catholic priests converting to orthodoxy allowed to marry?

[notredame_999]

I read on the internet that a latin-rite catholic priest who converts to orthodoxy is allowed to marry, considering that celibacy was a requirement of ordination. Is this true?

 

[LDNCatholic]

If he merely converted to Orthodoxy, then yes. If he was converting and becoming ordained an Orthodox priest, which I don’t think would be allowed by many (any?) Orthodox bishops, then no. priests cannot marry in the Orthodox Church either. However married men may become priests.

 

[prodromos]

I read on the internet … Is this true?

 

[Brendan]

In Orthodoxy, married men are permitted to become priests. Priests who are not married are not permitted to marry.

So if a Latin Rite priest converted to Orthodoxy as a priest, he would likewise be prohibited from marrying.

At least for any of the mailine Orthodox Churches. There are (like in Catholicism) a number of vagante “churches” that call themselves Orthodoxy, but are not.

 

[1ke]

I read on the internet that a latin-rite catholic priest who converts to orthodoxy is allowed to marry, considering that celibacy was a requirement of ordination. Is this true?

A married man may become a priest in the Orthodox Churches and in the Eastern Rites of the Catholic Church. A priest may not marry after ordination.

Therefore, I think the answer to your question depends upon whether the Orthodox Church in question accepts the priest’s Catholic ordination. If they do, then no, the priest could not marry.

If they do not accept the Catholic ordination, then I suppose theoretically there would be a period of time-- from the Orthodox point of veiw-- between being received into the Orthodox Church and being ordained where such a man could marry.

 

[Harpazo]

A married man may become a priest in the Orthodox Churches and in the Eastern Rites of the Catholic Church. A priest may not marry after ordination.

Therefore, I think the answer to your question depends upon whether the Orthodox Church in question accepts the priest’s Catholic ordination. If they do, then no, the priest could not marry.

If they do not accept the Catholic ordination, then I suppose theoretically there would be a period of time-- from the Orthodox point of veiw-- between being received into the Orthodox Church and being ordained where such a man could marry.

Most Orthodox bishops would not allow a Catholic priest that converted and got married to become a priest. If a priest was received into Orthodoxy and still wanted to maintain his priestly service, he would most likely be tonsured a monastic. Hope this helps.

In Christ,
Andrew

 

[BernadetteM]

I have a question, hopefully someone can answer it. If most of the Orthodox Churches believe that the Sacraments including ordination in the Catholic Church are invalid, why then would a Catholic priest who converts not be allowed to marry and then be ordained an Orthodox priest?

Since in the eyes of the Orthodox a Catholic priest is not really a priest and from my understanding many or maybe most Orthodox re-baptize and confirm anyone who is protestant or Catholic when they convert to the Orthodox Church.

Either the Catholic Church has valid Sacraments or they don’t and if they don’t I would see no impediment to a Catholic priest being allowed to marry before being ordained as an Orthodox priest. It all seems confusing to me.

Thanks for any help in understanding the position of the Orthodox Churches.

Yours in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary

Bernadette

 

[Byzantine_Wolf]

If the Roman Catholic priest was converting to an Eastern Orthodox laymen, then as others have stated yes he would be perfectly fine in marrying. If he was converting from a Roman Catholic priest to an Eastern Orthodox priest, chances are…no. If you are celibate when ordained, you’re celibate for life - that’s the rule in Eastern Orthodoxy. Married priests were married before ordination.

HOWEVER…if it was an individual circumstance where a Roman Catholic priest knew of a girl he wanted to marry (in which case I’d wonder what kind of life he lived as a Roman Catholic priest!) then it might be possible for him or his congregation to make a plea to the local bishop to allow a marriage to take place before his proper ordination. I’ve known of times where a married priest lost a wife to disease or an accident, and the bishop permitted him to remarry later on in an individual circumstance.

I recall also that if a man is engaged to a woman and then ordained a deacon, he can still be married as the engagement was announced before the ordination. I suppose in this circumstance - if the engagement is pronounced before the ordination itself - the man could be married. That would probably have to be at the discretion of the bishop, however. Besides, I would again have to wonder what kind of life the guy lived as a Roman Catholic priest if he already knows of a girl he wants to marry after ditching Roman Catholicism.

One wonders why we just don’t stick with Paul’s instructions to Titus and Timothy that elders and overseers can be married with a family so that we can avoid this confusion.

from my understanding many or maybe most Orthodox re-baptize and confirm anyone who is protestant or Catholic when they convert to the Orthodox Church.

That’s not entirely true. Some parishes and churches are more hardcore about it than others, but most are fine with your previous baptism so long as it was done in the name of the Trinity. It depends, again, on the discretion of those you are dealing with.

 

[Hesychios]

I have a question, hopefully someone can answer it. If most of the Orthodox Churches believe that the Sacraments including ordination in the Catholic Church are invalid…

Have you been told they are considered invalid?

Some Orthodox may personally think so, but the official stance is more like “we don’t know”. That does leave a lot of room for interpretation by the bishops.

Perhaps the Orthodox will look upon it as the ordination is annulled for some good reason, without actually ruling on the validity of Papal Catholic ordinations in general. I don’t really know, I am just throwing this out there as a possibility.

The individual bishop may choose not to receive a former priest or minister for any reason, or he may choose to receive him. His decision may be based upon a policy of his synod.

Usually former ministers and priests have valuable experience to bring to the table, so if they are sincere converts there is a strong reason to accept the men into the priesthood with their wives. But they do not have to.

My point is that the church has not ruled on the validity of Papal Catholic sacraments for Papal Catholics. They are just not normally sufficient for Orthodox.