“The choice of celibacy is a means of drawing even more closely to the following of the Lord. What I do is a gift of my body to Him”
Jessica Hayes, American consecrated virgin
“选择独身主义是与上帝拉近距离的一种方法。我所做的就是将自己的肉身奉献给上帝。”
——美国神圣贞女Jessica Hayes
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'I got married to Christ'
"我嫁给了耶稣”
Jessica Hayes bought herself a wedding gown, a veil and a ring. But when she stood at the altar facing the bishop during a solemn religious ceremony, there was no groom by her side.
Jessica Hayes为自己买了婚纱、面纱和戒指。在这样一场庄严的宗教仪式上，她站在圣坛上，面对着主教，身边却少了一位新郎。
She was getting married to Jesus Christ.
她将嫁给耶稣基督。
Ms Hayes, 41, is a consecrated virgin - a vocation taken by women within the Catholic Church who wish to give themselves as brides to God.
Hayes今年41岁，她是一名神圣贞女――信奉天主教并希望成为上帝新娘的女性选择承担的一种使命。
Even within Catholicism, consecrated virgins are little-known - partly because the vocation was only publicly sanctioned by the Church less than 50 years ago.
即使是在天主教信徒中，神圣贞女也鲜为人知，某种程度上是因为这种身份在不到50年前才被教会公开认可。
During the consecration ceremony, the candidate - who wears a bride-like, white dress- makes life-long chastity vows and promises never to engage in sexual or romantic relationships.
在神圣典礼上，神圣贞女如新娘一般身着白裙，立下守贞禁欲的誓言，许诺终生不与他人发生性关系或发展恋爱关系。
The women also wear a wedding ring - a symbol of their betrothal to Christ.
神圣贞女也会佩戴婚戒，这是与耶稣订婚的象征。
"I often get asked: 'So, are you married?'" says Ms Hayes, who is one of this year's BBC 100 Women. "I usually just reply with a really brief explanation that I am similar to a religious sister, that there's a total commitment to Christ, but that I live out in the world."
“经常有人会问我：‘所以你算是结婚了吗？’”Hayes说道。她入选了今年BBC百大女性。“我一般就会非常简明地解释，我的身份与修女相似，毫无保留地献身于耶稣，但是我依然生活于世俗之中。”
She is one of 254 "brides of Christ" in the US, according to the United States Association of Consecrated Virgins (USACV) - whose day jobs range from nurses and psychologists to accountants, business women and fire fighters.
据美国神圣贞女协会（USACV）统计，Hayes是美国254名“耶稣的新娘”之一。这些女性从事的职业有护士、心理学家、会计、商人，还有消防员。
There are at least 4,000 consecrated virgins in the world, according to a 2015 survey, and the Vatican says there has been an upsurge of vocations "in very diverse geographic areas and cultural contexts".
根据2015年的一项调查，世界上至少有4000名神圣贞女。罗马教廷称“在大相径庭的地域环境和文化背景下”，神圣贞女的数量都在增长。
Unlike nuns, consecrated virgins do not live in enclosed communities or wear special clothes; they lead a secular life, have jobs and support themselves.
与修女不同的是，神圣贞女并不居住在封闭的社区，也不穿特定的服装。她们过着世俗生活，依靠自己的工作自立更生。
CONSECRATED VIRGINS
神圣贞女
4,000 consecrated virgins in 78 countries, according to a 2015 survey
根据2015年的一项调查，世界上有4000名神圣贞女，来自78个国家。
1,220 of them live in France and Italy, the countries with the largest numbers of consecrated virgins
其中1220名居住在法国和意大利。这两个国家的神圣贞女数量最多。
US, Mexico, Romania, Poland, Spain, Germany and Argentina also have high numbers
美国，墨西哥，罗马尼亚，波兰，西班牙，德国和阿根廷也有相当数量的神圣贞女。
5,000 is the number of consecrated virgins projected for 2020
至2020年，预计神圣贞女总人数将达到5000名。
*Source: Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (CICLSAL) and USACV
数据来源：神圣与使徒生活协会众（CICLSAL）以及USACV
"I have been a teacher for 18 years, I'm actually teaching at the same high school that I went to," says Ms Hayes, who lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana, US.
现居美国印第安纳州韦恩堡的Hayes说：“我从事教师的职业已经18年了，我现在在我的母校高中教书。”
When she is not teaching, most of her time is devoted to private prayer and penance. She reports to a bishop and keeps regular meetings with her spiritual adviser.
工作之余，她将大部分时间倾注于私人祷告和赎罪。她会向主教报告她的日常，并定期与精神导师见面。
"I live in a neighbourhood, I belong to the parish that's just two miles away from my home, I am available to help family and friends. And then I teach, so I am surrounded by people during the day, but still accommodate a special consecration to the Lord around that."
“我居住在一个社区，我的教区离我家只有两英里，我随时可以帮助我的家人和朋友。我是一名教师，白天我一直在和人们打交道，与此同时我也在以一种特殊的方式侍奉上帝。”
She has been in romantic relationships in the past but says they never made her feel complete.
她曾经与别人发展过恋爱关系，但是她说她从未真正感到完满。
'Permanent commitment'
“终生的许诺”
Virgins have been part of the Church since early Christian times. In the first three centuries AD, many died as martyrs as a result.
自早期基督教时代起，贞女一直就是基督教信仰的一部分。在公元1至3世纪，许多贞女成为了殉道者。
Among them was Agnes of Rome, who was reportedly refused to marry the city's governor and was killed as a result of her devotion to religious chastity.
其中最出名的是罗马的阿格尼丝，据记载她为了维护信仰上的贞洁，拒绝嫁给城市的统治者，最终因此被杀害。
The practice then declined in medieval times as the popularity of monastic religious life grew, only to be revived by the 1971 Ordo consecrationis virginum, the document through which the Vatican recognised female perpetual virginity as a voluntary state of life within the Church.
随着僧侣宗教生活的普及，在中世纪此类事件发生的频率也在减少。直到1971年，神圣贞洁秩序的出台又使状况回到了从前。在此文件中，罗马教廷将女性终生的贞洁视为出于信仰而自愿选择的生活状态。
Ms Hayes says she had not thought of becoming a consecrated virgin until she met a spiritual adviser who, she says, "started asking the right questions".
Hayes说，在遇到那个“开始提出正确问题”的精神导师之前，她从未想过会成为一名神圣贞女。
She made the decision in 2013, and her consecration took place two years later at the age of 36.
她在2013年做出了决定。两年后，36岁的Hayes正式成为了神圣贞女。
"Even though I have a lot of the same duties that I had before, it's still different because to relate to the Lord as spouse is entirely different to relating to him as friend."
“虽然我现在的任务与以往并没有什么不同，但是一切都改变了，因为将上帝视为配偶和将他视为朋友完全是两回事。”
Living in a society where sexuality is held in high regard can be challenging for virgins, who choose to eschew physical relationships forever.
身处于一个重视性生活的社会对贞女来说是一种挑战，因为她们选择终生不能与他人发生性关系。
"I think the hardest thing is being misunderstood, as our choice is seen as counter-cultural," says Ms Hayes.
“我觉得不被世人理解才是最煎熬的，我们的选择被视为是一种反主流文化的行为。”Hayes说。
"I get a lot of, 'Oh, so you're like a single person.' I have to explain that the Lord is my primary relationship, that what I do is a giving of my body to Him."
“我常常被人评价：‘哦，所以你就等于是单身。’我就必须对他们解释，上帝是我唯一的伴侣，我所做的就是就是将自己的身体奉献给他。”
Physical virgins?
肉体上的贞女？
Last July, a new set of guidelines published by the Vatican caused a stir among consecrated virgins.
去年7月，罗马教廷出台的一系列新原则在神圣贞女中引起了轩然大波。
The issue at stake was whether women choosing this vocation needed to have remained a virgin up to the point of the ceremony.
当前问题的中心就是选择成为神圣贞女的女性，是否需要在仪式举行前一直保持处女之身。
Unlike nuns, who may take a vow of celibacy from the day they enter a religious order, these brides of Christ have been expected to be life-long virgins.
修女在加入修会之日会立誓此后保持独身，而这些耶稣的新娘则不同，她们需要终生保持处女之身。
In the controversial section 88 of the document, the Vatican now states that "to have kept her body in perfect continence or to have practised the virtue of chastity in an exemplary way" is extremely important, but not an "essential" prerequisite.
现在，罗马教廷在文件中充满争议的第88节中声明“神圣贞女完全禁欲并严格保持贞洁”非常重要，但并不是一个“基本”前提。
In other words, it may no longer be necessary to be a virgin.
换而言之，神圣贞女不一定要是处女。
The USACV, of which Ms Hayes is a member, found the guidelines "disappointing".
Hayes作为USACV的成员，她认为这些原则“令人失望”。
In a statement, the association said it was "shocking to hear from Mother Church that physical virginity may no longer be considered an essential prerequisite for consecration to a life of virginity."
USACV在声明中说道“主教堂不再要求成为神圣贞女必须要一生守贞禁欲的新原则令人震惊”。
Ms Hayes says she wishes there was "some more clarity" in the document, yet is happy that the head of the Catholic Church has focused attention on the virgins' vocation.
Hayes说她希望文件中的说明可以“更加明晰”，但是她为天主教领袖能够关注神圣贞女而感到高兴。
"And the document still says that candidates must not have been either married, or in public or flagrant violation of chastity," she says.
她说：“文件中说明，有资格成为神圣贞女的女性不可以结婚，也不可以公开违背守贞禁欲的原则。”
"Maybe there's one indiscriminate act in the past as a young person, or maybe a woman who was raped and so is not a virgin, but not out of choice."
“也许某个女性在年少轻狂时有过不当行为，或者是遭受性侵而被迫失去处女之身。”
Ultimately, she says, it is about encouraging this particular vocation among Catholic women.
她说，这归根结底是为了鼓励信仰天主教的女性承担这一神圣使命。
"And maybe vocations are growing because there's a need for people living in such a radical commitment to God - that may be what the Church needs right now."
“神圣贞女越来越多也许是因为人们希望全心全意侍奉上帝，这可能正是教会当前希望看到的。”
来源：BBC News
编译 | 范仪亦
排版 | 范仪亦
指导老师 | 刘佳
