On the Meaning of "Biblical" & Whether Clergy Celibacy Is Biblical

Theological Letters

A friend, “Margaret,” reached out to me following a conversation about clergy celibacy. Specifically, she was curious about the practice in the Eastern Orthodox Church that clergy, though free to marry, must marry before ordination; if they are ordained while single, they must remain celibate. A friend of hers insisted that the practice was “not biblica…