married priests
Clergy with wives
Married priests are clergy who have spouses, a practice that varies significantly across Christian traditions.
Catholic priests in the Latin Rite take vows of celibacy, making "married priest" an apparent contradiction—though Eastern Catholic and Orthodox priests may marry before ordination.
Protestant denominations generally permit clergy to marry.
The phrase often surfaces in debates about whether the Catholic Church should relax its celibacy requirements: The shortage of priests has renewed calls for allowing married priests.
- celibacyAbstaining from intimate relations
- ordinationClergy appointment ceremony
- vowsSolemn binding promises
- clergyOrdained religious officials collectively
- AnglicanChurch of England member
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