Thus, peasants would contribute a tenth of their meat and a tenth of their harvest to the church. The priests in the middle ages made a living from tithes, a fee that parishioners paid from working in the fields. Priesthood in the middle ages was hereditary, so that the priest’s son would take over the church when his father died.

One would be apprenticed to an active local priest, if accepted by the priest (or ordered by a bishop - which would happen later when priests were forced to accept under-qualified apprentices), and would go through apprenticeship as an acolyte up until you were ordained as a sub-deacon. Seminaries are other thing than monasteries, they are for priests that will be parsons, out of any religious order.

But here are a few drawbacks to being a medieval priest. It might seem like one of the more glamorous professions in the Middle Ages - as a priest you could run a church and offer moral leadership to your parishioners. There were only two ways you could become a priest. For example, in the Roman Catholic church, only unmarried males can become priests. If you qualify, go to college to earn a bachelor's degree and get involved with your parish, volunteering at church whenever possible. Either your mother or father was a priest or you were made a priest by a dying priest. The Church attempted to keep priests and bishops from marrying and having children. To be a priest you would have to attend a seminary and study for some years, but it is not the same a seminary of the IX century than one of the XV century. These attempts to impose celibacy deterred some people from aspiring to become priests. Women were not permitted to become priests.

Knowledge gets better with time. When you graduate, you will be ordained as a deacon and can … At which point one would need to be ordained as a deacon and eventually a priest, once approved by the bishop of … Catholic priests are typically required to have a bachelor's degree. The clergy would use one third of the contributions for their own upkeep, while the Bishop and the … Once you have your B.A., apply to a seminary that is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools. The total amount of tithe a person would pay would be a tenth of their earnings or their harvest.