Proper attire in the House of God
The Church is our home, a place where we should feel comfortable, and at ease. It is also God’s house and is a temple set aside for worship of the Holy Trinity. Although times have changed and we have become a very casual society, this attitude can not be allowed to influence how we dress to worship God. Our way of dressing for church should reflect our desire to offer our very best to Christ. Just as we want to act in ways that demonstrate the centrality of Christ in our lives, our dress should show forth the modesty that is befitting a Christian.
Just as we take special care to dress for formal social occasions, or job interviews, how much more important it is to show our respect for God’s house. If we were invited to the wedding of our boss’s daughter, we’d make sure to show respect to our employer by dressing our best. Does God deserve anything less?
We should wear clothes that are modest and befitting a Christian, especially when worshiping in God’s house. In our monastery’s temple, we keep the ancient practice of removing our shoes before entering, recalling God’s direction to Moses “ … take off your shoes from your feet, for the place where you are is holy ground”. We ask that no one wear shorts or tee shirts when entering the holy grounds of the monastery, and, as is proper in all Orthodox churches, ask visitors to avoid the distractions that come with slogans on clothing, or “showy” clothing that is best reserved for elegant events.
Both men and women should avoid wearing clothing that can be distracting to other worshipers. Just as we want to keep our focus on the divine services, so too we must not be the cause of the distraction for our fellow Christians. Christ should be the focus of our worship, not our personal outfits. Church is not the place to show off the latest fashion, nor the results of the fitness center.
Just as it is Orthodox custom that men remove their hats upon entering the Church, women, throughout the history of the Church, have worn head coverings. The idea that this pious, biblical custom be seen as an antiquated or sexist practice, should be foreign to our Orthodox mindset. This tradition is not intended as an insult to women but as a great compliment. The scriptures refer to a woman’s hair as her “crowning glory”, and the covering of her head as an act of humility. Throughout Christian history, modest believing women chose not to allow their beauty to distract others from the glory of God and the beauty of His house.
With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon
Monday April 1, 2019 / March 19, 2019
Fourth Week of the Great Lent: Adoration of Cross. Tone three.
Great Lent. By Monastic Charter: Strict Fast (Bread, Vegetables, Fruits)
Martyrs Chrysanthus and Daria, and those with them at Rome: Claudius, Hilaria, Jason, Maurus, Diodorus presbyter, and Marianusdeacon (283).
St. Sophia of Slutsk and Minsk (1612).
St. John confessor (1932).
St. Matrona (1938).
Venerable Symeon of the Pskov Caves (Glorification 2003).
Venerable Innocent of Komel (Vologda), disciple of St. Nilus of Sora (1521).
Martyr Pancharius at Nicomedia (302).
Venerable Bassa, nun, of Pskov (1473).
Venerable Simeon, prior of the monastery Dajbabe (1941) (Serbia).
The Smolensk “Tenderness” Icon of the Mother of God (1103).
Martyr Dimitri of Tornada (564).
New Martyr Demetrius at Constantinople (1564) (Greek).
Righteous Mary, wife of Vsevelod III (1206).
New Martyr Nicholas of Karamanos in Smyrna (1657).
Martyr Alcmund, prince of Northumbria.
The Scripture Readings
Isaiah 14:24-32
Assyria Destroyed
24 The Lord of hosts has sworn, saying,
“Surely, as I have thought, so it shall come to pass,
And as I have purposed, so it shall stand:
25 That I will break the Assyrian in My land,
And on My mountains tread him underfoot.
Then his yoke shall be removed from them,
And his burden removed from their shoulders.
26 This is the purpose that is purposed against the whole earth,
And this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations.
27 For the Lord of hosts has purposed,
And who will annul it?
His hand is stretched out,
And who will turn it back?”
Philistia Destroyed
28 This is the burden which came in the year that King Ahaz died.
29 “Do not rejoice, all you of Philistia,
Because the rod that struck you is broken;
For out of the serpent’s roots will come forth a viper,
And its offspring will be a fiery flying serpent.
30 The firstborn of the poor will feed,
And the needy will lie down in safety;
I will kill your roots with famine,
And it will slay your remnant.
31 Wail, O gate! Cry, O city!
All you of Philistia are dissolved;
For smoke will come from the north,
And no one will be alone in his appointed times.”
32 What will they answer the messengers of the nation?
That the Lord has founded Zion,
And the poor of His people shall take refuge in it.
Genesis 8:21-9:7
21 And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.
22 “While the earth remains,
Seedtime and harvest,
Cold and heat,
Winter and summer,
And day and night
Shall not cease.”
God’s Promise to Noah
9 So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. 2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand. 3 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs. 4 But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. 5 Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man.
6 “Whoever sheds man’s blood,
By man his blood shall be shed;
For in the image of God
He made man.
7 And as for you, be fruitful and multiply;
Bring forth abundantly in the earth
And multiply in it.”
Proverbs 11:19-12:6
19 As righteousness leads to life,
So he who pursues evil pursues it to his own death.
20 Those who are of a perverse heart are an abomination to the Lord,
But the blameless in their ways are His delight.
21 Though they join forces, the wicked will not go unpunished;
But the posterity of the righteous will be delivered.
22 As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout,
So is a lovely woman who lacks discretion.
23 The desire of the righteous is only good,
But the expectation of the wicked is wrath.
24 There is one who scatters, yet increases more;
And there is one who withholds more than is right,
But it leads to poverty.
25 The generous soul will be made rich,
And he who waters will also be watered himself.
26 The people will curse him who withholds grain,
But blessing will be on the head of him who sells it.
27 He who earnestly seeks good finds favor,
But trouble will come to him who seeks evil.
28 He who trusts in his riches will fall,
But the righteous will flourish like foliage.
29 He who troubles his own house will inherit the wind,
And the fool will be servant to the wise of heart.
30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
And he who wins souls is wise.
31 If the righteous will be recompensed on the earth,
How much more the ungodly and the sinner.
The House of the Righteous Shall Stand
12 Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge,
But he who hates correction is stupid.
2 A good man obtains favor from the Lord,
But a man of wicked intentions He will condemn.
3 A man is not established by wickedness,
But the root of the righteous cannot be moved.
4 An excellent wife is the crown of her husband,
But she who causes shame is like rottenness in his bones.
5 The thoughts of the righteous are right,
But the counsels of the wicked are deceitful.
6 The words of the wicked are, “Lie in wait for blood,”
But the mouth of the upright will deliver them.
Father bless, I agree that many have become too casual for Christ. As for the head covering for women, different Orthodox churches follow different practices. In our Greek Orthodox Church, we do not wear head coverings, while in our monasteries we do. Our priest had taught us to follow the custom of the Orthodox Church that you are attending. Also I was taught that it is the inner state of our soul that leads us to have lustful thought in seeing another, not the appearance in itself. Yes we should not flaunt ourselves so as to distract, especially in church; but our “normal” appearance, aka no head covering, should not be a distraction. When I am looking at another, hopefully I am seeing a fellow brother or sister in Christ; all of us made in His image and likeness. ( I am still working on my humility:). Sophia.
Thank you, Abbot Tryphon, for addressing this subject, from which so many westerners flee on account of the sacrilisation of self-determination in their midst.
Allow me to offer a few thought on factors to consideration concerning dress for the liturgy, arranged by the four marks of the church.
1) Oneness of Interpersonal Ethos: Of Modesty and Non-Aggression
Conservative sensibilities in modesty are a pact of non-aggression, which is essential in the context of the liturgy since there is no role for the flesh in a spiritual environment. Modesty is not as relative as westerners suppose; rather, it is as concrete as the body, and not merely a matter of intent. For we are not Gnostics, but affirm incarnation in all that we hold and practise. Note that to dress in less than fully modest attire is an act of invitation and aggression (I do not care what you think, or our culture does not care what churchly culture has been, is now, and ought to be), especially in a liturgical setting, whether intended consciously or not, and whether socially acceptable in some sections of society or not.
2) Holiness in Body: Cleanliness and Formality
One does well to present oneself as clean, tidy, and formal in the throne room of the King of King as according to one’s means, without attempting to upstage the King. Seriousness (formality) and cleanliness are the conditions of order and of life itself. The casual attitude ultimately affirms Chaos. The issue of acceptance/non-acceptance as the ground for pressing for the casual sidesteps the issue of holiness. For the matter of the dignity and acceptance of persons is a matter of apostolic dogma: that all are created in the image of God. God will accept the physically or psychically dirty person, but he will not leave him or her in this state.
3) Catholicity in Culture: Variety, the Divine Spark of Creativity and Rightful Latitude of the Christian Will
Formal dress from various cultural traditions reflects the reach of the gospel and the full gamut of divinely granted creativity; thus, formal Greek dress should not receive disdainful looks in a Russian church, nor vice versa.
4) Apostolicity of Teaching: Vestment, the Sexes, Ecclesiastical Identity and the Shape of the Christian Mind
Worshippers rightly vest themselves according to sex and to ecclesiastical office, since one’s sex and ecclesiastical station are matters are divinely instituted and not mere cultural constructs. A man dressing as a man is vesting for worship; a woman dressing as a woman is vesting for worship; dressing as clergy or monastic is vesting for worship. Sexual identity is symbolically and doctrinally significant within the biblical worldview. Veils for women are vestments reflecting truth in symbol; the chapel veil is not merely an expression of personal style or piety, or a function of cultural oppression or an indifferent matter of adiaphora. A man removing his hat in church is also not a matter of style, but an act of vesting also.