In message <199411271551.PAA23594_at_willow.soton.ac.uk> "T.J.Minas" writes:
_at_ Also, on the point of celibacy for Priests, it was not until the C10-C12 that
_at_ the practice of celibate clergy grew in western Europe, and Orthodox priests
_at_ have always been allowed to marry. BUT, Monks weren't. This would suggest a
_at_ different level of status in the church for monks.
I believe there have been traditions of hermitic life and/or monasticism that
involve excesses, including sexual. The dominant Christian one is that of
celibacy and removal from the world and worldly matters.
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Greybeard aka Tom Zunder