Sometimes when talking about the Catholic Church, the question arises: "What is celibacy?" This is the obligatory vow of celibacy for priests. Entry into the dignity, according to Western church tradition, is impossible if the holy father has not renounced everything worldly. It's not even about being married or not, although this is welcome in the first place. The question is that he must devote himself completely, including his own deeds, to God, serving in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
True, the modern world has a slightly different look at age-old customs. This is primarily due to the fact that the nature of Catholicism, and indeed the Roman Church itself, has changed somewhat during this time. And they have not changed for the better. The process of liberalization of views also affected the most conservative circles of Catholic clergy. They are no longer able to control total secularizationlocal communities, and the constant scandals around the "godless behavior of the holy fathers" only add fuel to the fire. It becomes clear that celibacy itself is a thing of the past, that this is only a tribute to tradition, and, in principle, it takes a little more time for the irremovable rule of celibacy to be replaced by a softer formula, say, the right to marry.
However, speaking more seriously, then arguing: “What is celibacy: a duty or a necessity?” - you can come to ambiguous conclusions. First, asceticism does not mean a complete rejection of everything that exists. Especially when it comes 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 regard, the clergyman certainly did not renounce everything worldly. Secondly, the priest, being generally a political figure, did not care exclusively about the spiritual growth of the entrusted parishioners. Thirdly, initially Christianity did not consider celibacy as a mandatory asceticism. Moreover, the rejection of the family and procreation was perceived militantly negatively. Moreover, according to Paul's logic, the family is the best tool in the fight against sin.
However, after a long struggle of intra-Catholic parties at the Council of Trent, the priest's family as a fact of history was anathematized. From that moment it was believed that to accept celibacy means to accept the service of God. And nothing, according to the new church philosophy, should interfere with this holy cause. Thus it wasdemonstrated a formal renunciation of the world and all worldly affairs. Informally, the church remained the key political and power instrument of the emerging monarchism and the justification of the absolutist power of monarchs. Thus, the Catholic Church, voluntarily or involuntarily, took a dual, mutually exclusive position, which in general terms has been preserved in our time.
No wonder that from modern positions, the answer to the question "celibacy - what is it" is a rather unofficial, but already well-established definition: a special kind of physical asceticism, which, in theory, should lead to spiritual perfection; an obligatory element of sanitary regulation, personnel policy, characteristic only for the Catholic Church as an organizational structure.
Celibacy in Orthodoxy is not common. This is a fairly rare occurrence, and few people know about it. In general, the Orthodox Church does not really approve of celibacy as a phenomenon. Moreover, the ROC even to some extent stimulates the process of creating families among the clergy, 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 accepts a church position while unmarried.
