St. Paul- married or unmarried??

Youstina S

hey guys...i was told (from one of my servents) that some ppl believe st paul was married....they justify this belief by the following verse:

"But I say to the unmarried and to the widows: It is good for them if they remain even as I am"
(1 Corinthians 7:8)

Some ppl believe that st Paul is saying in this verse that he is a widow and therefore he was married at one point

Now, i've always known st paul to be UNmarried, and when i first read this verse it was clear to me that st paul was delclaring that he was UNmarried but its weird knowing that some ppl think otherwise....so id just liek to hear your thoughts on this topic

Also, it would be great if you guys you can find me a verse that CLEARLY states whether st paul was married or unmarried

Youstina S

StVictor

"...remain even as I am."

That does not neccessarily mean he was married at one point. It may mean "stay as I am" like be single and live the unlustful life. Don't remarry. That's all he is saying.

Christ4Life

all that saint paul means is that people should stay single, as he is.

Holmes

[coptic]+ Pi`<rictoc aftonf>[/coptic]

While I realize this issue has probably been settled by now, I just wanted to contribute something.  There is a great danger in taking verses out of context, and that is why it is vital to not only read the entire chapter a verse is in, but also understand the historical context in which it was written.  That being said, while this in no way has any effect on our salvation, this is an example of a verse taken out of context.  St. Paul was unmarried, and he makes that abundantly clear in his attitude towards marriage (which is somewhat negative).  This is seen if you read the all of chapter 7 in 1 Corinthians.  I'll post just the part regarding marriage:

Now concerning the things about which you wrote, it is good for a man not to touch a woman.  But because of immoralities, each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband.  The husband must fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise also the wife to her husband.  The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.  Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.  But this I say by way of concession, not of command.  Yet I wish that all men were even as I myself am. However, each man has his own gift from God, one in this manner, and another in that.  But I say to the unmarried and to widows that it is good for them if they remain even as I.  But if they do not have self-control, let them marry; for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.
-- 1 Corinthians 7:1-9
(emphasis mine)

As you can see here, St. Paul is unmarried and would prefer that people remain this way.

Unknown

I recently read from the Stories of the Desert Fathers, yes he was married....

However; he left the world to follow from the feet of Abba Antonious, and He asked St. Paul for one thing: Obedience, and St. Paul forsook everything and carried His Cross and Followed Christ.

Even though he was married, he felt something he could not attain in the world, and desired to find St. Antony, and begged at his feet to learn from him.

Holmes

[coptic]+ Pi`<rictoc aftonf>[/coptic]

OwohNaiNem,

I believe you are thinking of another St. Paul, the apostle of Abba Antony.  The St. Paul in the original post is St. Paul the Apostle.

Unknown

Pikhrestos Aftonf.

Yes, you are right. Sorry for the confusion!

St. Paul(called the 13th disciple) is unmarried as confirmed by everyone else...

St.Peter22599

I  am  saying  no  because  he  was  a  disple.  I am  saying 

because    beholder  of  God so  it  is :NO  But  however  the  other

dispiles    was  unmarried it  was  NO

Coptic-Irini

I  am  saying  no  because  he  was  a  disple.  I am  saying

because    beholder  of  God so  it  is :NO  But  however  the  other

dispiles    was  unmarried it  was  NO

Luke 4:

38 And he arose out of the synagogue, and entered into Simon's house. And Simon's wife's mother was taken with a great fever; and they besought him for her. 39 And he stood over her, and rebuked the fever; and it left her: and immediately she arose and ministered unto them. 40 Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them.


St. Peter was married, that's for sure... I don't know about the other disciples though. It wasn't obliged to be not married as a disciple. I mean, our Lord Jesus chose Simon, who became Peter, as one of his followers while he was married.

And btw, priests can be married too, and they are the disciples of these days :)

Anglican

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

St. Paul certainly was not married. Our brother here, Κηφᾶς , gives the most compelling evidence not only for this, but for the dangers of reading the Bible out of context. There is nothing in any Christian tradition which would support the notion that St. Paul ever married; indeed his very manner of life would have made any such earthly commitment impossible - as, in the end, it did for St. Peter, who had to put God's work first.

But as Coptic-Irini reminds us, our attitude towards marriage and the priesthood is more sensible than say that of the Roman Catholic Church. We maintain the tradition of the ancient and undivided Church, which allowed priests to marry - but not bishops. The Romans abandoned this in the eleventh century - another unnecessary novelty.

In Christ,

John

Unknown

This is amazing!!
I was just reading the SAME story a few days ago!!
I was saying to myself :"That can't the same saint anthony and saint Paul that we know!?? "

The story was this: Saint paul found his wife in the actual ACT of adultary. He left her because of that. (i guess that's allowed). He then went to meet saint Anthony, and begged to learn from him. Saint Anthony said "sure. but just wait here". He made saint paul wait for him for 1 week standing in the burning sun. Then he invited saint paul into his house. He ate and made saint Paul look without eating.

Anyway, the story goes on and on... and i'm just feeling really bad for this man. His wife commits adultary, he decides to live a holy life, and then it gets even harder for him.

Amazing...

Anyway, PLEASE PLEASE tell me if this is the same Anthony and Paul that we all know? It doesnt sound like our saint anthony, yet it appeared in the "Stories of the Desert Fathers".

If it is our saint anthony, then it explains ONE thing at least: He had typical egyptian timing making someone wait for him for 1 week in the hot sun!
[quote author=OwohNaiNem link=topic=2878.msg69707#msg69707 date=1176488101]
I recently read from the Stories of the Desert Fathers, yes he was married....

However; he left the world to follow from the feet of Abba Antonious, and He asked St. Paul for one thing: Obedience, and St. Paul forsook everything and carried His Cross and Followed Christ.

Even though he was married, he felt something he could not attain in the world, and desired to find St. Antony, and begged at his feet to learn from him.

Holmes

[coptic]+ Pi`<rictoc aftonf>[/coptic]

It is the same St. Antony.  St. Antony the Great and his disciple St. Paul of Tammoah (I believe that is how it is spelled).