The History and Tradition of Christian Head Covering
Because of the Angels Part 2
“Head-coverings are meant to help women cultivate modesty, humility, and love for their brethren during prayer.”
If you are a woman intrigued by the practice of head covering in the Orthodox Church, I want to welcome you here as I shed some light into the history of this tradition. As women, it is good to be acquainted with the teachings of the church by way of Tradition, the Scriptures and the Fathers.
For my part, I wasn’t aware of the practice the first five years I was Orthodox. A move across town necessitated our switching churches, and it was at our new church that I saw women veiling. This glimpse into the “old ways” prompted my curiosity. So that you know, I haven’t always been a faithful follower of the tradition. There were times when managing small children in church, that wearing a head covering felt like a great inconvenience. And there was certainly a time when I was so unfamiliar with the tradition behind the practice that I just placed a covering on my head as I went up for the Eucharist.
Yet today, there is renewed interest in the ancient practices of our faith, and there are definitely more women following the tradition of covering the head with a scarf, a bandana or a hat. It used to be that I would only see a few women from Russian block countries and older convert women covering their heads with a scarf. Now, when I look across our parish on a Sunday, many women, both cradle and converts, have taken on the practice as their own. You will see young women, girls, teens and older women covering their heads. You will see delicate lace scarves, bandanas, hats, head wraps, beanies, cloth scarves and all manner of coverings secured with bobby pins or careful twists holding these lovely coverings securely to the head.
Historically
While it may seem outdated, superfluous, or odd to our modern sensibilities, women have been veiling (or covering their heads) during prayer and in holy services for millennia. The scriptures and the teachings of the early church fathers confirm this.
In the Old Testament book of Numbers, we see the priest uncover the woman’s head to place the “offering for remembering” in her hands (5:18). In the New Testament epistle 1 Corinthians, Paul instructs that “the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head” (11:10). In the 4th century, St. John Chrysostom encourages women to wear their head-coverings or veils “with care and diligence.” (John Chrysostom In epistolam ad Corinthos 26.3 (PG 61:217).
These are just a few references to the practice which has been around for ages. Women, throughout all Christian history, have covered their heads in church and this practice was universal until as recently as the 1970s. My Catholic grandmother’s mantilla that I mentioned in part 1, is evidence of this widespread and pious tradition. Even Protestant women wore hats or scarves to church.
A formerly Baptist woman writing under the Christian name of Elisabet, mentions in her article “On Account of the Angels: Why I Cover My Head,” that “after I had been a Christian for thirteen years, a desire for the sacraments drew me to the Episcopal Church. It was 1979, and three-fourths of the women in the congregation wore head-coverings.”
Additionally, Catholic women wore head coverings as a mandate of the Church until 1970. According to Matt Fradd in his 2013 article, “What Happened to Head Coverings at Mass”:
Veiling was mandated in the 1917 Code of Canon Law. Canon 1262 states:
1. It is desirable that, consistent with ancient discipline, women be separated from men in church.
2. Men, in a church or outside a church, while they are assisting at sacred rites, shall be bare headed, unless the approved mores of the people or peculiar circumstances of things determine otherwise; women, however, shall have a covered head and be modestly dressed, especially when they approach the table of the Lord.
Moreover, according to a Russian friend who grew up during the Soviet era, even though communism was the “religion” of the state, women who went to church always wore a kerchief: “My great babushka always covered her head with a little kerchief for Liturgy and required that I wear one too.”
To support this history, we see the veiling practice in modern film depicting women wearing hats to church in the early 20th century.
Here is a 1902 film clip of women wearing hats leaving a church service in Cork, Ireland.
Here is 1925 movie short showing women entering a church wearing head coverings and hats.
These are just a few of the myriad documented histories of women covering their heads in churches through the ages.
The Scriptures, the Church Fathers, and the Iconography
All of this begs the question: Why do women cover their heads? Universally, the understanding is that women cover their heads to adhere to the Holy Traditions of the church. According to Sarah Elizabeth Cowie, in her book More Spirited than Lions: An Orthodox Response to Feminism and a Practical Guide to the Spiritual Life of Women, to follow these Holy Traditions “is not just an exterior custom; it has meaning for the soul. This is the case with everything connected with Church Tradition. It is Tradition because it is full of meaning. Tradition helps the soul on its heavenward journey.”
To dive deeper, let’s look at St. Paul’s command in the scriptures to keep the Holy Tradition of wearing a veil during prayer as a symbol of authority and “because of the angels.” 1 Corinthians 11: 2 – 16: (NKJV)
2 Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the traditions just as I delivered them to you. 3 But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. 4 Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonors his head. 5 But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, for that is one and the same as if her head were shaved. 6 For if a woman is not covered, let her also be shorn. But if it is shameful for a woman to be shorn or shaved, let her be covered. 7 For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man. 8 For man is not from woman, but woman from man. 9 Nor was man created for the woman, but woman for the man. 10 For this reason the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels. 11 Nevertheless, neither is man independent of woman, nor woman independent of man, in the Lord. 12 For as woman came from man, even so man also comes through woman; but all things are from God.
13 Judge among yourselves. Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14 Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him? 15 But if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her; for her hair is given [a]to her for a covering. 16 But if anyone seems to be contentious, we have no such custom, nor do the churches of God.
In this passage, we see three important concepts relating to women wearing a head covering:
Paul urges his people to follow the traditions of the church which includes women wearing a head covering and men not wearing one: “Every woman who prays with her head uncovered, dishonors her head.” (5)
A woman covering her head during liturgy acknowledges the divine hierarchy that man is made in the image of God and woman is the glory of man and man is born through a woman. “For this reason,” Paul says, “woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.”(10) Like the angels, who are holy beings that acknowledge this divine hierarchy, women demonstrate a respect for the authority structure of God (God, Christ, Man, Woman) by wearing a head covering.
A woman’s hair is a glory to her (15), so to cover it during prayer is a practice in humility, modesty and submission.
These scriptures point to a tradition of female head covering, long established, where women honor their role in creation, submit to the authority of the church given in the scriptures, and demonstrate humility and reverence during the divine services.
In addition to scripture, the church recognizes the teachings of the Church Fathers in establishing head covering as a holy practice. In the 2nd century, Saint Hippolytus of Rome wrote in the Apostolic Traditions, “Let all women have their heads covered with an opaque cloth.” [Didascalia apostolorum, 1.8 (3.26)]. Around that same time, St Clement of Alexandria instructed that “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 [The Instructor 190 – 202 AD]. We also have the writings of St. John Chrystostom, St. Augustine of Hippo, Tertullian of Carthage, and many other early Christian Fathers who address the practice of female head covering.
Finally, the iconography of the church provides an historic record of women covering their heads. Every woman depicted in traditional iconography is veiled, the foremost being the Theotokos. Two exceptions to this are St. Mary of Egypt who did not have any garments except that which St. Zosimos provided for her in the desert, and Eve, who is portrayed with a fig leaf.
Concluding Thoughts
The veil as a “symbol of authority on a woman’s head” can be a challenging teaching. Many contemporary women don’t want a symbol of authority on their head. Many women feel that it is unnecessary and that those traditions are antiquated and irrelevant in our modern world. Afterall, most of us don’t live in a desert where it is physically practical to wear a covering to keep the sand and sun off the scalp. Yet, the scriptures and the tradition point us beyond the practical to the spiritual. By wearing the veil, one is submitting to the authority of the historic church, one is acknowledging the hierarchy of the divine creation, and one is practicing modesty and humility. How incredible that a single choice to wear a head covering can enable a woman to participate so entirely in the faith. When we wear a head covering, we join with the Theotokos, the most blessed among women, and all the female saints in this ritual of obedience and modesty. What a privilege and a joy to offer this practice as part of our worship and prayer.
If you would like to learn more about the historic practice of female head covering, I am linking two articles that were helpful for me in studying this topic.:
“Head-coverings are meant to help women cultivate modesty, humility, and love for their brethren during prayer.”
