The Origins of Priestly Celibacy in Ancient Christianity: Historiographical Questions

The presentation concerns the historical origins of the requirement of permanent sexual continence, which was imposed on higher clerics of the Western Church (i.e., bishop, presbyters, and deacons) beginning in the fourth century. With the possible exception of some dubious canons of Western synods from the early fourth century (Elvira and Arles), the requirement is first found in the writings of two late-fourth-century bishops of Rome, Damasus and Siricius, and in the contemporary writings of Ambrose, Jerome, and Ambrosiaster. While the appearance of the sexual continence requirement has received a great deal of scholarly discussion, there is no consensus regarding its original purpose and motivation. Some scholars have suggested that concerns for “ritual purity” or “cultic purity” were the predominant influence; others have insisted that moral or ascetical concerns were foremost. Still others have argued that the requirement goes back to the very founders of Christianity (Jesus and Paul). The presentation will begin with a critique of these views and an attempt to locate them on a map of ideological conflicts within 20th century Roman Catholicism.