Dr. David Hunter University of Kentucky “Priestly Celibacy in the Catholic Church: Origins and Early History” Thursday, October 4, 2007 at 7:30 PM UK Newman Center 320 Rose Lane, Lexington Free and open to the public Refreshments follow presentation

Abstract: In this talk Dr. Hunter will examine recent theories of the origins of priestly celibacy in the Catholic Church. He will discuss the views of those scholars who claim that this tradition has apostolic origins, as well as the views of those who see it as a departure from early Christian practice. Dr. Hunter will then present his own interpretation of the origins and development of the celibacy requirement in the Catholic Church.

David G. Hunter is the first holder of the Cottrill-Rolfes Chair of Catholic Studies. David received his Ph.D. in 1986 from the Department of Theology at the University of Notre Dame in its Christianity and Judaism in Antiquity program. He comes to the University of Kentucky from Iowa State University, where he has held the Monsignor James A. Supple Chair of Catholic Studies since 1999. Prior to that David taught for fifteen years at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. David’s academic interests lie in the early history of Christianity and the history of Christian thought. He has published several books and a number of articles on Greek and Latin writers of the early church, among them Augustine, Ambrose, Jerome, Clement of Alexandria, and John Chrysostom. David’s most recent book, Marriage, Celibacy, and Heresy in Ancient Christianity: The Jovinianist Controversy (Oxford University Press, 2007), examines early Christian debates about marriage and celibacy. He is currently writing a history of the requirement of priestly celibacy in the Catholic Church.