Why do some Orthodox priests not wear a beard? Is it a sin to shave a beard and mustache in Orthodoxy?

Long hair for clergy is a tradition. Most likely, it came from the Orthodox East under the influence of monasticism.Throughout the Orthodox world, including among Eastern Slavs, wearing a beard and long hair among priests was the norm.
The exception was the lands of the western part of Christendom. Roman tradition prescribed cutting and shaving. This was due to the hygiene standards of that era. Western European medicine then prescribed cutting hair and shaving the beard for the purposes of personal hygiene to prevent diseases and the appearance of lice. Swimming in the river, as we do now, was considered unsanitary, since many scientists proved that different sources of infections live in reservoirs. In the East, on the contrary, ablution, including immersion in water, was considered an obligatory daily norm.

In the Russian Orthodox Church, the tradition of clergy wearing long hair replaced another custom - cutting the hair at the crown of the head, which symbolized the crown of thorns of Jesus Christ. This tradition came to Rus' from Byzantium. There, the custom of cutting hair existed since the times of the early Christian Church, but was finally established in the 7th century (21st rule of the VI Ecumenical Council of 692). The clergy's hairstyle involved cutting the hair from above, on the crown, and cutting it from below “in a circle.” In Rus', the cropped crown of the clergy was called gumentso. The shaved part was covered with a small cap - skufya.

Since the 17th century, two traditions have existed together in the Russian Orthodox Church: not cutting your hair and cutting your hair. This is evidenced, for example, by Archdeacon Paul of Aleppo, who in 1656 traveled to Moscow with his father, Patriarch Macarius of Antioch: “ The hair on your head is(priests - d.I.I.) do not shave, except for the large circle in the middle, leaving the others long, as they eat b" [ Pavel Aleppo, archdeacon. The journey of the Patriarch of Antioch Macarius to Moscow in the 17th century. St. Petersburg, 1898. P. 97]. It is impossible to say with certainty how long the cutting of the crown was practiced, but by the 18th century. this practice was completely abandoned.

Probably ever since the priests began to let go long hair, the latter have become a subject of increased attention for them. So the Church was faced with the need to develop some recommendations regarding what should be the attitude of each individual priest towards his own hair. One of the sections of pastoral theology, the science of moral qualities and duties of priests.

The priest's hairstyle, like his entire appearance, should testify to his modesty and restraint. Shaggy, unkempt, dirty hair, as well as excessively groomed and styled hair in secular fashion, is regarded as unacceptable for the clergy. When taking care of your hair, you need to avoid extremes.

In the Russian church tradition, both a beard and long or elongated hair were and remain distinctive features Orthodox clergy, which is fully consistent with both liturgical vestments and the traditional perception of the clergy by the Orthodox people.

If a priest does not wear a beard and long hair not for health reasons, but deliberately in accordance with his desire, then people (not only believers) have a well-founded idea that the priest is embarrassed by his ministry and, in some way, is “disguising himself” .

Both the tradition of cutting the gumenzo and the tradition of letting hair go down to the shoulders had their reasons, but none of them had the force of law. Appointment Paul to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 11:14-15) is not a law or rule that requires unquestioning execution, it is a custom corresponding to the era and culture of the first Christians in the East.

On my own behalf, I can only add: if a clergyman has already decided to grow long hair, then he needs to take care of it and listen carefully to the instructions given, for example, by Professor Archimandrite Cyprian (Kern): “Moderately trimmed hair, a trimmed beard and a moderately shortened mustache in no way cannot diminish the spirituality of the priest and give rise to the reproach of panache" ( Archimandrite Cyprian, professor. Orthodox pastoral ministry. St. Petersburg, 1996. P. 92)

Deacon John Ivanov

Cassocks, beards and long hair

“Why can’t priests be like everyone else? Stand out less from the crowd: cut their hair, shave and wear suits. Look, the Catholic priests are shaved, have their hair cut and wear a suit. They are distinguished from the laity only by a white marker on their neck instead of a tie. And ours?!”

We often hear this from people. Orthodox priests have never strived to be like everyone else, their traditions have not changed for two millennia and are not going to change, they must be perceived as they are. Their ministry is so divorced from worldly life that it requires preservation external attributes as a cover from everything external. The priest is in service, and therefore wears a uniform; A military man is also required to wear a uniform.

So what, according to tradition, should an Orthodox priest look like? The most important attribute Russian priests is a beard. In some places, due to the strong influence of the West, not all clergy wear beards.

There are several traditions directly related to the radical or liberal disposition of the clergy.

The old priests, who came from the intelligentsia, were always very fond of short professorial beards, and those who came from common people, as a rule, wear lush, thick spade beards. As a rule, the more liberal the priest, the shorter his hair and beard.

Wearing long hair goes back to deep Old Testament antiquity, when those dedicated to God did not cut their hair, nails or drink wine; however, the last two points do not apply to modern priests. Uncut nails will look especially funny.

Now about the clothes. Before the revolution, white priests (that is, married) always wore cassocks and wide-brimmed hats, but monastics did not wear hats. Nowadays, priests have not worn hats for a long time; they have been replaced by more traditional skufi (dome-shaped caps). Pectoral crosses appeared only under Emperor Paul.

IN Soviet time priests were forbidden to appear in cassock outside the church. For many years they got so used to it that when the Union collapsed along with all the large payday loan bans, they continued to stubbornly follow this new tradition, sometimes even forbidding young priests to wear cassocks. In the early nineties, these traditions were still so strong that not every priest dared to take the subway or walk down the street in a cassock. Now the situation has changed radically, now much fewer priests wear lay clothes.

The cassock is a long, wide garment with very wide sleeves covering almost the entire palm. But the cassock is outerwear, under it you are supposed to wear a cassock, which differs from a cassock by narrow sleeves with cuffs, like on a shirt, a narrower cut and the presence of deep pockets, into which a missal must necessarily be placed - a rather weighty book of small format containing texts of requirements. The cassock has no pockets, so the plucking thieves have a rest.

Regarding the lack of pockets in a cassock - another anecdote from our reality. A priest is riding on the subway. And suddenly he feels that someone is trying to get into his non-existent pocket. Father pretends not to notice anything, watching what happens next. The thief takes another one futile attempt find the coveted priest's purse. The next moment, the thief's hand falls into the hand of the laughing priest. “Well, have you improved your financial situation?”

It must be said that the cassock retains heat well in the cold and protects from the heat in the heat. True, in extreme heat you can melt in all black, so Summer clothes, as a rule, light colors.

There is also a peculiar priestly fashion; cassocks, cassocks and skufeikas may differ in cut. For example, the so-called Greek cassocks and skoufias, which came to Russia from Greece, are now very common. Provincial priests are very fond of multi-colored velvet skufi. And in the seventies and eighties, there was a fashion among the clergy for multi-colored robes, which passed already in the mid-nineties. Among priests to this day there is a fashion for wide belts embroidered with colored threads and beads, which are worn over the cassock.

Priestly and liturgical clothing, as a rule, are made to order; finished products are sold, but in smaller quantities. An ordinary cassock costs two to three thousand rubles. Cassock - up to two thousand. A winter cassock costs as much as a good coat. True, there are few among the clergy who are willing to wear winter cassocks. As winter clothes priests prefer to wear ordinary coats, sheepskin coats or jackets. Skufya - from three hundred rubles to a thousand. Winter - on natural fur, like a regular fur hat.

We will not describe liturgical clothing, since you can read about this in any catechism. There are a lot of them, they have completely different purposes. The main ones are the phelonion and epitrachelion, without them the priest cannot serve the Liturgy. One thing worth saying is that some elements of liturgical vestments are awards, which, like the military, are given for long service and other merits.

For example, the very first award is the so-called loincloth, an element of liturgical vestment of a rectangular shape, which is worn on the side, which is why it is called the loincloth. The next reward is a kamilavka, a velvet headdress in blue or red. They wear it only during worship services (not to be confused with skufia, which is worn outside of worship services and has a different shape). Followed by pectoral cross- a gilded cross of a four-pointed shape, and not six-pointed, like that of novice priests. In church slang it is called a “golden cross”.

After the golden cross comes a cross with decorations along with the title of archpriest (proto - first or senior, and an ordinary priest - priest). After the cross with decorations there is a miter, a special headdress made of brocade, decorated with stones or rhinestones. After the miter there is a club, a diamond-shaped decoration made of brocade, worn on the side, like on the legguard. That, perhaps, is all the priestly awards.

Leisure

It may seem that priests do not know how to rest at all. This is not true at all yearly free credit report. Priests love to sit at the table in pleasant company, having intimate conversations, and they love to sing. Representatives of the clergy generally have excellent voices, often worthy opera house. And don’t feed some people bread - let them sing. The repertoire can be very diverse. Priests especially love to compete to see who can hold out louder and longer. Their voices are so powerful that no speakers are needed. Don’t feed others bread - let them argue on theological topics.

Priests also like to go out into nature with friends. Families, or purely male groups, to someone’s dacha, with a bathhouse. After all, they are also great masters at taking a steam bath in a Russian bathhouse and diving into a snowdrift. And they catch up with the couple in Russian! A bathhouse always means company and intimate conversations, this is a real Russian pleasure that only “ulcer sufferers” refuse.

The priesthood also has vacations - as expected, once a year, for a month or for two weeks, depending on the situation in the parish. It is very difficult for rural priests to go on vacation: where there is only one priest in the church, this is fraught with the fact that debt consolidation pros and cons the liturgical circle will have to be interrupted, the church will be closed, the parishioners will have to explain the situation or look for a replacement during the vacation, and this is almost impossible in the countryside . Therefore, many rural priests often do not go on vacation for many years.

To go on leave, they write a petition to the diocesan bishop, who, in turn, decides whether to release the priest or not. By the way, in official formulations there is no such thing as a vacation for recreation. Formally, a church minister is not allowed to rest. Therefore, in the petition they write “to allow leave for treatment.”

One day in the life of an ordinary priest

So what is a typical day like for an average priest? Let's try to create a daily routine with comments. First of all, it should be noted that clergy have irregular working hours.

Rise at 6.00-7.00

There is no breakfast. The priest serves the liturgy strictly on an empty stomach. Before the service, after 24 hours, you are strictly forbidden to eat or drink, not even medications.

The service starts at 7.00 or 8.00. The priest appears in the temple long before the official start of the service.

The liturgy lasts two to three hours, immediately after it church services begin - weddings, prayer services, funeral services, memorial services, baptisms.

The service ends at 1 or 2 p.m. Now notice that the priest has been on his feet without food or drink by this time for seven hours!

Lunch at approximately 14:00. Many people reproach priests: they say that very often priests are fat or have paunches. They probably eat a lot. Their life is so abundant and idle, so they get fat. Let's try to answer the question of where bellies come from.

Firstly, what do you think, after a six-seven hour work day, without food or drink, on your feet, under a colossal emotional and mental load, what will your appetite be like? What kind of healthy diet can we talk about in such a situation? And after lunch, the priest is given an hour or two of free time, which he, as a rule, tries to use for sleep, since he simply collapses from fatigue. Although it happens that this time does not exist at all. Therefore, if a person is inclined to be overweight, then under these favorable conditions the weight begins to exceed the prescribed norms.

Secondly, abdomens are Occupational Illness. Tell me, is it too much? opera singers no bellies? Probably not. So, the belly is due to vocal stress, which is no less than that of professional singers. This is due to physiological changes in the body, when during singing the internal pressure in the lungs and abdominal cavity increases. And the priests who do not have in a strong voice, as a rule, do not have an abdomen.

17:00 - evening service. It may not be there, then the priest immediately after lunch and until the evening goes to the services - this is communion and unction for the sick at home or in the hospital, the consecration of apartments. It could be a funeral, with a trip to the cemetery.

Many priests teach various theological courses in the evening. Many visit nursing homes, colonies, hopeless patients, and so on and so forth. A priest always has a lot to do.

If there is an evening service, it ends at the earliest at 19 o'clock, and maybe at 20 or 21. And then confession and personal conversations with parishioners.

At 21 or 22 o'clock - the end of the working day.

After 22 o'clock dinner.

We'll probably stop there.

Occupational diseases

Varicose veins - from constant stress on the legs.

Cardiovascular diseases, hypertension - from emotional stress.

Obesity; it was mentioned above.

Stomach diseases - from poor nutrition and constant stress.

Answers:

Tanya Sarbash(Ostrivnaya)

Having a beard is not a law. This is the church tradition of the Russian Orthodox Church. The custom of Orthodox priests wearing beards dates back to the Old Testament tradition. The Bible says this definitely: “And the Lord said to Moses: Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and tell them... They must not shave their heads or trim the edges of their beard” (Lev. 21:1, 5). It was forbidden not only to shave, but to trim the beard, as this was part of pagan mourning rites.

Listopadnichek

Tradition. In the image and likeness of the source. As it is created, so it is worn.

Marina V

The priests observe the Biblical institution: the Old Testament. Third book of Moses. Leviticus. “Do not cut your head round, and do not spoil the edges of your beard. "(Lev. 19, 27)

TAL

not all young priests often do not have a beard

Vadim Mansurov

Answers:

Mikhail Morozov

Having a beard is not a law. This is the church tradition of the Russian Orthodox Church. The custom of Orthodox priests wearing beards dates back to the Old Testament tradition. The Bible says this definitely: “And the Lord said to Moses: Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and tell them... They must not shave their heads or trim the edges of their beard” (Lev. 21:1, 5). It was forbidden not only to shave, but to trim the beard, as this was part of pagan mourning rites.

Pastor Alexander Lapochenko

At the Liturgy, the priest symbolizes Christ, so they try to match the image.

Tatyana \ Drana cat

trying to be like Christ at least outwardly

Midved the Blessed

I think that this is ordinary laziness according to the canons.

Vishnujana dasa

save money on the hairdresser

An Kar

Perhaps a tradition that goes back to the days when everyone wore beards and mustaches.

Loki Viking 1964

This is simply so that the mentally poor sheep of the flock of the Lord do not see their cunning and contented faces.

Oleg Nagorny

Well, some people like this tradition, because it distils, recalling the peculiar “Nazarite” priestly service... However, not all:

Andrey Tereshchenko

This is a BYZANTINE TRADITION. Catholics and Protestants don’t grow beards and Jesus has nothing to do with it, it’s strange that some “pastor” doesn’t know this

Verikostafrullahanistan$ky

Bogomaz

Andrey 8888888

God does not see people - he sees the light of people's souls... and what kind of beard is it - shaved or green, to be honest with his beard...

Olga Ruzavina

it's more glamorous

Denis Litvinov

you can’t force yourself to shave = an unpleasant thing and, in accordance with religion, they don’t force themselves = they don’t shave, but it’s easy to shorten their hair and many trim themselves without a hairdresser... Probably something like this...

Answers:

den!$

The tradition of wearing a beard goes back to Christ himself. There is a legend that the Lord was brought up in the Nazirite community - a branch of the Jewish religion. The Nazarenes were distinguished by the fact that they did not cut their hair, neither their beards nor their heads. This image was adopted by monastics in the first centuries of Christianity - in imitation of the Savior. Rus', when it adopted religion from Byzantium, adopted the church charter, originally written for monks. Along with the charter, the custom of not cutting hair came to us - at first only monastics followed this rule, then priests too. In almost all nations, a man without a beard was perceived as an immature youth. On the contrary, a man with a beard is a person who has life experience, which means worthy of respect, having authority. This, most likely, is the reason why our priests wear beards. A beard makes a clergyman stand out from other people. As a priest, I can say that wearing a beard and long hair causes certain inconveniences, but at the same time brings great benefits. Which one? You are always identified as a priest, they look at you as the Church of Christ. Realizing this, you try to behave in such a way that you do not disgrace the name of God with your behavior. But not all priests wear beards. If you see a priest without a beard, don't let it bother you. St. Nicholas, for example, was neatly tonsured, he even had a special gumenzo shaved on his head, which at that time was a sign of belonging to the priesthood.

Vladimir Kovalkov

save on soap

Answers:

Yulia Tarasenko

What happened before and what is now are two different things, the Nazarenes had long hair when they lived according to the Old Testament, they used to drink wine all the time, but now why is it a sin? Because earlier, firstly, wine was diluted several times with water, like 1/5, but I don’t remember exactly, secondly, they drank wine to disinfect their stomachs, and now to get drunk and be a drunken creature incapable of thinking and behaving normally. But as for a man’s long hair now, it’s definitely a shame. The Bible does not prohibit this, it only contains instructions and advice: “Everything is lawful for me, but not everything is beneficial.” So everyone chooses for themselves.

Linda 1

I guess not, since many priests have long hair

Birjuk

NO. What a stupid question.

DING

All priests and priests of Orthodox churches wear long hair.

his name is Legion

No. But at the same time, you cannot be like women - do a braid or ponytail.

drug drug

The Bible forbids. Isn’t it nature itself that teaches you that if a husband grows his hair, it is a dishonor for him,

Anton Kuropatov

Priests are allowed, they wear long hair and beards, like the Old Testament Nazirites.

Local Angel

Anastasia Belogortseva

no, clergy are prohibited from wearing short

Gendalf

only short skirts are not welcome….

I'm still Mikha

judging by the icon of Christ, this version has no meaning to live

Black Raven

It is forbidden to sin.

Andrew Kramer

Well, it’s like Jesus is depicted with long hair in icons. This question is just killing me. Jesus is an icon for believers, how can long hair be prohibited? Then the question is, and the church does not prohibit being bald. For some reason, no one asks this question. And what is the church, is this a law for you??? All churches are commercial organizations.

Lena

HAIR is an organ of perception and accumulation of subtle energies. The longer a person’s hair, the more spiritual power he receives, for this power nourishes all his bodies and shells. The Vedic scriptures say: “Cutting a man’s hair and shaving off his mustache and beard is the same as killing him.” But with special need and mastery of certain skills, a person can remove negative energy into his hair and cut it, thus freeing himself from the energies that interfere with his development - this is the meaning of the rite of “monastic vows.” The Slavs cut their children’s hair for the first time only when they reach the age of 7, and the cut hair is hidden under the ridge of the roof or matitsa (the main ceiling beam of the hut). If a child’s hair is cut before the age of 1, the development of his speech is suspended; if he is cut before the age of 7, the development of mental abilities slows down. A woman who has cut her hair is called karna (named after the goddess Karna, who is responsible for fulfilling the law of cause and effect) - that is, she is the one who was punished by Karna. Hence - “to rip off”. BEARD - hair on a man's face. Serves to accumulate vital and spiritual strength (“bo” - wealth, “roda” - belonging to a clan). In each varna they wear a beard in their own way: the witches do not cut their beard, but take care of it as the center of their spiritual power; knights wear short beards, as it is convenient for battle; Vesians wear full (large, but trimmed) beards as a sign of solidity, sedateness, and significance. Smerdas do not understand the true purpose of a beard and do not know how to use it, even if they grow it. Those who wanted to look like women began to shave.

Elena

The priests themselves sometimes wear long hair. But the Bible forbids this.

Answers:

Nadezhda Bogdanova

When a person comes to church for the first time and sees the priest, what is remembered? a cross on the chest and a long beard. Look and kind word in confession they remember it later, as a person becomes a church member.

Why do priests wear beards? Have believers thought about this? Hardly - well, they wear it and wear it, that’s how it’s supposed to be.

Let's talk about why this is the case.

At first there was...

Clipped poppy. This Byzantine tradition came to Rus'. What did she symbolize? Crown of thorns of Christ. The priests cut the crown of the head in a semicircle, but the rest of the hair was left long. This hairstyle is called "gumenzo". It existed until the 18th century; later this practice lost its necessity.

Already in the 17th century in Rus', priests combined two traditions: cutting the gumenzo and growing hair together with a beard. Thus, the top of the head was shaved smooth, and the remaining long hair was braided. The shaved part of the head was covered with a special cap - skufya. Why Orthodox priests do they have long hair? More on this in the next paragraph.

Where did this come from

The tradition of not cutting hair and beard may have appeared under the influence of Eastern monasticism. Monks do not cut their hair or shave. Gradually it spread to other Orthodox countries, including Rus'. The only exception is Western christian world. There it was prescribed to cut hair and shave the beard, but this was done from a medical point of view - in order to avoid the spread of lice. Swim in water sources, for example in rivers, was prohibited. It was believed that there were too many infections in reservoirs.

In the East everything was exactly the opposite. Ablutions were performed daily, it was considered obligatory.

Another answer to the question of why priests wear a beard and long, neat hair is logical to consider the Biblical prescription. “Do not cut your head round and do not spoil the edges of your beard,” this line is from the Old Testament.

What about Catholics?

It’s more or less clear with Orthodoxy, and with its attitude towards long hair and beards among priests, too. What about Catholics? Why do Orthodox priests wear beards and Catholic priests do not? Among the clergy of this denomination there are many beardless and short-haired representatives.

The fact is that Catholics inherited the tradition of wearing hair and beards from the ancient Romans. Those, as mentioned above, were supporters of shaving beards and cutting hair for hygienic reasons.

Times have changed, but Catholics still have their traditions. The Russian Council of the Hundred Heads in 1551 recognized these traditions as heresy.

Why do priests wear a beard and mustache? Have you noticed that all priests have different beards? Someone has a neat, “professor” beard. And someone sports a long spade-shaped beard. There is an interesting opinion: priests who come from the intelligentsia prefer neat beards. And those whose ancestors were peasants wear majestic spade-shaped beards.

Father's appearance

In Russian churches they have long been accustomed to the fact that the priest must have a beard. This is his constant attribute, almost the same as vestments. Some people, especially young church ministers, can cut their hair. But the beard is inviolable.

Many people, even going to church for years, have no idea why priests wear beards and long hair. Meanwhile, everything is simple, as we managed to find out.

But let’s return to what an Orthodox priest should look like. For some reason, many people have an association: he is certainly fat, with gray hair and a beard. As for body type and hair color, these are just human speculations. Fathers are different. No, not black, white and red, but slender and not very slender, tall and short, gray and black-haired. But they all have a beard in common.

What does the church prescribe?

Why do Orthodox priests wear a beard? This is prescribed by the church. But a bearded priest, also with long hair, should look neat. Who would like a shaggy clergyman with long unwashed hair? Moreover, with an unkempt long beard? Of course, parishioners are unlikely to be drawn to such a priest.

What should a priest look like? Long hair is collected in a ponytail. Your head is always clear. The beard is neatly combed and has a shape despite its length. But taking care of your hair and beard should not go to extremes. Both unkemptness and excessive “lickiness” would be inappropriate.

The image of a priest in Orthodoxy

We found out why priests wear beards. What is he like, an Orthodox priest? He strives to be like Christ, for the priest is the earthly model for Christians. Isn't this one of the reasons for wearing long hair and a beard? Not a single icon depicts the Savior without a beard or long hair.

The priest wears a special vestment and cassock. The cassock is a kind of dress with very wide sleeves, usually black. But there may also be summer versions of this clothing - light ones. When it is very hot, wearing a black cassock is far from comfortable.

White clergy, that is, married priests, wear skufia - a special cap. The black clergy - monks - are dressed in cassocks and hoods. The hood is a tall black “hat” with a veil at the back. The blanket goes along the back and down to the floor. An indispensable attribute of monasticism, with the exception of a beard and long hair, is a rosary. The monks pray for them. Lay priests may also wear rosaries.

So, a representative of the white clergy looks like this:

Vestment and cassock.

A large cross on a massive chain on the chest.

Long hair and beard.

Sometimes - a prayer book in hand and a rosary.

Why do priests wear beards? We have already answered this question. Now let's talk about some interesting facts related to unshaven priests and more:

IN Orthodox church You can find clergy without a beard or with sparse hair. As a rule, these are young priests, and the absence of a beard is a temporary phenomenon.

It is believed that if a priest does not wear a beard, for reasons unrelated to his health, then he is ashamed of his service. They are wary of such priests, and parishioners try to avoid them.

Not only priests should grow beards. This is the duty of all Orthodox men, according to the instructions of the Old Testament about cutting hair and

Women in Orthodoxy are also prohibited from cutting their hair.

It is believed that hair is a person's covering Last Judgment. Everyone will be naked on it, and they will be able to hide their nakedness only under long hair.

In Orthodoxy there are no representatives of the fair sex among the clergy. This is not about the oppression of women. Suffice it to remember that the most revered Woman is the Virgin Mary. The fact is that God came into the world in male image. The priest represents the image of Christ. A woman, due to her gender, cannot imagine His image.

Instead of a conclusion

The main purpose of the article is to tell the reader why priests wear a beard and often long hair. Familiarize him with the traditions in Orthodoxy, tell him about what an Orthodox priest is like.

Let's highlight the main aspects in the article:

For what reasons do priests wear beards and long hair? One of them is conformity to the appearance of Christ. He is depicted with a beard and hair.

The second reason lies in the fact that came to Rus' eastern tradition Orthodox monasticism. Monks do not cut their hair or shave their beards.

Indication in Old Testament that a man does not need to shave his head and trim his beard.

In Catholicism it's the other way around. Catholic priests shave and cut their hair. This is due to ancient Roman hygienic standards, which have now become a tradition. IN Ancient Rome It was prescribed to shave beards and cut hair to prevent the spread of lice. In addition, regular swimming in rivers was prohibited. In the East, daily ablution was considered obligatory.

What can I add? Hardly short hair and a short beard detract from the priest’s dignity as a priest. It is not the presence of a beard or hair on the head, but the way the priest approaches his mission.

Facial hair was considered a sign of barbarism by Catholics.

Roman popes are always clean-shaven, and our priests, as a rule, stand out with long beards. Both of them do not adhere to fashion, but to religious traditions that go back to the distant past.

What gender is this dad?

In modern Catholicism, there is no hard and fast rule that priests cannot grow a beard. But even in ancient Rome, men with abundant facial hair were equated with barbarians. It has been this way since the time when Roman legionnaires went to the northern lands for slaves and gold.

In addition, shaving the face for an aristocrat was considered a mandatory hygienic procedure. It was difficult to care for hair in ancient times, so commoners remained with beards, and patricians sported smooth faces. And, naturally, the clergyman, obliged to be a model, had no right to look like a slob.

In addition, a Catholic minister, unlike an Orthodox one, does not identify himself with Christ with the help of a beard and mustache. On the contrary, he seems to be striving to be closer to his parishioners.

By the way: Among some Western and European monks, tonsure, or humenzo, is also accepted - hair cut in a circle on the top of the head, symbolizing the crown of thorns.

However, from 1511 to 1700 there was a period when popes grew beards: starting from Julia II and ending Pope Clement XI. But even earlier, according to legend, a scandalous incident occurred that could well have influenced the tradition of shaving the beard. Allegedly, in the 9th century, the head of the church in the Vatican fraudulently became the woman Joanna, who called herself John VIII.

Since all the monks shaved then, for some time no one paid attention to the effeminacy of the “Pope.” And then Joanna gave birth to a child during one of the ceremonies.

Whether this story is true or fiction is unknown. However, a ritual appeared in Catholicism to determine the gender of the future Pope: the applicant sat in a special chair with a hole, and another holy father was convinced of the “masculinity” of the candidate, so to speak, with his own hands.

Pope Benedict XVI. Photo: pixabay.com

In the image and likeness

In Orthodoxy, on the contrary, wearing a thick beard makes the image of a believer look good - after all, Jesus himself sets an example for us. Shaving was prohibited in the Old Testament and was considered a sin. In the Book of Leviticus there are these words: “Do not cut your head round, and do not spoil the edges of your beard” (chapter 19, verse 27). In general, the Bible has a lot written about this. Here's another quote from Holy Scripture: “...the shorn will not rise upon your fence.”

By shaving, according to Orthodox Church, a person expresses dissatisfaction with the appearance that the Lord gave him, shows disrespect for him.

In 1347, in the city of Vilna (modern Vilnius), the pagans amused three Orthodox Christians - Antonia, Joanna And Eustathia- for refusing to shave his beard. They were asked to either die or undergo barber shaving and thereby save their lives. The martyrs chose the first and were canonized by the Church.

IN Imperial Russia, up to Peter I, shaving the beard and mustache was punishable by excommunication and was compared to adultery. In 1551, the Stoglavy Council of the Russian Church completely decided that a funeral service cannot be held for a deceased person who shaved his beard during his lifetime, he cannot be buried, and candles cannot be lit for him in the church.

And, for example, Old Believers still believe that only those with a beard are allowed to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. A shaven man is prohibited from entering even Old Believer Church. And if an Old Believer shaved, but did not repent of it on his deathbed, then he will be buried without a proper rite.

IN modern society priests can choose any shape and length of their beard. Just like not growing it at all.

By the way: The ancient Arabs shaved their temples in honor of the pagan god Orotal. Jews believed that long hair helped ward off pagan superstitions. In India, there is a religious community in which people are forbidden not only to shave their hair, but also to comb it!