider celibacy as a mandatory austerity. Moreover, the rejection of the family and the continuation of the family was perceived militantly negative. Moreover, according to Paul's logic, the family is the best weapon of the struggle against sin.

However, after the long struggle of the intra-Catholic parties at the Council of Trent, the priest's family, as a fact of history, was anathema. From that moment it was believed that accepting celibacy means accepting service to God. And nothing should, according to the new church philosophy, interfere with this holy cause. Thus, a formal renunciation of the world and all worldly affairs was demonstrated. Informally, the church remained the key political and military tool for the emerging monarchism and the justification for the absolutist power of the monarchs. Thus, the Catholic Church voluntarily or unwittingly took a dual, mutually exclusive position, which in general has survived in our time.

It is no surprise that from the modern positions, the answer to the question "celibacy - what is this" is quite an informal, but already established definition: a special kind of physical asceticism, which, in theory, should lead to spiritual perfection; An obligatory element of the position of manpower, personnel policy, characteristic only of the Catholic Church as an organizational structure.

Celibacy in Orthodoxy is not common. This is a rare phenomenon, and few people know about it. In general, the Orthodox Church does not approve of celibacy as a phenomenon. Moreover, the ROC even to some extent stimulates the process of creating families among priests, arguing that at the time of ordination the priest must be married. However, celibacy itself as a principle is not denied. An Orthodox priest can take a vow of celibacy, but only if he agrees to the office of the church, being unmarried.