Celibacy of Jesus

The theological concept of a celibate clergy is based on the Church’s belief in the example of the celibacy of Christ himself.

Some have argued that voluntary celibacy was unknown among the Jewish men of Jesus’ time. While it may have been unusual, it was not unheard of. It is not likely that John the Baptist could have been married, and near contemporary evidence indicates that at least some of the members of the Jewish community of the Essenes were celibate.

Another indirect proof of Jesus’ celibate state may be his own words about those who remain unmarried. After he rejects divorce as accepted in the Law of Moses, his disciples say that "it is better not to marry" (Mt 19:10). Jesus then speaks about those incapable of marriage "because they were born so" or "made so by others" and also those who "have renounced marriage for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Whoever can accept this ought to accept it" (Mt 19:12).

St. Paul—who writes to the Corinthians, "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ" (1 Cor 11:1)—also writes, "Now to the unmarried and to widows I say: it is a good thing for them to remain as they are, as I do, but if they cannot exercise self-control they should marry, for it is better to marry than to be on fire" (1 Cor 7:8-9).

This call to celibacy does not diminish the importance of marriage. Matrimony, like Holy Orders, is a sacrament, one of the seven signs through which Christ’s abiding presence is active in his Church. In marriage, the spiritual and physical relationships between husband and wife become a holy symbol of Christ’s love for the Church (Eph 5:25-33).