The Origin And Historical Evolution Of Celibacy In Catholic Church

atholic Sacerdotal Celibacy is one of the most systematic and representative phenomenon of celibacy. The religious groups which were composed of celibacy clergymen and monks also made great impact on the history. Meanwhile, there are endless controversies on Sacerdotal Celibacy wherever inside or outside of the church in all ages. Particularly in the contemporary, because of the sex scandals of priests and the lack of priests, Sacerdotal Celibacy becomes a hot topic again. This paper seeks to systematically study the origin of Catholic Sacerdotal Celibacy and its process of evolution in the Middle Age, to analysis the theological doctrine and legal theory of Catholic Sacerdotal Celibacy and to explore the historical influence from the historical perspective.This paper is divided into five parts. In the preface, there is a simple introduction about the subject and the study value of this thesis. Meanwhile, there is also a summarization on the study situation of this topic in our country and other countries. In the first chapter, I will explore the origin of Catholic Sacerdotal Celibacy from religious taboos, misogyny, asceticism and the ethic of Judaism and so on; The second chapter focuses on the theory and practice of celibacy in the early Christian church, and describes the process of transformation of celibacy from the theology to the law, from heresy to orthodox. I will also study the historical background and historical influence of this process. In the third chapter, I want to illustrate that Catholic Sacerdotal Celibacy which was set up in the Middle Age was the result of monastic movements and Popes' decrees and the outcome of integration of Christian culture and barbarian culture. In the last part, I will objectively evaluate the Catholic Sacerdotal Celibacy and its positive function and negative effect in history.Celibacy of clergy and the authority of Church are supplementary with each other and their relation is very close. The relation between them is one of clues of this paper. So I will also explore the interaction of them in this paper. Monastic life was not only the practice of celibacy but also the development of a spiritual life and it will be illustrated in the paper.