Christian head covering

Fresco of veiled Christian woman, 3rd century.

Christian head covering was unanimously practiced by the women of the Early Church. This was attested by multiple writers throughout the first centuries of Christianity. Clement of Alexandria (150–215), an early theologian, wrote, “Woman and man are to go to church decently attired...for this is the wish of the Word, since it is becoming for her to pray veiled.”[7] Clement of Alexandria (c. 150 – c. 215) writes about veiling, “It has also been commanded that the head should be veiled and the face covered, for it is a wicked thing for beauty to be a snare to men. Nor is it appropriate for a woman to desire to make herself conspicuous by using a purple veil.” The early Christian writer Tertullian (150–220) explains that in his day, the Corinthian church was still practicing head covering. This is only 150 years after the Apostle Paul wrote 1 Corinthians. He said, “So, too, did the Corinthians themselves understand [Paul]. In fact, at this day the Corinthians do veil their virgins. What the apostles taught, their disciples approve.”[8] Another theologian, Hippolytus of Rome (170–236) while giving instructions for church gatherings said "...let all the women have their heads covered with an opaque cloth..."[9] “Early church history bears witness that in Rome, Antioch, and Africa the custom [of wearing the head covering] became the norm [for the Church].”[10] Origen of Alexandria (c. 184 – c. 253) wrote, "There are angels in the midst of our assembly...we have here a twofold Church, one of men, the other of angels...And since there are angels present... women, when they pray, are ordered to have a covering upon their heads because of those angels. They assist the saints and rejoice in the Church." In the second half of the third century, women praying with their heads covered is mentioned as church practice by St. Victorinus in his commentary of the Apocalypse of John.[11]

Later, in the 4th century, the church leader John Chrysostom (347–407) stated, “…the business of whether to cover one’s head was legislated by nature (see 1 Cor 11:14–15). When I say “nature,” I mean “God.” For he is the one who created nature. Take note, therefore, what great harm comes from overturning these boundaries! And don’t tell me that this is a small sin.”[12] Jerome (347–420) noted that the hair cap and the prayer veil is worn by Christian women in Egypt and Syria: “do not go about with heads uncovered in defiance of the apostle’s command, for they wear a close-fitting cap and a veil.”[13] Augustine of Hippo (354–430) writes about the head covering, "It is not becoming, even in married women, to uncover their hair, since the apostle commands women to keep their heads covered."[14] Early Christian art also confirms that women wore headcoverings during this time period.[15]

A wimple as shown in Portrait of a Woman, circa 1430-1435, by Robert Campin (1375/1379–1444), National Gallery, London. The cloth is 4-ply and the pins holding it in place are visible at the top of the head.

Until at least the 18th century, the wearing of a head covering, both in the public and while attending church, was regarded as customary for Christian women in Mediterranean, European, Middle Eastern, and African cultures.[16] A woman who did not wear a head covering was interpreted to be "a prostitute or adulteress.”[16][17] In Europe, law stipulated that married women who uncovered their hair in public was evidence of her infidelity.[18]

Women of the Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Church wearing headcoverings

Some Eastern Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches require women to cover their heads while in church; an example of this practice occurs in the Russian Orthodox Church.[22] In Albania, Christian women often wear white veils, although their eyes are visible; moreover, in that nation, in Orthodox Christian church buildings, women are separated from men by latticework partitions during the church service.[23]

In other cases, the choice may be individual, or vary within a country or jurisdiction. Among Eastern Orthodox women in Greece, the practice of wearing a head covering in church gradually declined over the course of the 20th century. In the United States, the custom can vary depending on the denomination and congregation, and the origins of that congregation. Catholics in South Korea still wear the headcovering.[6]

Eastern Orthodox clergy of all levels have head coverings, sometimes with veils in the case of monastics or celibates, that are donned and removed at certain points in the services. In U.S. churches they are less commonly worn.

Eastern Orthodox female monks wear a head covering called an apostolnik, which is worn at all times, and is the only part of the monastic habit which distinguishes them from Eastern Orthodox male monks.

Painting of Martin Luther preaching (all women are depicted wearing a head covering).

Headcovering in the Restored Reformed Church of Doornspijk

In Western Europe and North America at the start of the 20th century, women in some mainstream Christian denominations wore head coverings during church services.[24] These included many Anglican,[25] Baptist,[26] Catholic,[27] Lutheran,[28] Methodist,[29] Presbyterian Churches.[30][31][32]

Head covering for women was unanimously held by the Latin Church until the 1983 Code of Canon Law came into effect. Historically, women were required to veil their heads when receiving the Eucharist following the Councils of Autun and Angers.[33] Similarly, in 585, the Synod of Auxerre (France) stated that women should wear a head-covering during the Holy Mass.[34][35] The Synod of Rome in 743 declared that "A woman praying in church without her head covered brings shame upon her head, according to the word of the Apostle.,[36] a position later supported by Pope Nicholas I in 866, for church services."[37] In the Middle Ages, Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) said that "the man existing under God should not have a covering over his to show he is immediately subject to God; but the woman should wear a covering to show that besides God she is naturally subject to another."[38] In the 1917 Code of Canon Law it was a requirement that women cover their heads in church. It said, "women, however, shall have a covered head and be modestly dressed, especially when they approach the table of the Lord."[39] Veiling was not specifically addressed in the 1983 revision of the Code, which declared the 1917 Code abrogated.[40] According to the new Code, former law only has interpretive weight in norms that are repeated in the 1983 Code; all other norms are simply abrogated. There is no provision made for norms that are not repeated in the 1983 Code.[41]

Martin Luther, the Protestant Reformer, encouraged wives to wear a veil in public worship.[42] The General Rubrics of the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America, as contained in "The Lutheran Liturgy", state in a section titled "Headgear for Women": "It is laudable custom, based upon a Scriptural injunction (1 Cor. 11:3-15), for women to wear an appropriate head covering in Church, especially at the time of divine service."[28]

John Calvin, the founder of the Reformed Churches and John Knox, the founder of the Presbyterian Church, both called for women to wear head coverings in public worship.[30][31][32] John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, held that a woman, "especially in a religious assembly", should "keep on her veil".[43][44][44]

In nations in regions such as Eastern Europe and the Indian subcontinent, nearly all Christian women wear head coverings during church services.[45][46] In the United Kingdom, it is common for women to wear a Christian headcovering while attending formal religious services, such as church weddings.[47][48][49] At worship, in parts of the Western World, many women started to wear bonnets as their headcoverings, and later, hats became predominant.[50][51] However, eventually, in North America and parts of Western Europe, this practice started to decline,[24][52] with some exceptions including Christians who wear plain dress, such as Conservative Quakers and many Anabaptists (including Mennonites, Hutterites,[53] Old German Baptist Brethren,[54] Apostolic Christians and Amish). Moravian females wear a lace headcovering called a haube, especially when serving as dieners.[55] Traditionalist Catholics, as well as many Holiness Christians who practice the doctrine of outward holiness, also practice headcovering,[56] in addition to the Laestadian Lutheran Church, the Plymouth Brethren, and the more conservative Scottish and Irish Presbyterian and Dutch Reformed churches. Some female believers in the Churches of Christ cover too. Pentecostal Churches, such as the Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith, The Pentecostal Mission, the Christian Congregation, and Believers Church observe the veiling of women as well.[57] Female members of Jehovah's Witnesses may only lead prayer and teaching when no baptized male is available to, and must do so wearing a head covering.[58][59]

Nuns of the Roman Catholic, Lutheran and Anglican traditions often wear a veil as a part of their religious habit.

Coptic Orthodox Christian woman wearing a head covering and harabah (1918).

Coptic women historically covered their head and face in public and in the presence of men.[60] During the 19th century, upper-class urban Christian and Muslim women in Egypt wore a garment which included a head cover and a burqa (muslin cloth that covered the lower nose and the mouth).[61] The name of this garment, harabah, derives from early Christian and Judaic religious vocabulary, which may indicate the origins of the garment itself.[61] Unmarried women generally wore white veils while married women wore black.[60] The practice began to decline by the early 20th century.[60]

Passages such as Genesis 24:65, Numbers 5:18 and Isaiah 47:2 indicate that some women wore a head covering during the Old Testament time period.

Amish women wearing a headcovering.

1 Corinthians 11:2–16 contains the only passage in the New Testament referring to the use of headcoverings for women (and the uncovering of the heads of men).[3][62]

Paul introduces this passage by praising the Corinthian Christians for remembering the "teachings" (also translated as "traditions"[63] or "ordinances"[64]) that he had passed on to them (verse 2).

Paul then explains the Christian use of head coverings using the subjects of headship, glory, angels, natural hair lengths, and the practice of the churches. What he specifically said about each of these subjects has led to differences in interpretation (and practice) among Bible commentators and Christian congregations.

I praise you for remembering me in everything and for holding to the traditions just as I passed them on to you. But I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head—it is the same as having her head shaved. For if a woman does not cover her head, she might as well have her hair cut off; but if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, then she should cover her head.

A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man. For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. It is for this reason that a woman ought to have authority over her own head, because of the angels. Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God.

Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? Does not the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering. If anyone wants to be contentious about this, we have no other practice — nor do the churches of God.

— 1 Corinthians 11:2-16, New International translation

Some combine this it with 1 Thessalonians 5 ("Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances"[65]) and hold that Christian women are commanded to wear the Christian head covering without ceasing.[66]

It is also sometimes interpreted in conjunction with modesty in clothing (1 Timothy 2:9-10 "I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God"[67]).

There are several key sections of 1 Corinthians 11:2–16 that Bible commentators and Christian congregations have held differing opinions about, which have resulted in a diversity of practices regarding the use of headcoverings.

• Gender-based headship: Paul connects the use (or non-use) of headcoverings with the biblical distinctions between each gender. In 1 Corinthians 11:3, Paul wrote, “Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman." He immediately continues with a gender-based teaching on the use of headcoverings: "Every man who has something on his head while praying or prophesying disgraces his head. But every woman who has her head uncovered while praying or prophesying disgraces her head."
• Glory and worship: Paul next explains that the use (or non-use) of headcoverings is related to God's glory during times of prayer and prophesy. In 1 Corinthians 11:7, he states that man is the "glory of God" and that for this reason "a man ought not to have his head covered." In the same verse, Paul also states that the woman is the "glory of man." He explains that statement in the subsequent two verses by referring to the woman's creation in NASB, and then concludes, "Therefore the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head" (verse 10). In other words, the "glory of God" (man) is to be uncovered during times of worship, while the "glory of man" (woman) is to be covered.
• Angels: In 1 Corinthians 11:10, Paul says “Therefore the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.” Many interpreters admit that Paul does not provide much explanation for the role of angels in this context. Some popular interpretations of this passage are (1) An appeal not to offend the angels by disobedience to Paul's instructions, (2) a command to accurately show angels a picture of the created order (Ephesians 3:10, 1 Peter 1:12), (3) a warning for us to obey as a means of accountability, since the angels are watching (1 Timothy 5:21), (4) to be like the angels who cover themselves in the presence of God (Isaiah 6:2), and (5) not to be like the fallen angels who did not stay in the role that God created for them (Jude 1:6).
• Nature and hair lengths: In 1 Corinthians 11:13–15, Paul asks a rhetorical question about the propriety of headcoverings, and then answers it himself with a lesson from nature: “Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him, but if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her? For her hair is given to her for a covering.” In this passage, some see Paul as indicating that since a woman naturally "covers" her head with long hair, she likewise ought to cover it with a cloth covering while praying or prophesying. Others interpreters see the statement "her hair is given to her for a covering" as indicating that all instances of headcovering in the chapter refer only to the "covering" of long hair.
• Church practice: In 1 Corinthians 11:16, Paul responded to any readers who may disagree with his teaching about the use of headcoverings: “But if one is inclined to be contentious, we have no other practice, nor have the churches of God.” This may indicate that headcoverings were considered a standard, universal Christian symbolic practice (rather than a local cultural custom). In other words, while Christian churches were spread out geographically and contained a diversity of cultures, they all practiced headcovering for female members.

Due to various interpretive issues (such as those listed above), Bible commentators and Christian congregations have a diversity of conclusions and practices regarding headcovering. One primary area of debate is whether Paul's call for men to uncover their heads and women to cover their heads was intended to be followed by Christians outside of the First Century Corinthian church. While some Christian congregations continue to use headcoverings for female members, others do not.

• Some churches view Christian headcovering as a practice that Paul intended for all Christians, in all locations, during all time periods and so they continue the practice within their congregations. They base their interpretation on the God-ordained order of headship,[68]
• Another interpretation is that Paul's commands regarding headcovering were a cultural mandate that was only for the first-century Corinthian church. Often, interpreters will state that Paul was simply trying to create a distinction between uncovered Corinthian prostitutes and godly Corinthian Christian women. Under that interpretation, a church will not practice Christian headcovering.
• Some Christians believe that Paul stated that long hair is the covering, when it comes to modesty (see 1 Corinthians 11:14–15).[69] Feminist theologian Katharine Bushnell provides another interpretation that similarly teaches that Paul was not intending for women to cover their hair with a cloth covering, for modesty.[70]

The majority of Biblical scholars have held that "verses 4-7 refer to a literal veil or covering of cloth" for "praying and prophesying" and verse 15 to refer to long hair of a woman for modesty.[71]