Romanian Greek-Catholic ecclesiastical elites between celibacy and marriage

Abstract: The present study investigates the connection between the marital status of the Romanian Greek Catholic priests in Transylvania and their promotion in the ecclesiastical career, between 1850 and 1918. In general, the promotion of ecclesiastical staff to higher offices was analysed from the perspective of their studies at prestigious universities or of their administrative experience gained during years of honourable service in parishes and low-level ecclesiastical institutions. However, we consider that for the studied group, namely the Romanian Greek Catholic canons in Transylvania, the marital status assumed by the young clergymen at the time they submitted their priestly vows was equally relevant. Prior to receiving the priesthood, the young theologians had to choose between being ordained as celibate or marrying as priests and joining the secular clergy. Those who chose celibacy had the option of advancing to the highest ecclesiastical offices, including occupying the episcopal see; the married ones had the opportunity to advance in the church ranks only to the advisory offices of the central level, where they were usually appointed after decades of exemplary church careers.