Why do women cover their heads with a headscarf in church?

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

Probably, absolutely all people, even non-believers, know that a woman must cover her head when entering a church building. Handkerchiefs are now often provided in churches free of charge. This is very convenient, since, as a rule, they are not available during an impulse visit to the temple.

But where did this tradition come from? Why do women cover their heads in church and men do not? What explains such a requirement? These questions often arise for those who are faced with the need to wear a headscarf, but do not want to do it.

Do I need to cover my hair everywhere?

The question of why women cover their heads in church is often caused by the sincere bewilderment of those who visited churches outside of Russia. For example, it is quite difficult to explain to foreign tourists the need to use public headscarves. Women not only do not understand why this is necessary, but alsorefuse because of the likelihood of contracting any infections, for example, fungal infections, or for fear of catching lice.

Indeed, hair covering is not required everywhere, even within the exclusively orthodox Christian denominations. For example, in Greek chapels, cathedrals and churches, it is quite possible to observe women praying, whose heads are not covered by anything.

However, this is not at all connected with Christian traditions, but with the peculiarities of historical development. For some time Greece was under Muslim rule. At this time, laws required all women to wear hijabs or veils, regardless of their religion. Entering the church, the Greek women immediately got rid of the hats they hated and remained simple-haired. With the departure of Muslim rule, the tradition of remaining uncovered in the temple remained.

There is no need to cover hair in Catholic churches, wherever they are. Although in some places it is customary to come to Mass in hats with a veil, in elegant scarves, these, as in the case of Greek Christian women, are customs that have developed outside of Christianity.

What is the reason for covering the hair?

Quite often when asked why women need to cover their heads in church, people who understand religious subtleties answer that the Apostle Paul spoke about the need for this.

Indeed, in one of the epistles of the apostle there are words about the need to cover the head during worship. However, why in church women coverhead, has nothing to do with faith in Christ itself.

During the formation of Christianity, there were many cults, the servants of which shaved their heads. These included the cult of Aphrodite, which was very widespread in the Mediterranean, and many others. Having believed in Christ, the priestesses were embarrassed by their appearance and did not want to stand out during meetings. The solution to this issue was the parting word of the apostle, who recommended that all women cover their heads with scarves. This made it impossible to single out specific women from the crowd and embarrass them or censure them.

Thus, the answer to the question of why women cover their heads in church is not related to faith, and the procedure itself is advisory in nature. That is why in Catholic churches hair covering was never required from parishioners.

How was this tradition explained in Russia?

The headscarf that covers the hair gives women modesty and humility. In addition, the hair of the Slavs during paganism was always loose during rituals, holidays and ceremonies. Hair is also one of the main materials used in divination.

This is one of the reasons why women cover their heads with a headscarf in church. In addition, the scarf covers one of the attractive features of the appearance. In other words, it removes things that might distract other worshipers.

The tradition of covering hair at the entrance to the church in Russia with the introduction of "Domostroy" was fixed. If before him being in the temple without a headscarfcensured, but allowed, then after the entry into force of this set of rules, covering the hair became mandatory.

What is written in Domostroy?

"Domostroy" is a collection of prescriptions, rules related to the organization of the way of life and life of Russian people. This set of prescriptions appeared in the 15th century and was the actual consolidation of the way that the majority of the population already adhered to.

The rules included in this collection required all women to enter the temple with their hair covered. However, this set of prescriptions did not regulate what exactly you need to cover your head with. This was the reason why a woman in a church with her head covered could wear both a rich kokoshnik and a simple headscarf.

Do all women need to cover their hair?

Until the middle of the fifteenth century, there was a custom according to which, at the entrance to the temple, only married women, girls and teenagers, children, did not hide their hair. However, the set of rules and norms of the Domostroy way of life ordered all women to cover their heads, without any exceptions. In this regard, a tradition arose to wear white headscarves on girls. And girls of marriageable age began to wear beautiful, large shawls embroidered with patterns, which, when leaving the temple, could be dropped on their shoulders.

However, the requirement of "Domostroy" did not take root everywhere. In the southern parts of the country, the custom has been preserved, according to which girls and children did not hide their hair. However, they wore tight braids, and it was considered unacceptable to enter the temple with loose hair.

In Little Russia, why a woman should cover her head in church, the people directly associated with devilry and witchcraft. Therefore, there girls began to use scarves with the beginning of the formation of menstruation. It was very convenient and practical, because by the presence of a scarf it was possible to understand whether it makes sense to send matchmakers to a specific family. That is, the scarf was a kind of sign indicating that the girl was ready for marriage.

What do the priests say? Should I hide my hair?

Paradoxically, the Christian Church has never officially required women to cover their hair. Wearing headscarves is associated with local customs, lifestyles, historical moments and other similar circumstances.

However, an important role is played by the position of a particular clergyman, the rector of the temple that the woman is going to visit. Many priests do not require a head covering, emphasizing that this is a personal matter for the believer. But there are those who adhere to the position of the apostle and believe that it is appropriate to hide the hair in the church, especially if the hairstyle is extravagant or stands out with color.

It is also necessary to take into account what is accepted among the permanent parishioners in a particular temple. Traditions must be respected. And although no one has the right to force a woman to wear a headscarf, before defending her freedom of choice, you need to think about why you go to church - to pray or to show yourself.