Replies

Of course, the Council of Elvira was a local council only. In the Eastern Patriarchates clerical celibacy was never the norm--nor is it now neither among the Orthodox nor among the Uniates. The canons of the Council of Gangra, and the canons of the Sixth Ecumenical Council defend clerical marriage.

The requirement of clerical celibacy was only uniformized in the Patiarchate of Rome after the schism, sometime in the early 12th century--1124 sticks in my mind. Before that, something like perpetual continence was required because of the common practice of celebrating daily Mass, and the requirement of continence the day before the celebration of Mass found in the Patriarchate's local disciplinary canons.

In the East, the corresponding disiplinary practice requires continence from Vespers through the celebration of Liturgy. (Which lead to the following amusing incident in one of the seminaries of Russia in the late 19th century: An archbishop (thus, himself a celibate and monk) was teaching a class, and came to the point where this discipline was explained. A young, very conventionally minded, seminarian suddenly stammered, '...but...Father Nikolai, back home...he celebrated Liturgy every day...you mean he and his wife never...'. The archbishop looked over his reading glasses at the seminarian and asked, 'And for what purpose did the Good Lord make the afternoon?')

There was quite a bit of conciliar legislation between the Council of Elvira and the First Lateran Council. References to clerical celibacy including the disciplince of lex continentiae can be found in the following:

Clement of Alexandria (~150-220 AD) "Stromata" Book VII, Chapter XI

Canons XXVII and XXXIII of the Council of Elvira 295-302 AD

Council of Nicea 325 AD

Pope Siricius "Dicreta" 385 AD

Pope Siricius "Cum in unum" 386 AD

Synod of Rome 386 AD

Second Council of Carthage 390 AD

Codex canonum Ecclesiae Africanae 419 AD

catechesis of St. Cyril of Jerusalem (313-386 AD)

"Letter to Pammachius" St. Jerome (347-419 AD)

St. Jeromes' polemic with Vigilantius from Gaul 406 AD

"De conjugiis adulterinis" St. Augustine 419 AD

"Breviatio Ferrandi" ~550 AD

Third Council of Toledo 589 AD

councils held under St. Caesarius of Arles sixth century AD

Irish Penitentials sixth century AD

Poenitentiale Vinniani, no. 27, sixth century AD

Council of Metz 888 AD

Council of Mainz 888 AD

Council of Rheims 909 AD

Synod of Rome 1077 AD

First Lateran Council Canons III, XI 1123 AD

Second Lateran Council Canons VI, VII, XI 1139 AD

The logistical difficulties in disseminating and enforcing the discipline does not mitigate the fact that it existed and was practiced long before the 12th century and has it's origins in the Church with the Apostles.

The requirement of clerical celibacy was only uniformized in the Patiarchate of Rome after the schism, sometime in the early 12th century--1124 sticks in my mind. Before that, something like perpetual continence was required because of the common practice of celebrating daily Mass, and the requirement of continence the day before the celebration of Mass found in the Patriarchate's local disciplinary canons.

Wrong, as usual. Prior to 400 a.d. Pope Siricius reminded all priests of their duty to observe mandatory continence. Please see "The Apostolic Origins of Priestly Celibacy" by Fr. Christian Cochini for the Documentation.

Your tendentious "histories" are unwelcome. Please confine your ahistorical and polemical "histories" to your own Communion. They are unwelcome here.

You can find some other thread on which to scratch your antiRoman itch. This is a thread concerning a CATHOLIC priest being interviwed in a CATHOLIC magazine and not a word was said about the orthodox.

CAN IT...

Rome has ALWAYS kept the Faith while the orthodox, so-called, specialised in Schism Orthodox Schisms