Can married men still be priests in Eastern Catholicism?

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Will8503

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Can a married man still become a priest in Eastern Catholicism? I heard that they used to be able to, but that they aren’t anymore
 
A bit of history:

originally, yes, the former Eastern Orthodox ECC’s had married clergy.

The nascent USCCB (the Baltimore Councils) banned married clerics (deacons, priests, bishops) from incardination within US dioceses.

Rome didn’t overturn that ruling.

But it has since been overturned by virtue of papal decrees to return the ECCs to their ancient and authentic traditions.

Many but not all ECC’s have married clerics. Some, a great many (Ukrainians), some almost none (Ruthenians), and IIRC, one has only married deacons (and not many of those!)

Most are allowing married deacons, and some have returned to allowing married priests.
 
Glory to Jesus Christ!
Glory to Him forever!

Yes, married men can be ordained to the priesthood. In the Byzantine (Ruthenian) Eparchy of Parma we have several married priests, including my own pastor. Bishop John ordained a married man several years ago and I had the great honor of being able to serve at the Ordination Divine Liturgy.
It should be noted that a man may not marry or re-marry after ordination.

Many years,

McPhelan
 
Its a resounding yes, as all matters of married men becoming married priests are governed by the respective autonomous Eastern Churches. The Syriac, Syro-Malankara, and probably the Malabar Churches have adopted a mandatory celibacy clause. Its 50-50 with the Maronites. I have no inkling as to how the Copts, Armenians, and Chaldeans are doing, but I can say that the Melkites and the Ukrainians are pretty full on with the whole deal. As for the Romans, all I will say is, there is mandatory celibacy, but there are dispensations. Terms and conditions apply.
 
McPhelan said:
Glory to Jesus Christ!
Glory to Him forever!

Yes, married men can be ordained to the priesthood. In the Byzantine (Ruthenian) Eparchy of Parma we have several married priests, including my own pastor. Bishop John ordained a married man several years ago and I had the great honor of being able to serve at the Ordination Divine Liturgy.
It should be noted that a man may not marry or re-marry after ordination.

Many years,

McPhelan
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Really? I did not know that the Eparchy of Parma had any married priests. I was looking for statisitical information about the Eparchy of Parma, how many married priests there were, numner of religious, etc.
 
The Syriacs have not adopted mandatory celibacy as the Syro-Malanakars and Syro-Malabars have. The Syriacs, Copts and Ethiopians when they came back in Union with Rome accepted a strange concept called realtive celibacy by which celibacy is preferred but the chief hierarch can dispense from this at his pleasure and these dispensations are commonplace. No other Eastern Churches have any strictures on married clergy other than those who operate in the so-called diaspora and voluntarily send only celibates to the parishes there.

Fr. Deacon Lance
 
I know there now has to be at least 2 in Parma. The one that the poster from Ohio mentioned and another that has a parish in Michigan that I have been to. Unless we were thinking of the same married priest.
 
wjp984 said:
I know there now has to be at least 2 in Parma. The one that the poster from Ohio mentioned and another that has a parish in Michigan that I have been to. Unless we were thinking of the same married priest.
Click to expand...
Bishop Kudrick also ordained a married man to the Holy Priesthood in Rome a couple of years ago. The man was to have come to the Parma Eparchy to serve as a priest but this fell through for reasons I won’t go into here. The priest is a VERY good friend of mine and I had the opportunity to attend the ordination of his brother. He does visit the States on a regular basis but he is now pastor of Ruthenian/Ukrainian parish in Rome.😃
 
There is Fr. Marek Visnovsky at St. Emilian in Brunswick, OH. He is incardinated in the Eparchy of Parma. Also, Fr. Miron Kerul’-Kmec at St. Nicholas in Barberton, OH. To my knowledge Fr. Miron is not (yet?) incardinated in the eparchy. Both priests are married. They both are from Slovakia.
 
In addition to Frs. Miron and Marek, there are two other married priests serving in parishes in the Eparchy of Parma: Fr. Ihar Labacevich, in Minneapolis, and Fr. Joseph Marquis in Livonia, MI. Fr. John Mack of Lawrence KS, is also married.
 
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