Some sects, as the "Eustathianer" and "Armenier" illustrated by example, that NO married person could expect to be blessed. They refused to receive the (Holy) Communion from a married Priest they also did not associate with a paired clergy. Their suggestions that "eating meat would be sinful and that the "RICH" would have to dispose of their wealth, otherwise they could not enter Heaven, was eventually voted down at one of the many Synods. The proliferation of the Monks was in great part responsible for the coming stricter enforcement of the life style of the Priesthood. It is hard to believe what happened at a time when the fledgling Church collided with the few who kept cool heads. Ambrosius Roman Governor of the Province of Ligurien and Aemilien, joint the Christian Religion and eight days after his baptism was elevated to Bishop of Milano. He was not knowledgable in the matter of Christianity and therefore could not distinguish himself as an erudite scholar. However, he excelled in preaching to the young women to preserve their virginity. He forever reminded young females to take "MARIA" (Mother of Jesus) as their exemplary model. I consider this a JOKE . In order to put some weight to his pedagogic he dreamed up some unbelievable "wonders" which were supposed to have happened. He went as far as to tempt youngsters to disobedience toward their parents. He proclaimed " overcome first the reverence toward your parents! If you overcome your home, you can overcome the world!". He was considered an authority on celibacy and such a fanatic that he inspired a great hatred in most single males in Milano.
The Greek Church did not follow this trend. The high Priests of the Greek Church were convinced that Celibacy would have a negative effect on the dedication of the Priests and on the general public as well. At a Synod under the leadership of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian II. held at the Palace of Trullus (692 A.D.)the Assembly agreed on a resolution which states: " All Clerics are entitled to marry and live with their female companions. This decision was made with far reaching consequences. It is still in order today. This may very well be one of the reasons why the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church has not been able to converge into ONE united Church.Unlike the Synod of Nizaea, this Synod explicitly forbid any of the higher Officials of the Church to discourage marriage and/or encourage married Priests to divorce their spouses. Anyone who acted contradictory to this law was to be excommunicated.
Pope Konstantine and Hadrian I. were sensible enough to recognize the validity of the results of the Synod of Trullus and stood by it. It is notable that Pope Hadrian II. (867-873) was married himself!. Until the beginning of the eleventh Century the better part of all Cleric were legally married or were living together with a female in a common law circumstances.
the Popes Victor II., Stephan IX. and Nikolaus II tried to reverse the decisions of their predecessors to abolish the matrimonial partnership. Success was not immediate but Pope Gregor VII (1073-85) finally managed to suppress marriage of the priests and forced those who were already married to dissolve their partnership. It took over 200 years of an on and off fight of the Clergy to retain the right to be married. Now they lost it for good.
This Victory for the Church did not produce any blessings. The sad consequences of this ungodly, unnatural Church law had a part in the beginning of the Reformation, instigated by Martin Luther.
Just because the Priests, Monks and others were prevented from legally being united with a female companion, did not stop them from continuing their companionship with the opposite sex. From then on, it was custom to employ a female as housemaid. These maids as well as the Priests committed themselves (outwardly) to as sexless life, some called it "platonic love" but any person of intelligence knew what it really was (and still is today!)
There are reports of respected and honest Church officials who tell of the terrible fights they had with the "Devil" (Lust of the Flesh) in order to stay true to their oath of celibacy. On the other hand the majority covered up their "none-celibacy" by pretending to it, but .....
Let's talk about those, documented by contemporary writers, who involved themselves in the most weird, strange and outlandish behavior, to either overcome their lust of the flesh or not admitting that it was a problem. The lazy life of the clergy (not much different from today) of course did nothing to hamper the imagination. For instance: Basilius, went in self induced exile (desert wilderness) to be away from the temptations of the world. He wrote to one of his friends: "I cannot escape the pressure of what comes normal. I am ashamed to say what I am doing day and night." It would appear that the solitude did not minter his sex drive.
the holy man "Gregor of Nazianz" treated his body in the worst way. In spite of this he admitted that the continuous inclination to sensuality and his own weakness was a cruel torture.
"Climakus also knew, out of experience, that the "Flesh devil" was a real torment. The holy monk "Wilhelm" put himself down on a bed of glowing coals and invited his seducer (female) to join him. He went even so far to have his deceased lover dug up and put her decayed corps in his cell. He used the terrible smell of the corpse to discourage his sex drive.
Of course the holy bishop of Hippo, who openly admitted, that he requested God " to give him the gift of chastity, BUT NOT RIGHT AWAY, as he wanted to first satisfy his lecherous lust.
Many of the females who lived with a Priest had to endure ridicule and suspicion. Any time someone wanted to attack a Priest, it was easy to point the finger at his female companion. One Patriarch by the name of "Acacius was accused by the Church assembly of Seleucia (489 A.D.)of sexual offences. He proved his innocence. He opened up his monk's habit and proved without the shadow of a doubt that he was not able to commit any such thing.
Birth control during these times were of very primitive nature. It was therefore no secret that unwanted pregnancies were staggering in numbers. Already, the Carthaginian theologian (160-230?), who converted to Christianity (c.193) talks about the pregnancies of "virgins" and the criminal means they used to keep them a secret. They could not use the excuse that their child would be a "future Pope", as it came about later on. That excuse was actually used a number of times, and some of it turned out to be true!. The excuse :" The holy Ghost " was the father of the child.
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