The ''Directa'' decretal was written by Pope Siricius in February AD 385. It took the form of a long letter to Spanish bishop

Himerius of Tarragona Himerius of Tarragona ( fl. 385) was bishop of Tarragona during the 4th century. He is most notable as being the recipient of the Directa Decretal, written by Pope Siricius in February 385 AD. It took the form of a long letter to Himerius replying ...

replying to the bishop’s requests for ''directa'' on various subjects sent several months earlier to Pope Damasus I. It became the first of a series of documents published by the Magisterium that claimed apostolic origin for

clerical celibacy Clerical celibacy is the requirement in certain religions that some or all members of the clergy be unmarried. Clerical celibacy also requires abstention from deliberately indulging in sexual thoughts and behavior outside of marriage, because the ...

and reminded ministers of the altar of the perpetual continence required of them.

Background

It is known that the First Ecumenical Council which took place at Nicaea included in its legislation a discipline of the priesthood known as clerical 'continence' or celibacy. This was the requirement of all priests and bishops to refrain from

sexual contact Human sexual activity, human sexual practice or human sexual behaviour is the manner in which humans experience and express their Human sexuality, sexuality. People engage in a variety of sexual acts, ranging from activities done alone (e.g. ...

with their wives or with any other woman. Thus, for a married man to become a priest, his wife had to agree to abstain from all sexual relations. This discipline added to the legislation of various councils, particularly the Council of Elvira, the date of which cannot be determined with precision, but believed to have been in the first quarter of the fourth century, in Spain. While priests of the East and West were required to refrain from all sexual contact by virtue of their presiding at sacrifices, this was an exceedingly difficult discipline to maintain. Just as the Levite priests of the

Jewish Temple in Jerusalem The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two now-destroyed religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusa ...

had been required to abstain from sexual contact (in order to achieve ritual purity) merely ''for a lengthy period prior to'' the periodic performance of the sacrifices of the temple, so the priests of the Early Church were required by ecclesiastical law to abstain from sexual contact. However, Christian priests presided at the sacrifice of the

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

every Sunday as well as the annual feasts of the various martyrs. Thus, the Christian calendar did not afford Christian priests periods in which they could be sexually active with their wives.

The ''Directa'' Decretal

In the ''Directa'', the Pope dealt with the fact that clerics (deacons, priests, and bishops) were still living with their wives and having children, thus contravening the Council of Elvira and the First Ecumenical Council. Priests were justifying this by referring to the traditions of the Levitical priesthood of the

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

. Siricius was emphatic that clerical continence belonged to immemorial, even apostolic, tradition. He declared that priests had been under a duty to observe ''temporary'' continence when serving in the Temple, but that the coming of Christ had brought the old priesthood to completion, and by this fact the duty of temporary continence had become an obligation to ''perpetual'' continence. Fifteen points are studied in the decretal, but the key passage is: Continence was required of all Christian priests by

ecclesiastical law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

until the great schism, and is still required of

Catholic priests The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

today; many Eastern Catholic Churches do not require celibacy of their priests.

References

{{Reflist

External links

''The Catholic Encyclopedia'', ''s.v.'' "Papal Decretals"

Background

The ''Directa'' Decretal

References

External links

See also