Head covering for Christian women

An Eastern Orthodox Christian woman wearing a headcovering at church; behind her is an icon of the early Christian virgin martyr Saint Tatiana of Rome, who is depicted with her head covered.
Women who belong to the Hutterite Church, an Anabaptist Christian denomination, wear their headcovering (usually in the form of an opaque hanging veil) throughout the day.
Christian women wearing headcoverings at an Easter church service in Saint Petersburg, Russia
Part of a series on
Christianity
Principal symbol of Christianity
Theology
Nicene
Restorationist
Related topics

Christian head covering, also known as Christian veiling, is the traditional practice of women covering their head in a variety of Christian denominations. Some Christian women wear the head covering in public worship and during private prayer at home,[1][2][3] while others (esp. Conservative Anabaptists) believe women should wear head coverings at all times.[4] Among Oriental and Eastern Orthodox Churches, certain theologians likewise teach that it is "expected of all women to be covered not only during liturgical periods of prayer, but at all times, for this was their honor and sign of authority given by our Lord",[5] while others have held that headcovering should at least be done during prayer and worship.[6][7] Genesis 24:65[8] records the veil as a feminine emblem of modesty.[9][10][1] Manuals of early Christianity, including the Didascalia Apostolorum and Pædagogus, instructed that a headcovering must be worn by women during prayer and worship as well as when outside the home.[11][12] When Saint Paul commanded women to be veiled in 1 Corinthians, the surrounding pagan Greek women did not wear headcoverings; as such, the practice of Christian headcovering was countercultural in the Apostolic Era, being a biblical ordinance rather than a cultural tradition.[A][17][18][19][20] The style of headcovering varies by region, though Apostolic Tradition specifies an "opaque cloth, not with a veil of thin linen".[21]

Those enjoining the practice head covering for Christian women while "praying and prophesying" ground their argument in 1 Corinthians 11.[22][23] Denominations that teach that women should wear head coverings at all times additionally base this doctrine on Saint Paul's dictum that Christians are to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17),[24][25] Saint Paul's teaching that women being unveiled is dishonourable, and as a reflection of the created order.[B][25][33][34] Many Biblical scholars conclude that in 1 Corinthians 11 "verses 4–7 refer to a literal veil or covering of cloth" for "praying and prophesying" and hold verse 15 to refer to the hair of a woman given to her by nature.[35][36][37][38] Christian headcovering with a cloth veil was the practice of the early Church, being universally taught by the Church Fathers and practiced by Christian women throughout history,[35][2][39][40] continuing to be the ordinary practice among Christians in many parts of the world, such as Romania, Russia, Ukraine, Egypt, Ethiopia, India and Pakistan;[41][42][43][44][45] additionally, among Conservative Anabaptists such as the Conservative Mennonite churches and the Dunkard Brethren Church, headcovering is counted as an ordinance of the Church, being worn throughout the day by women.[4][31] However, in much of the Western world the practice of head covering declined during the 20th century and in churches where it is not practiced, veiling as described 1 Corinthians 11 is usually taught as being a societal practice for the age in which the passage was written.[46][47][48]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Gleason2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Gordon, Greg (31 August 2015). "Are Head Coverings Really for Today?". Evangelical Focus. Retrieved 2 May 2022. Hippolytus an early Church Father wrote, 'Let all the women have their heads covered.' Others who taught this practice in the Church were, John Calvin [father of the Reformed tradition], Martin Luther [father of the Lutheran tradition], Early Church Fathers, John Wesley [father of the Methodist tradition], Matthew Henry [Presbyterian theologian] to name just a few. We must remind ourselves that until the twentieth century, virtually all Christian women wore head coverings.
  3. ^ Barth, Paul J. (15 July 2019). "Head Coverings in Worship?". Purely Presbyterian. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  4. ^ a b c Hartzler, Rachel Nafziger (2013). No Strings Attached: Boundary Lines in Pleasant Places: A History of Warren Street / Pleasant Oaks Mennonite Church. Wipf and Stock Publishers. ISBN 978-1-62189-635-7.
  5. ^ a b Nektarios, Subdeacon (4 October 2022). "Veiling of Orthodox Christian Women According to the Fathers and in the History of the Church". Orthodox Ethos. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  6. ^ a b Nadian, Jacob. "Why Should Women Cover Their Heads During Prayers?" (PDF). St. Bishop Coptic Orthodox Church. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference SJEOC2021 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Genesis 24:65
  9. ^ Arquilevich, Gabriel (1995). World Religions. Teacher Created Resources. p. 35. ISBN 978-1-55734-624-7. The origins of the veil go back to the matriarch Rebekah, who, when she saw Isaac for the first time, 'took her veil and covered her face.' (Genesis 24:65). The veil is symbolic of Jewish traditions of modesty.
  10. ^ The Complete Works of St. Ambrose. Strelbytskyy Multimedia Publishing. 2021. Was it a small sign of modesty that when Rebecca came to wed Isaac, and saw her bridegroom, she took a veil, [Genesis 24:65] that she might not be seen before they were united? Certainly the fair virgin feared not for her beauty, but for her modesty.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Gibson1903 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Adams, Edward (2013). The Earliest Christian Meeting Places: Almost Exclusively Houses?. A&C Black. p. 81. ISBN 978-0-567-15732-4.
  13. ^ Harn, Roger van (2004). Exploring and Proclaiming the Apostles' Creed. A&C Black. p. 58. ISBN 9780819281166.
  14. ^ Lee, Witness (1990). Life-Study of 1 Corinthians: Messages 1–23. Living Stream Ministry. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-87083-140-9. In verse 2 Paul also says, "With all those who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, theires and ours." Notice that here he does not say "and all those," but with all those." This indicates that a local church, like the church in Corinth, is composed only of those believers in that locality, not of all believers in every place. It also indicates that this Epistle was intended not only for the believers in that one church in Corinth, but for all believers in every place. First Corinthians is for all believers of whatever place and time.
  15. ^ a b Marlowe, Michael D. "The Woman's Headcovering". Bible Research. Retrieved 27 April 2022. 16But if anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor do the churches of God. He thus brings the matter to a conclusion. In addition to the theological and moral reasons for the headcovering, there is also the fact that if the Corinthians were to allow their women to remove the headcovering, this new practice or custom (συνήθειαν) would go against the established custom of Paul and his fellow-workers, the custom which was observed in all the other churches, and which he has delivered to them as one of the παραδόσεις "traditional practices" of the faith (verse 2) ... Paul has devoted some time to this subject because it is important to him, not a matter of indifference; and it makes little sense to speak of a custom of being contentious (φιλόνεικος, lit. "loving strife"), because contentiousness is an attitude or temper, not a custom. There is a good parallel to Paul's usage of the word φιλόνεικος in Josephus' work Against Apion. Josephus concludes a series of arguments with the sentence, "I suppose that what I have already said may be sufficient to such as are not very contentious (φιλόνεικος)," (19) and then he continues with even stronger arguments for those who are very contentious. In the same way, Paul reserves the clinching argument for the end. It is an argument from authority. The headcovering practice is a matter of apostolic authority and tradition, and not open to debate. His concluding rebuke of the contentious people in Corinth is meant to cut off debate and settle the issue, not to leave it open. It is quite wrong to say of this last argument of Paul's that "in the end he admits" that he was merely "rationalizing the customs in which he believes," (20) as if Paul himself put little store by custom. Rather, Paul considers this to be his strongest point. At the end he harks back to the words with which he opened the subject ("maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you" in verse 2), and the whole section is thus framed between explicit invocations of tradition.
  16. ^ Gordon, Greg (31 August 2015). "Are Head Coverings Really for Today?". Evangelical Focus. Retrieved 2 May 2022. Clement of Rome in AD 96 said, "Then let us gather together in awareness of our concord" speaking of the holy angels when we worship. The Church is to gather and worship God in the Spirit (John 4:24) doing things that the world considers foolish but for the Lord there is great significance. Paul speaking as inspired by the Holy Spirit said, "We have no other practice – nor do the churches of God" (1 Corinthians 11:16). It was not just a local custom or practice but all the Churches were practicing this as they were practicing water Baptism and Holy Communion. This was not an optional thing as the default was all the Churches were doing it. It is interesting that the same apostle who warns against legalism and exhorts us to walk in the Spirit is the very same apostle who says, "If a woman does not cover her head, she should cut off her hair ..."
  17. ^ Payne, Philip Barton (2015). Man and Woman, One in Christ: An Exegetical and Theological Study of Paul's Letters. Zondervan Academic. ISBN 978-0-310-52532-5. Furthermore, Greek women, including women in prayer, were usually depicted without a garment covering the head. It does not make sense that Paul would assert something was disgraceful that in their culture was not considered disgraceful. Concerning Greek customs A. Oepke observes: ... It is quite wrong [to assert] that Greek women were under some kind of compulsion to wear a veil. ... Passages to the contrary are so numerous and unequivocally that they cannot be offset. ...Empresses and goddesses, even those who maintain their dignity, like Hera and Demeter, are portrayed without veils.
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference Scroll2022 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ Phillips, David (2014). Headcovering Throughout Christian History: The Church's Response to 1 Corinthians 11:2–16. Lockman Foundation. As Paul's instructions were counter-cultural, this passage is "a remarkable proof of the Apostle's courage and honesty." Paul teaches that going without a headcovering means a loss of "dignity, power, and grace, which God had given to women, especially under the Gospel." The idea that "a woman who casts off the covering of her head, casts off her dignity ... involves a moral truth ... Thus the divine Apostle has left a lesson to women in every age." Beyond the practice of the local Corinthian church, the author cites Early Church writers on this topic. He also notes that "the Apostolic Constitutions [4th century AD] ... expressly commanded that the women should have their heads covered in the Church."
  20. ^ Ben Witherington III (1995). Conflict and Community in Corinth: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on 1 and 2 Corinthians. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. pp. 235–38. ISBN 978-0-8028-0144-9. Paul is not simply endorsing standard Roman or even Greco-Roman customs in Corinth. Paul was about the business of reforming his converts' social assumptions and conventions in the context of the Christian community. They were to model new Christian customs, common in the assemblies of God but uncommon in the culture, thus staking out their own sense of a unique identity. ...In light of Roman practice, it is very believable that some Christian Roman males were covering their heads when they were about to pray or prophesy. Paul is not interested in baptizing the status quo or normal Roman practice. He is setting up new customs for a new community, and these customs are deeply grounded in his theological understanding of creation, redemption, their interrelation, and how they should be manifested in worship.
  21. ^ "On Head Coverings". Classical Christianity. 11 January 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2022. And let all the women have their heads covered with an opaque cloth, not with a veil of thin linen, for this is not a true covering. (Apostolic Tradition Part II.18)
  22. ^ 1 Corinthians 11:2–10
  23. ^ Osburn, Carroll D. (2007). Essays on Women in Earliest Christianity, Vol. 1. Wipf and Stock Publishers. p. 208. ISBN 9781556355400.
  24. ^ 1 Thess 5:17
  25. ^ a b Almila, Anna-Mari; Almila, David (2017). The Routledge International Handbook to Veils and Veiling. Taylor & Francis. p. 296. ISBN 978-1-317-04114-6. Amish women who wear it at all times except when sleeping. This is based on the notion that women should 'pray without ceasing'.
  26. ^ Gertz, Steven (2004). "Outsider's Guide to America's Anabaptists". Christianity Today. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  27. ^ "What about Old Orders, Hutterites, Conservatives, River Brethren and Others?". Third Way. 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  28. ^ Huffman, Jasper Abraham (1920). History of the Mennonite Brethren in Christ Church. Bethel Publishing Company. p. 59.
  29. ^ Willis, Daniel (1 May 2022). "14 Objections to the Head Covering Answered". Sound Faith. Archived from the original on 14 April 2023. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  30. ^ Cite error: The named reference Ruth2022 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  31. ^ a b Dunkard Brethren Church Polity. Dunkard Brethren Church. 2021. p. 6.
  32. ^ Cite error: The named reference OYM2022 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  33. ^ Cite error: The named reference Schaff1889 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  34. ^ Hole, Frank Binford. "F. B. Hole's Old and New Testament Commentary". StudyLight. Retrieved 6 February 2016. There is no contradiction between 1 Corinthians 11:5 of our chapter and 1 Corinthians 14:34, for the simple reason that there speaking in the assembly is in question, whereas in our chapter the assembly does not come into view until verse 1 Corinthians 11:17 is reached. Only then do we begin to consider things that may happen when we "come together." The praying or prophesying contemplated in verse 1 Corinthians 11:5 is not in connection with the formal assemblies of God's saints.
  35. ^ a b Bercot, David W. (1992). Common Sense: A New Approach to Understanding Scripture. Scroll Publishing Co. p. 68. ISBN 978-0-924722-06-6. The historical evidence is strikingly clear. The record reveals that the early churches all understood Paul to be talking about a cloth veil, not long hair. ... Hippolytus, a leader in the church in Rome around the year 200, compiled a record of the various customs and practices in that church from the generations that preceded him. His Apostolic Tradition contains this statement: "And let all the women have their heads covered with an opaque cloth, not with a veil of thin linen, for this is not a true covering." This written evidence of the course of performance of the early Christians is corroborated by the archaeological record. The pictures we have from the second and third centuries from the catacombs and other places depict Christian women praying with a cloth veil on their heads. So the historical record is crystal clear. It reveals that the early generation of believers understood the head covering to be a cloth veil – not long hair.
  36. ^ Cite error: The named reference Lee2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  37. ^ Cite error: The named reference Marlowe2008 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  38. ^ Bernard, David (1985). Practical Holiness. Word Aflame Press.
  39. ^ "Veil". Early Christian Dictionary. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  40. ^ Earle, Alice Morse (1903). Two Centuries of Costume in America, Vol. 2 (1620–1820). The Macmillan Company. p. 582. One singular thing may be noted in this history, – that with all the vagaries of fashion, woman has never violated the Biblical law that bade her cover her head. She has never gone to church services bareheaded.
  41. ^ Cite error: The named reference Walsh2019 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  42. ^ Cite error: The named reference Illini2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  43. ^ Cite error: The named reference Zăhăleanu2017 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  44. ^ Cite error: The named reference Gdaniec2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  45. ^ Lindholm, Christina. "The Politics of Christian and Muslim Women's Head Covers". University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Retrieved 9 March 2024. Observant Coptic Christians still wear head covers in Egypt and figure 2 portrays Natalya, a Christian Ethiopian girl who was on a class field trip to visit the 12th century stone churches in Lalibela, Ethiopia.
  46. ^ Cite error: The named reference PierceGroothuisFee2005 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  47. ^ Cite error: The named reference Greg2015 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  48. ^ Cite error: The named reference David1992 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


Cite error: There are <ref group=upper-alpha> tags or {{efn-ua}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=upper-alpha}} template or {{notelist-ua}} template (see the help page).