I TIMOTHY 3:2, 12

Q: In listing the qualifications to be a church leader, it seems to state that only a married man with children could fill those roles. So how would Catholics justify single priests?

New Testament teachings: The priesthood is the possession of all believers (I Peter I:9 – “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood...”) and not a title to be held by some only. The high priest is Jesus himself (Hebrews 4-5). Paul teaches that celibacy is a gift and not for everyone, but it does prevent distractions from missionary efforts in light of the coming Day (I Corinthians 7:1,7,32-40). Christ taught the same thing in general (Matthew 19:10-12). Paul warned against false teachers who would come later forbidding marriage (I Timothy 4:1-3).

Excerpts from Robin Lane Fox, Pagans and Christians:

“In c. 172, Tatian...returned from Rome to the Near East with teachings which denounced marriage and enjoined chastity on all Christians.” “In the mid-century, we know...how the bishop of Corinth corresponded with the bishop of Cnossos in Crete, encouraging him to consider the weaker Christians and not to lay the burden of chastity on everyone.” (p. 356)

“'Let marriage be honored in all circumstances,' stated the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, exhorting his readers not to sin against it, perhaps by rejecting it altogether. Those authors who were most directly influenced by a Jewish context were at first most favorable to marriage's cause. After Clement, no Christian author wrote anything so positive about the married state, and even Clement's views had hardly been straightforward praise....In 251, Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, was telling his Christians that the plague in the city had its advantages; it allowed the Christian virgins to die intact.” (p. 359)

“When Galen encountered Christians in Rome at the same period (170's), he was impressed by their willingness to abstain from sex, men and women alike.” (p. 361)

“Did virgin priesthoods, perhaps, set the Church an example, encouraging Christians to excel the practice of rival pagan cults?..Celibacy was not required of priests in the Church, though the demand for it grew in the fourth century.” (p. 362)

“Christians had been freed from the details of the Jewish law and its daily observance, but those who wished for an obvious context, where merit and failure were clearly marked, could now find it in a battle against their own instincts. The ideal had the simple merit of being difficult, but self-centered.” (p. 368)

The requirement for elders and deacons should probably be taken as general guidance but not bar an unmarried man or one with no children from seeking these offices. However, if he is married, it should only be to one wife at a time (probably does not bar widowers from remarrying, but may bar those who are divorced and remarry, except for cause). Opinions vary. Also, if he has children, they should be obedient.

It was generally expected of rabbis that they would be married. Paul wasn't married at the time he wrote I Corinthians 7:8 (perhaps a widower) but implies that he is (or was) in I Corinthians 9:5. Peter was married (Mark 1:30). Timothy was fairly young so he may not have been married yet. The example of Jesus was very influential for some.