<P> The teaching on the superiority of virginity over marriage expressed by Saint Paul, was accepted by the early Church, as shown in the perhaps 1st - century Shepherd of Hermas . Justin Martyr, writing in the middle of the 2nd century, boasted of the "many men and women of sixty and seventy years of age who from their childhood have been the disciples of Christ, and have kept themselves uncorrupted". Virginity was praised by Cyprian (c. 200--258) and other prominent Christian figures and leaders . Philip Schaff admits that it cannot be denied that the later doctrine of the 16th century Council of Trent--"that it is more blessed to remain virgin or celibate than to be joined in marriage"--was the view that dominated the whole of the early Christian church . At the same time, the Church still discouraged anyone who would "condemn marriage, or abominate and condemn a woman who is a believer and devout, and sleeps with her own husband, as though she could not enter the Kingdom (of heaven)". </P> <P> For much of the history of the Catholic Church, no specific ritual was therefore prescribed for celebrating a marriage--at least not until the late medieval period: "Marriage vows did not have to be exchanged in a church, nor was a priest's presence required . A couple could exchange consent anywhere, anytime ." </P> <P> Markus notes this impact on the early Christian attitude, particularly as Christian anxiety about sex intensified after 400: "" The superiority of virginity and sexual abstinence was generally taken for granted . But a dark undercurrent of hostility to sexuality and marriage became interwoven with the more benign attitudes towards the body and current as late as the second century . Attitudes diverged, and mainstream Christianity became infected with a pronounced streak of distrust towards bodily existence and sexuality . This permanent' encratite' tendency was given powerful impetus in the debates about Christian perfection at the end of the fourth and the beginning of the fifth centuries ." </P> <P> While the Church Fathers of the Latin or Catholic Church did not condemn marriage, they nevertheless taught a preference for celibacy and virginity . </P>

When did confirmation become recognized as a single sacrament