Why are priests celibate?

Question

I heard it was so when they died, the Church would inherit their land, not family members.

Greedy Greedy Church.

Answer 1

Well, that was a reason I heard for it also.

Note that celibate means "unmarried," not "chaste." So this would particularly apply to this thought, since if a man were unmarried, in the olden days, sometimes the estate went to the church.

FYI for those of you who don't know, "chaste" means "not having sex," which has less to do with inheritance than whether or not you are married.

Good question!

Answer 2

Priests don't have any land. In the Catholic Church, some priests are celibate and others are not. The entire Eastern Rite of the Catholic Church ordains married men. The Latin Rite does not. Priests are celibate because, as the apostle Paul explained, those who are married are divided between their family responsibilities and their Church responsibilities. Being a priest is a full time job - FULL time - 24/7. If the Church decided that a married priesthood was in the best interest of the Church and the priesthood, they would change the rule. It is a rule after all, not a doctrine of the faith.

Answer 3

No, this is not the reason. Every priest has nieces, nephews, brother, ans sisters that they can leave any personal property to. The Catholic Church has no claim to the personal possessions of a priest anymore than the company you work for does.

The rule of celibacy first came into practice when son's of priests claimed Church property as their own when their father died. A second reason is that the sons of priests became priests so that the influence and authority of priest would remain in the family. Have you ever noticed that when the pastor of a megachurch dies, one of his sons becomes the new pastor. And look at how many family members of the pastor are on the Board of Directors of megachurches. Nepotism is RAMPANT in non-Catholic Churches.

If you want a biblical reason for celibacy, you can look at Jesus Christ, who, contrary to Dan Brown, was celibate. Also, Paul recommended that a person should remain celibate AS HE WAS, so that a person's devotion is not split between God and a spouse.

Answer 4

This idea came from the Jews, John the Baptist, Jesus, and the Apostle Paul.

The Jews. The Talmud argues that a person whose “soul is bound up with the Torah and is constantly occupied with it” may remain celibate (Maimonides, Laws of Marriage 15.3). This argument could certainly have been based on the biblical example of Jeremiah, a celibate prophet who was ordered by Yahweh not to marry (Jeremiah 16:1-4). Moreover, the Essenes was a group that was active in Jesus’ time that practiced celibacy and thought by most scholars to be the authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

John the Baptist and Jesus are both believed to have been celibate for their entire lives. Some scholars believe that either or both Jesus and John the Baptist were influenced in their celibacy by the example of the Essenes.

The Apostle Paul is explicit about his celibacy (see 1 Cor. 7). There is also evidence in the gospel of Matthew for the practice of celibacy among at least some early Christians, in the famous passage about becoming “eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 19:12).

Answer 5

Priests were not celibate until about the 12th century. I'm sure it had a lot to do with money.Priests also take vows of poverty and obedience, so technically they are not allowed to own property. Not all of Christianity's ministers are celibate and they seem to do just fine. I'm sure that celibacy in the priestood and religious life will end some day, just not too soon, unfortunately.

Answer 6

I think because they are considered married to God and the church so they remain faithful....well MOST of them anyway.

And some people go to Priests for marriage counselling. I'm sorry but what would a priest know about marriage problems. That's like asking someone without feet what shoes they recommend?!


My husband's cousin went away to be a brother (and its the same type lifestyle). No one ever sees him really. He is living who knows where with a bunch of other brothers and cannot have any belongings. If you give him money for Christmas he has to share it with everyone. I don't believe in it, but I am not Catholic so it doesn't matter.

Answer 7

It was Paul's personal philosophy that priesthood holders should be unmarried so they could further concentrate on the Lord's work. On the other hand, the Bible and other scriptures are replete with verses that approve of, and heartily endorse, marriage for all.

The Catholics chose to perpetuate Paul's personal opinions into their doctrine.

One might say that they became celibate after centuries of translating holy documents. When they came upon the word 'celebrate,' they somehow left out the R.

Answer 8

This is only a rule of the Catholic church. In the Bible the Old testament priests were married and in the new, it is a requirement for leadership to be married.
celibacy is just not in the Bible so there is nothing to mis-interpret. Below a Bishop, Deacon, & Elder all are required to be married. Leaders in the church should be married and there are good reasons why.

Tit 1:5 For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:
Tit 1:6 If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly.
1Ti 3:12 Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.
1Ti 3:2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;

Answer 9

well first of all I don't really believe that priests are celibate...that's just too unnatural a position to be in...check out all the cases of child abuse etc.....and yes. I agree the church has always been big greedy business who preyed on the weak and emotionally starved for more money.

Answer 10

While the Catholic church often uses biblical passages to prop up it's position, it has nothing to do with the Bible. Prophets like Noah, Moses, David and so forth were all married.
After the church became accepted by the Roman Empire, priests and bishops (who were married up to this time) started handing their positions down to their sons. Also rich nobles wanted some of their sons to have these titles (and they were willing to pay for them). So the church solved these problems by refusing priests to marry or have sex.