But many monks are ordained priests. We had two come and say Mass for us this last week from the local Abbey while our priest was at the Archdiocesan Convocation of Priests.
“But many monks are ordained priests.”
In the East, very few monks are also ordained as priests, but they do exist. All Orthodox monastics are, by the way, celibate. We occasionally have a “priest monk” or an “Archimandrite” preside at the Divine Liturgy at our parish as a fill in if the priest is away. In fact, I can remember two who acted as the parish priest for varying terms. That, however, is not at all common.