Celibacy: Is It Holy Vow or Sacred Cow?

Within your usually comprehensive coverage of religious matters, including Kathleen Hendrix’s perceptive article on Terry Sweeney, I have failed--perhaps through oversight--to note any discussion of the way the various Orthodox churches deal with what for them is the non-issue of priestly celibacy.

Upon completing his religious studies, the Orthodox seminarian makes an irrevocable choice: to become a married priest or to remain celibate and thus eligible for elevation to the hierarchy.

Having served in Greece and observed how well the church is integrated into the community, this two-track system seems to me eminently sensible and humane. Sexual scandals like those that sometimes afflict the Catholic church are unheard of.

Clerical celibacy should not be a matter of dogma, particularly since the Roman church permits marriage for priests of some Eastern Rite Catholic churches. This inconsistency may have arisen out of historic attempts to control personal rivalries and nepotism within the hierarchy.

MARSHALL PHILLIPS, Long Beach