celibate bishops and Timothy 3:2

[Tikhon.of.Colorado]

Tim. 3:2 says A bishop must then be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good character..."

Why do we have celibate bishops if the Bible only says that Bishops should be monogamous?

[PeterTheAleut]

Tim. 3:2 says A bishop must then be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good character..."

Why do we have celibate bishops if the Bible only says that Bishops should be monogamous?

Does that passage mean that a bishop MUST be married, or that if a bishop is or ever was married, he must be married to only one wife (both at one time and throughout his entire life, thus forbidding remarriage after divorce or the wife's death)? You also realize that episcopal celibacy is a matter of Church discipline and not of dogma? Why do you think the Church adopted that disciplinary measure?

[John of the North]

Why do we have celibate bishops if the Bible only says that Bishops should be monogamous?

1. Danger of nepotism.
2. Pop over to "Good Guys Wear Black" and read some of the challenges faced by married clergy. Now multiply that several-fold. Simply put, look at the schedule for any Orthodox bishop in modern times. Do you think he can perform his duties while also maintaining a household (i.e. supporting a wife and raising children)??

As a side note, the Bible also insinuates that marriage is for those who can't control themselves--"better to marry than burn with passion." So the Bible says alot of things. The Bible may have said bishops should be monogamous, but the experience of the Church since then is that it is best for bishops to be monastics (though I gather not all bishops have taken monastic vows...)

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