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Subsection
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Order of Contents
Articles 4
Quotes 6+
Of Ministers 6+
History 4
Latin 5+
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Articles
1500’s
Bullinger, Henry
The Decades ed. Thomas Harding (1549; Cambridge: Parker Society, 1849)
vol. 1, 2nd Decade, 10th Sermon, ‘Of the 3rd Precept of the 2nd Table… ‘Thou shalt not commit adultery of wedlock;’ Against all intemperance; of Continency’ 393-435
15. ‘Of Marriage, Vows & Chastity’ in Questions of Religion Cast Abroad in Helvetia [Switzerland] by the Adversaries of the Same, & Answered… tr. John Coxe (London, 1572), pp. 120-39
Bucer, Martin – ch. 23. ‘That Marriage was granted by the ancient Fathers, even after the vow of single life’ in The Judgment of Martin Bucer concerning Divorce, written to Edward VI, in his Second Book of the Kingdom of Christ, and now Englished… tr. John Milton (1550; 1557; London: Simmons, 1644), pp. 7-8
Vermigli, Peter Martyr – The Common Places… (d. 1562; London: Henrie Denham et al., 1583)
pt. 3, ch. 7, ‘Of Marriage, & the Single Life, especially of Ministers’ 192-203
‘That Chastity is No Common Gift of God’ 198
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Quotes
Order of
Calvin
Musculus
Beza
Ramus
Pagit
Zanchi
Greenham
Cameron
Weemes
Rutherford
English Annotations
Hackett
.
1500’s
John Calvin
Commentary on 1 Corinthians 7, v. 38
“The sum of the whole discussion amounts to this:
[1] that celibacy is better than marriage, because it has more liberty, so that persons can serve God with greater freedom; but at the same time, that
[2] no necessity ought to be imposed, so as to make it unlawful for individuals to marry, if they think proper; and farther, that
[3] marriage itself is a remedy appointed by God for our infirmity, which all ought to use that are not endowed with the gift of continency.
Every person of sound judgment will join with me in acknowledging and confessing, that the whole of Paul’s doctrine on this point is comprehended in these three articles.”
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John Musculus
“Now for that which is [by persons living a celibate life] objected of the barren, and of them which embrace a single life [in order to justify themselves], the answer is ready: Let the barren and impotent be exempted from this law, whom nature itself has exempted. Let him be exempted, whom God Himself by his singular grace has made exempt unto higher affairs of his kingdom. Let him have this liberty, that can attain it by the grace of God. But all have it not, because it is not given all.
But who perceives not that they which are exempted, neither by defect of nature, neither by singular grace of God, and cannot use this liberty [of celibacy], but are subject unto natural lusts, be not indeed exempted from this law [to marry] given of God, but that they be bond unto it, so that they do not only offend in that they do not submit themselves unto it, but also that they range out into their lusts at large, contemning the ordinance of God. The privilege of few does not take away the common law in them which be without privilege. He that of necessity did charge this law upon mankind, may at his liberty exempt whom He will.
But for others, if they do endeavor to withdraw themselves from the yoke of this law [of marrying], they do most worthily fall into the bondage of the law of Satan and into all kind of filthiness, of which thing there be in these days horrible examples to see in the Church of Christ. Therefore the old Israelites were not unwise in this matter, to whom these words of God stood for law, which they called, ‘The commandment of fructifying and multiplying’. And thereby it came to pass that barrenness among the people of God sustained such rebuke. Peradventure they [Jews] passed a measure in calling upon this law, and laid it without difference upon all men.
In contrary wise our men [under Papal influence] have sinned much more enormously, in weaking and utterly breaking this law of God [of marrying], not only in liberty of single life, but also in forbidding of lawful marriage, and liberty of whoredom, to the exceeding shame and rebuke of Christian men.”
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Theodore Beza
A Brief & Pithy Sum, p.118
“he that is unmarried has more leisure to execute the public or particular office that God has given him, and in this respect we praise continence as a thing which serves us to use our vocation better, and none otherwise.”
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Petrus Ramus
The Logic Newly Translated
“Sometimes we argue or reason from the general to the special: as, All men may marry who have not the gift of Chastity, ergo, Priests and ministers may marry. And contrary from the special to the general in a part: as, Abraham was justified by faith, therefore man may be justified by faith.”
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Eusebius Pagit
Sermon, 9th June, 1572
“In this behalf no law can be prescribed, neither can we judge one of another, but every man should be a sufficient witness to himself, because in himself he feels the infirmities and pricks of the flesh. And albeit there appear never so many stops and lets in marriage, yet this must all understand to whom God has not given the gift of chastity (and so by that means not able to withstand the pricks of the flesh), that this commandment is by the Lord laid upon their shoulders as a burden to bear, which if it be not performed (seeing that God has appointed this as a remedy against sin), they commit grievous iniquity, and by that their dealing heap unto themselves wrath against the day of the Lord.”
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Girolamo Zanchi
Confession of the Christian Religion, 25.23
“we deny not but they which are endowed of God with the gift of a pure, single life, they may more fitly attend upon divine causes, and more easily serve the church than they which are married.”
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Richard Greenham
Works
“When one asked him concerning marriage, whether it were good to marry; seeing sometimes, when concupiscence pricked him, he was moved to it, and some other time when he felt no such thing, he thought he might abstain from it: He answered, many come hastily into that calling, not vying the means of trying their estate thoroughly before; as namely, whether they by prayer, fasting, and avoiding all occasions of concupiscence, have the gift of chastity or no? Many use some of the means, and not all: many use all the means, but a small time: therefore it is good to use first the means, not part of them, but all of them: not for a while, but long. If so be that all these things will not prevail, attend upon the Lord’s ordinance, and wait when the Lord shall give just occasion of using that estate, to his glory and our comfort.”
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1600’s
John Cameron
An Examination of those Plausible Appearances which seem most to commend the Romish Church, and to prejudice the Reformed… trans. William Pinke (Oxford: Edward Forrest, 1626), pp 168-69 HT: Reformed Covenanter
“What then? shall the single life have no prerogative? Yes questionless, if it conduce more to piety, then marriage; but if it fail in this point it’s much inferior to marriage. Now it always fails of that in them who have not the gift of it.
There are some (says our Savior) which make themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven; but all men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given. Which is clearly expounded unto us by St. Paul, telling us that he could wish indeed, that all had the gift of continence as well as he, but that every man hath his proper gift, one in one kind, another in another.
To him then, who has received this gift after the same manner as St. Paul had received it, his single life doubtless will be far more advantageous than marriage, because that to him who is thus qualified, virginity is a help for piety, marriage would be but an incumbrance. But to him who has not received that gift in that manner, his single life would be but a snare and a trap: for by reason of his single life he would burn, and the apostle tells us that it is better to marry than to burn.
As then marriage serves but for an hindrance and disturbance to him, who has the gift that St. Paul had, to wit, the gift of continence: so the single life serves but for an encumbrance and temptation, the danger of which is unavoidable, and deadly, to him who has not received the gift of containing himself. We worthily esteem of the single life of those whom God calls to it, but we say that no man is called unto it, who is forced to burn in it.”
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John Weemes
The Portraiture of the Image of God in Man
Question: But seeing virginity is not a virtue, what will ye make it then?
Answer: There is a twofold good; First, that which is good in itself; Secondly, that which is good for another end. Fasting is not a thing that is good in itself; for a man is not accepted before God that he fasts; it is but good for another end, that is, when he fasts that he may be the more religiously disposed.
So virginity is not a thing that is good in itself, but good for another end, that is, when a man lives a single life, having the gift of chastity, that he may be the more fit to serve God.”
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Samuel Rutherford
Lex Rex... (1644; Edinburgh: Ogle, 1843),.p. 5
“so then, the aptitude and temper of every commonwealth to monarchy, rather than to democracy or aristocracy, is God’s warrant and nearest call to determine the wills and liberty of people to pitch upon a monarchy, hic et nunc [here and now], rather than any other form of government, though all the three be from God, even as single life and marriage are both the lawful ordinances of God, and the constitution and temper of the body is a calling to either of the two;”
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English Annotations
English Annotations on the Whole Bible, vol. 2 (Isa-Rev), 1st ed. (1645), on 1 Cor. 7, v. 7
“V. 7. ‘I would that all men were even as I my self.’ The apostle does not simply wish that all men and women led a single life; for so the Church of God could not be propagated, nor [would] the divine benediction upon the married [be] fulfilled: but that all had the gift of continency, and were as free from worldly cares, and fleshly entanglings, as he.
And this gift of continencie may stand with holy matrimony; as we read of Malchus and many others in the Ecclesiastical stories, who though they were married, yet having the gift of continency fulfilled the apostle’s precepts, verses 29 & 32, having wives as if they had them not, and caring for the things of the Lord.”
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John Hacket
A Century of Sermons
“For wot you why? it may be every man’s case: and do they love virginity? I am sure the Rechabites did honor marriage, and propagated a good generation to the world: They knew that the gift of perpetual continence is not a grace of common course: and extraordinary dispensations are not presumptuously to be arrogated to the use of every regenerate Christian, no nor for the command of any prophet. Why should St. Paul leave Trophimus sick at Miletum? Why was bishop Timothy’s stomach weak? Paul could not help it. Grace allotted for extraordinary operations is not every man’s portion; nor always at hand for them who at some seasons have a taste of it: and such is the rose of the garland, the gift of chastity.”
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Of Ministers
Order of
Articles 5
Book 1
Quotes 3
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Articles
1500’s
Melanchthon, Philip – Article 23, Of the Marriage of Priests in The Apology of the Augsburg Confession tr: F. Bente & W. H. T. Dau (1531)
Vermigli, Peter Martyr – The Common Places… (d. 1562; London: Henrie Denham et al., 1583)
pt. 3, ch. 7, ‘Of Marriage, & the Single Life, especially of Ministers’ 192-203
‘That Chastity is No Common Gift of God’ 198
Musculus, Wolfgang – ‘Why Marriage was taken away from Ministers’ in Common Places of the Christian Religion (1560; London, 1563), folio 181.b
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1600’s
Le Blanc de Beaulieu, Louis – 5. ‘Celibacy and bigamy [remarriages] of ministers of the Church’ in Theological Theses Published at Various Times in the Academy of Sedan 3rd ed. tr. by AI by Colloquia Scholastica (1675; London, 1683), Posthumous Works, 6. Controversies on the Members of the Militant Church, pp. 1103-4 Latin
Le Blanc only here describes the practices and reasons of the Roman Church.
Turretin, Francis – 26. ‘Is a perpetual celibacy according to apostolic institution to be necessarily observed by the sacred order? Or is marriage lawful for ministers? The former we deny; the latter we affirm against the Romanists.’ in Institutes of Elenctic Theology, tr. George M. Giger, ed. James Dennison Jr. (1679–1685; P&R, 1994), vol. 3, 18th Topic, p. 246 ff.
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Book
1500’s
Bucer, Martin, …Answer unto the Two Railing Epistles of Steven, Bishop of Winchester, Concerning the Unmaried State of Priests and Cloisterars, wherein is Evidently Declared that it is Against the Laws of God & of his Church to Require of all such as be & must be Admitted to Priesthood, to Refrain from Holy Matrimony (London, 1549) 160 pp. ToC
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Quotes
Order of
Vermigli
Beard
Baxter
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1500’s
Peter Martyr Vermigli
Loci Communes, p.193
“We will grant indeed, that it is meet for ministers sometimes to keep themselves continent, and that oftener than other men.”
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1600’s
Thomas Beard
A Retractive from the Romish Religion
“But the Romish clergy, together with the infinite orders of religious votaries, are not few but many, and those chosen promiscuously without any respect had whether they be endowed with that gift or no: therefore, being unable to contain, and forbidden to use the lawful remedy ordained by God, they must of necessity fall into lawless and inordinate lusts:
Besides, seeing that every man that will, be he never so defamed for incontinency, and so by experience known to be void of that same excellent gift, may become a votary, and on the contrary (our Savior says) every man cannot receive this, what hope can there be of chastity among these men?
Is the gift of chastity indeed so common, that every man may have it that will? Is it so ordinary, that it is communicated to thousands of priests, monks, friars, and nuns? yea, to innumerable of that order in all places? why then, what meant Cassander, a learned divine of their own, to say, that the world was come to that pass, that a man could scarce find one of an hundred that kept himself free from incontinency?”
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Richard Baxter
A Breviate of the Life of Margaret, p. 106
“Whereas one of them reports that I had said to him, that I thought the marriage of ministers had so great inconveniences, that though necessity made it lawful, yet it was but lawful; that is, to be avoided as far as lawfully we may.
I answer that I did say so to him; and I never changed my judgment; yea, my wife lived and died in the same mind. And I here freely advise all ministers that have not some kind of necessity, to think of these few reasons among many… I did not marry till I was silenced and ejected, and had no flock or pastoral cure.”
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History
Whole of Church History
Books
1900’s
Lea, Henry C. – History of Sacerdotal Celibacy in the Christian Church, vol. 1, 2 3rd ed. rev. (London: Williams & Norgate, 1907) 490 pp. ToC 1, 2
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Middle Ages
Parish, Helen – ‘Clerical Celibacy in the West: c. 1100-1700’ (Ashgate, 2010) 275 pp.
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On the Post-Reformation
Articles
Osborne, Seth
‘The Diverging Perspectives of Puritan Casuistry on Christian Freedom to Marry’ in Puritan Reformed Journal 8, 1 (2016): pp. 84–109
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Books
Biot, Francois – The Rise of Protestant Monasticism tr. W.J. Kerrigan (Baltimore: Helicon: 1963) 160 pp. ToC
Parish, Helen – ‘Clerical Celibacy in the West: c. 1100-1700’ (Ashgate, 2010) 275 pp.
Osborne, Seth D.
The Reformed & Celibate Pastor Richard Baxter’s Argument for Clerical Celibacy PhD diss. (Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2018) 445 pp.
This was the dissertation that was the basis for his book, below.
“Scholars have often depicted English Protestant Marriage Doctrine as nearly monolithic in its praise of marriage over celibacy as well as the liberty of all Christians to marry, but the literature actually reveals considerable tension. There was a heightened emphasis on celibacy as an inherently superior state among the spiritual sects and even among conforming churchmen who advocated the vita angelica [angelic life].
However, even though most English Protestants quickly rejected such claims, they still had to square their vigorous support of marriage with the expediency that celibacy afforded for serving God and promoting one’s spiritual welfare. The pragmatic advantages of celibacy could not simply be dismissed since they had clear scriptural support. Furthermore, despite rejecting the bifurcation of Scripture into universal commands and evangelical counsels, English Protestants struggled to develop a new moral system that answered whether Christians were obligated to forsake their liberty to marry if celibacy was more expedient. Both Jesus and Paul had counseled Christians to remain single if they were able.
English Protestants navigated around Scripture’s commendation of celibacy by limiting its application to those with the gift of chastity and periods of persecution. They also asserted that Scripture merely counseled or advised celibacy, rather than commanding it. Yet both solutions depended on tenuous assumptions. The first assumption was hermeneutical and depended on the conviction that Scripture’s teaching on marriage in Genesis 1-2 was normative while Paul’s was an exception for certain occasions. The second assumption was that Christians were not obligated to choose the state of life in which they could best devote themselves to God.
If either of the two assumptions were challenged, as they already had been with Whately, and especially Ames, then the decision to marry or remain single would be approached much differently; it would no longer concern the Christian’s liberty to choose what was “good” but the Christian’s obligation to choose what was “best.” As it so happened, Baxter explicitly claimed to have been influenced by both Whately and Ames.” – p. 108
“…Chapter 5 argued that Baxter’s treatment of clerical celibacy in the Christian Directory was a product of the three principles that he believed were vital to the Christian life. A life of godliness depended on maintaining a heartfelt love for God, continually meditating on the future life, and ordering one’s life to prioritize doing the greatest good. All intimate relationships, whether familial or bosom friends, posed a common potential threat to his three principles for Christian living. Intimate relationships frequently led one to the sin of disproportionately concentrating affections and time on a select few; this imbalance hindered Christians’ affections for God, focus on the future life, and devotion to doing the greatest good. Therefore, while the godly life was not impossible in marriage, celibacy usually proved to be the most advantageous state of life for Christians and especially pastors.
Since Christians were obliged to choose the most profitable state of life, they should only marry if they had a very definite call from God that wedlock would hold more benefits than hindrances to their spiritual welfare and capacity to serve God. The necessity of choosing the most expedient state of life applied even more to pastors, since the hindrances of marriage would be even more detrimental to them in light of the requirements of their sacred calling.
Chapter 6 concluded that Baxter’s decision to marry did not signify a capitulation of his argument for clerical celibacy but rather testified to its continuance. Furthermore, in choosing to marry Margaret, Baxter acted consistently with his teaching on what should motivate Christians to marry. Baxter’s account of his wife’s early life described her spiritual transformation from a worldly maiden into one of his most pious and devoted parisioners. Margaret’s affection for Baxter grew out of the influential role he had played in her life as a dear friend, father figure, and pastor of her soul. Baxter’s appreciation of her stemmed from the support, encouragement, and counsel she gave him during his failed attempts to achieve a moderate church settlement after the Restoration. This period was one of the lowest points in Baxter’s life, and Margaret proved to be a great help to his distressed soul.
Nevertheless, he remained firmly committed to clerical celibacy and only decided to marry once he had been silenced and ejected from the Kidderminster with no hope of ever having a parish ministry again. Baxter still considered himself a minister of the gospel. However, he would never have a specific pastoral charge that would require him, according to his specific pastoral model, to personally oversee the spiritual state of every parishioner. Since his argument for clerical celibacy no longer applied to his situation, he now felt at liberty to marry and called to marry Margaret.
Chapter 7 argued that the problems Baxter experienced in adjusting to married life help explain his continued support for clerical celibacy, despite the great benefit Margaret was to him. Though without a parish ministry, he still devoted himself to serving the universal church and training pastors, primarily through his writings. He persisted in his dedication to redeeming the time by prioritizing matters of necessity, especially choosing his public duties to the church over his private duties to Margaret. When time was scarce, which often proved true because of his chronic illness, his sense of pastoral urgency compelled him to put his ministerial responsibilities before Margaret. Hence, he experienced the same agonizing conflict of loyalties between ministry and marriage that he had always warned pastors to avoid. The benefits afforded by a godly wife, even one as extraordinary as Margaret, seemed to fail to make up for the loss of time and singular devotion which marriage inevitably compromised. Moreover, Baxter viewed Margaret’s exceptional godliness and helpfulness as an exception to what he had always believed men could usually expect from wives. Though scholars have puzzled over why he continued to argue for clerical celibacy, the answer lies in the fact that Baxter was still Baxter, a man driven by a single-minded focus on his public ministry.
This study of Baxter’s argument for clerical celibacy has… shown that English Protestants were less monolithic in their praise of marriage over celibacy than previously thought. Celibacy actually experienced a revival of interest among English Protestants during the course of the seventeenth century, and not just among radical sects but also some members of the Church of England. Furthermore, there was considerable disagreement over whether Christians were obligated to remain single, if they could remain chaste, since Paul had said that celibacy was better than marriage. While most stressed that marriage was a lawful and honorable state for all people, a significant minority believed that Christians should only marry once they discovered they lacked the gift of chastity…
Second, nearly all scholars have failed to realize that Baxter’s argument for clerical celibacy was key to fulfilling the rigorous ministerial expectations he proscribed in The Reformed Pastor. Baxter presented a model that expected pastors to personally catechize, admonish, and discipline each one of their hundreds or perhaps thousands of parisioners. The ideal pastor was not only defined by his assiduous labor to care for the soul of each parishioner, but also by the fact that he had been freed to do so by foregoing marriage for the sake of the sacred ministry. Only celibacy allowed for the maximal implementation of Baxter’s pastoral model for church reform.
…Experience was an influential teacher to Baxter, and he often exhorted all Christians to imitate what he found to be successful in his own life and ministry. His argument for clerical celibacy provided a prime example, for he was simply commending the practice that had been crucial to his pastoral triumph at Kidderminster.
Fourth, the uniqueness of Baxter’s argument for clerical celibacy forces one to reexamine the nature of the Christian Directory in terms of the book’s purpose and overarching principles. Scholars have presented the Christian Directory as a summa of the very best of Puritan practical divinity, but such a depiction is difficult to square with Baxter’s argument for clerical celibacy. The conundrum is resolved by understanding that the book was a record of Baxter’s pastoral instruction and practice at Kidderminster, which he intended to help represent his model of ministry for young and inexperienced ministers. He was presenting to them his own convictions about clerical marriage and hoping that many pastors would heed his advice and avoid marrying unless God clearly called them to it…” – pp. 380-83
.
The Reformed & Celibate Pastor Richard Baxter’s Argument for Clerical Celibacy Ref (V&R, 2021) 417 pp.
“Baxter (1615–1691) was… [an] English Puritan of the seventeenth century. He is well known for his ministerial manual “The Reformed Pastor”, in which he expressed the unusual conviction that parish ministers were better off unmarried. And yet, Baxter seemed to contradict himself by marrying one of his parishioners, Margaret Charlton. Though Baxter claimed to be happily married, he continued to champion celibacy for the rest of his life. This book explores Baxter’s argument for clerical celibacy by placing it in the context of his life and the turbulent events of seventeenth-century England. His viewpoint was shaped by several factors, including the Puritan literature he read, the context of his parish ministry, his burdensome model of soul care, and the formative life experiences shaping his theology and perspective. These factors not only explain why Baxter became the only Puritan to champion clerical celibacy but also why he continued to do so even after marrying.”
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Latin Articles
1500’s
Bucer, Martin – On the Kingdom of our Savior Jesus Christ… (1550; Basil, 1557), bk. 2
23. ‘The ancient fathers allowed marriage even after the vow of celibacy’ 139-42
…
46. ‘An exposition of the words of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 7) in praise of celibacy’ 191-94
Szegedin Pannonius, Stephan – ‘Celibacy of Priests’ in Common Places of Pure Theology, of God & Man, Explained in Continuous Tables & the Dogma of the Schools Illustrated (Basil, 1585/1593), p. 499
Szegedin (1515-1572) also was known as Stephan Kis.
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1600’s
Hommius, Festus – 26. ‘Celibacy of Church Ministers’ in 70 Theological Disputations Against Papists (Leiden, 1614), pp. 140-44
Chamier, Daniel – bks. 16-17, ‘Of the Celibacy of Priests’ ToC in Panstratiae Catholicae, or a Body of the Controversies of Religion Against the Papists (Geneva: Roverian, 1626), vol. 3, pp. 547-654
Voet, Gisbert – Ecclesiastical Politics (Amsterdam, 1663-1676), vol. 2
1. ‘Of Lawful & Unlawful Celibacy’ 149-70
5. ‘Of Various Marriage Incompatibilities, the Contempt and Condemnation of Marriage, of Having Multiple Wives, a Changing [Giving, Selling, etc.] of the Same, a Barren Marriage, Incest, an Abominable Confusion of the Sexes, Polygamy, a Rendering of Service, Concubinage, Promiscuous Desire [Vaga Libidine], Perfidious Repudiations, Divorces, Desertions and of Marriages and Promiscuous Desire in the Future World’ 197
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Related Pages