THEO7018 · Theology

Priesthood, Celibacy, and Authority in Ancient Christianity

Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences

In the late antique and early medieval periods the eastern and western branches of Christianity developed distinctive practices in regard to the marriage, celibacy, and sexual continence of the clergy. By the sixth century the eastern churches, for the most part, required celibacy of bishops, but allowed presbyters and deacons to marry prior to ordination. By the late fourth century the western churches, by contrast, attempted to enforce permanent sexual continence on the three highest ranks of the clergy, but did not refrain from ordaining married men. The eastern tradition was enshrined in the sixth-century legislation of Emperor Justinian and in the canons of the seventh-century Council in Trullo; the Western tradition is found in papal letters of the late fourth century, as well as in several of the Latin Fathers (Ambrose, Jerome, Ambrosiaster). Our aim in this course is to explore these diverse traditions and to discern the reasons behind these historical developments. We will study the emergence of the offices of bishop, presbyter, and deacon in the early church, the gradual appropriation of hieratic terminology ("priest" and "priesthood"), and the role of regulations such as single marriage, sexual continence, and complete celibacy in defining the authority of the clergy.