Is it possible for a woman to wear a hat to church? What should girls, girls and women wear when attending church?

Visiting church is a special occasion that requires special clothing. What matters here is not fashion or personal tastes, but religious requirements for the clothing of parishioners, violation of which can be considered disrespect for other believers and clergy.

You can read how to dress for church as a woman, and how to dress as a man, on the website Shtuchka.ru.

What should girls, girls and women wear when attending church?

The purpose of clothing when visiting a place where people come for spiritual matters is not the same as “in the world.” There is no need to emphasize the attractiveness of your appearance, attract attention to yourself in any way, etc. - if only because other people come to this place not entirely for the sake of looking at the outfits of those present, and to distract them from prayers, thoughts and listening to the service with their catchy appearance highly undesirable. Excessive elegance and, especially, sex appeal in the image is considered bad manners.

Both “top” and “bottom” should cover the body, and not effectively reveal it. How long and closed a woman’s outfit should be depends on the denomination and on the severity of the regulations of a particular monastery, cathedral, church, etc.

Sometimes you can learn about the required clothing restrictions from information signs at the entrance to the church territory. But often this is not known exactly: for example, if you plan to inspect church architecture on a trip to another city, then you need to dress correctly for church in advance.

The website suggests remembering the general principles of how a girl should dress for church:

For a wedding, the bride, of course, needs a wedding dress. It does not have to be white (which distinguishes it from a wedding), but it should be long, covering the shoulders and décolleté. Parents, relatives and friends can attend the wedding ceremony in elegant, but not shocking clothes: for example, ladies can wear dresses with ¾ sleeves and midi length. How should a woman dress for a christening in church? For a godmother at a christening, a modest light blouse and skirt, or a dress with sleeves, is suitable.

A controversial question is whether it is possible to replace skirts and closed sweaters with improvised items - shawls, pareos, large scarves, etc. On the one hand, tourists often do this when they want to inspect some architectural object of religious significance, and this allows them to solve the problem of the dress code. But on the other hand, for truly believing parishioners who purposefully go to church for spiritual purposes, this is inappropriate - after all, you can immediately dress correctly for church.

How should boys and men dress?

How should a man dress for church? Preferably in discreet clothes of a classic style. We are not necessarily talking about a suit - after all, a suit is needed only if we are talking about very solemn ceremonies, such as christenings or weddings. And in cases where it comes to visiting church for a less important occasion, a man can wear trousers, a shirt (sleeve length depending on the season and weather), a jumper or vest. It is even acceptable to come to church wearing jeans (not torn ones, of course).

But such items of men's clothing as shorts, T-shirts, as well as shoes such as sandals and flip-flops are absolutely unacceptable - all of them can even become the reason that a visitor in a beach look may not be allowed into the territory of a church or monastery.

It would not be correct to come to church in sports or semi-sports clothes - knitted “sweatpants”, etc.

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Is a headdress necessary or not?

Of course, the answer is different for men and women. A man must take off any headdress (even a hat, even a cap) both in Orthodox and catholic cathedral, monastery or church.

For women, on the contrary, there is a need to cover their heads. Ideally, there should be a scarf on the head, which is tied in such a way that the hair is covered as much as possible. However, in our time it is not necessary to try to hide literally the entire hairstyle under a scarf so that not a single hair comes out - a braid, ponytail, bun, some strand or other element of the hairstyle may be visible.

By the way, about hairstyles - it is still advisable to style it under a scarf without an abundance of strands sticking out on the face, and to braid long hair in some way, and not to come with a loose “mane”.

Is it possible to replace the scarf with some other headdress? In principle, this is allowed - a woman can enter the temple in a hat, a bonnet, and even a baseball cap, and it is unlikely that anyone will reprimand her. In winter, a girl can simply put on the hood of her outerwear - and the dress code will be observed. However, in terms of style, these head accessories are still not very appropriate within the walls of a religious institution. And of course, this is not at all correct if you are thinking about how to dress for a christening in church or for a wedding.

But visitors can safely enter Catholic and most Protestant churches without a headdress, and even in trousers(for example, if we are talking about tourists, and not about believers who come to hear mass).

And of course, do not forget that in churches it is not customary to wear heavy makeup on your face - firstly, it is simply inappropriate, and secondly, you cannot kiss icons, take communion, etc. with painted lips. If you are very unaccustomed to walking around with a completely “naked” face, then you can easily apply makeup on your eyelashes and apply a light tone to your face. It is also acceptable to mask problem areas - for example, pimples, bruises, etc.

But the main principle in makeup, hairstyle, and clothing should be modesty and decency, no matter what occasion you attend church.

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While attending church, parishioners are required to follow certain rules and rituals. Some of them currently raise questions, for example, why should you wear a headscarf to church? Where did this custom come from, which goes against modern fashion in clothing?

Origin of the tradition

The tradition of women covering their heads in the temple has deep roots. In ancient times, in the cultures of many nations, covered hair was a sign that determined the status of a married woman, indicating her subordination to her husband. It was forbidden to appear on the streets with your head uncovered; it was considered very immodest.

Woman in the temple

Similar “dress code” rules existed in Jewish culture, where Christianity was born, and in Roman culture, where the first churches appeared. This is due to the fact that in the Epistles of the Apostle Paul the following words are written:

"5. And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered disgraces her head, for it is as if she had been shaved.6. For if the wife does not want to cover herself, then let her cut her hair; and if a wife is ashamed to be shorn or shaved, let her cover herself.” (1st sequence to Corinth.)

Someone may wonder: if in those days the wearing of a veil by married women was a universal rule, why did the Christians of the Corinthian church violate it, since the Apostle Paul had to specifically write about it? There is a version that this was due to the particular depravity of morals in the pagan city of Corinth (it was famous for this).

Because of this, local residents considered it unnecessary to observe the then widespread rules of decent clothing. And Christians, since they grew up in this city and were accustomed to its atmosphere, could also be infected with something from the general debauchery. That's why, The Apostle Paul called on Corinthian Christian women to be extremely modest and chaste in dress, to comply with all the rules of decency that existed in those days.

IN ancient Rus' The custom of women covering their heads after marriage was also in use. According to the ideas of our ancestors, if strangers see a woman without a headscarf, it will be a shame for her and her entire family. This is where the expression “goofing off” comes from.

In the church this custom has been preserved to this day, but has changed.

If previously the tradition of covering their heads concerned exclusively married women, and girls did not wear headscarves either in church or on the street, now even little girls’ heads are covered.

Is it possible to go to church without a headscarf?

It should not be understood that a woman who enters a temple with her head uncovered is committing a sin. For God, the state of our soul is important, not the form of clothing. However, there are also people in the church. For many of them, a woman without a headdress will cause irritation. Even if they are wrong, they should not commit actions that knowingly lead people into the sin of condemnation and distract them from prayer.

For these reasons, you need to follow the established rules of church clothing and wear skirts and hats to church.

Why wear a headscarf to church?

Which scarf to choose for church

In Rus' there was an interesting custom of wearing scarves to services, the colors of which correspond to the day church calendar and repeat the color of priestly robes. Perhaps someone in our time will want to follow this. Here is a list of these colors:

The color of Easter is red or white. Women wore such scarves throughout the 40 days of the holiday.
At Christmas they wore white ones.
During Lent, a dark color was chosen. Black, dark blue, purple.
For the Feast of the Life-Giving Trinity and on the Day of the Holy Spirit, green ones were worn. Green is the color of life.
All Mother of God holidays wore blue.
On ordinary days, they wore yellow scarves, the color of a simple, everyday priestly robe.

Interesting about Orthodoxy.

I want to visit your temple. But I have never been to Orthodox churches, I don’t know how to behave there...

Let's start with the fact that you must understand exactly why you are going to visit our temple.

Orthodox Christians visit their churches for:

Participation in church services;

Participation in requirements;

Custom submissions;

Invitations from a priest to your home;

To light a candle and pray;

Receiving holy water;

Purchasing literature, candles and church utensils;

Spiritual conversation with a priest;

Sunday School visits;

Consultations;

Communication with brothers and sisters in Christ;

Participation in the repair and/or tidying of the temple;

and very often for several of the above cases at the same time.

Others come to our temple only for educational purposes, i.e. out of ordinary human curiosity. For what purpose are you going to visit our temple?

Well, what if out of curiosity?

The curious are not prohibited from visiting our temple. They came up, opened the door and entered. Let me remind you that our temple is open every day:

On weekdays - from 8.00 to 16.00, lunch from 12.00 to 13.00;

On Saturdays - from 8.00 to 17.30 (usually);

On Sundays - from 7.00 to 12.00 (usually).

If on any day it is done Divine Liturgy, then usually the temple opens at 7.00; if it is an evening service, it usually ends at 17.30.

On some special holidays, for example, Christmas, Easter, etc. We serve according to special schedules, and the temple is open both day and night.

Some rural churches: in the outback, in small settlements, with a small number of parishioners, and especially those in which someone who comes from another country serves settlement priest - are open to visitors only on the days of services and only for the duration of the services. This was the case in our church under priest Simeon Boyarov. Based on the principle: “the temple must be open constantly,” we act differently.

Drunk;

In dirty clothes;

With animals (if a dog visits the temple, it will have to be consecrated again, since a dog is considered an unclean animal).

Usually in our church services begin:

AT 15.00 - Evening Worship or All-Night Vigil(before the holiday and on Saturdays);

At 8.00 - confession and Divine Liturgy (on holidays and Sundays);

At 9.00 - prayer services and memorial services, when there is no Liturgy (mandatory on Saturdays);

At 11.00 - baptism (on Saturdays).

You can find out about the specific schedule of services and requirements either by going to the temple or by calling 2-13-77.

In other churches, work and worship schedules may differ slightly from ours, but not by much. In any case, if you are going to visit them, call or stop by in advance. And they will tell you everything in detail.

I once came to the temple at the time you indicated, and it was closed...

There are also cases in our practice, for example, when I go to perform a funeral service for a deceased person at home and take with me the seller of an icon shop, who helps me sing. In this case, you can come to our workshop in the basement of the former cinema hall, and the workers will tell you exactly when the seller will appear. In any case, before visiting the temple, call in advance and find out when the temple will be open.

I heard that to visit a temple you need to dress in a special way, or can you go in whatever you want?

The Temple of God is not a store, much less a cowshed. This is the place of the special and constant presence of the Most High God. Anyone who does not think about the form in which he will enter is unworthy Holy place, simply does not have the Fear of God, he is an absolute atheist. What should an atheist do in an Orthodox church?

And in what form should I go to the temple?

When going to the theatre, concert, circus or on a visit, we always try to wear smart clothes. It’s rare that a woman will go to these places in boots and not take holiday shoes with her.

When visiting a hospital, we usually wash in a bathhouse beforehand and put on clean underwear so as not to look like slobs.

Those who act wisely are those who, before visiting the temple, put their bodies in order and put on the best clothes, for how worse is the temple of God than a theater or a hospital?

A man should be in the temple in men's clothing, and a woman in women's clothing;

As a sign of humility before God, men remove their hats upon entering, and women cover their heads, usually with a scarf.

Is it possible for a woman to wear a hat or cap to church?

This is quite common in the city churches of Izhevsk. But a scarf... This is not only a woman's headdress, it is also a beautiful woman's decoration.

In Pychas, I accidentally encountered a pious phenomenon: young women, before entering the temple, took off their caps and hats and put on scarves, and put their hats in their bags. How happy I was for them; I am sure that their zealous grandmothers advised them to do this. And well advised!

By the way, have you ever tried to make a bow or prostration while wearing a cap or hat? And did you succeed? The scarves do not fly off.

And I really don’t like wearing scarves, although I have a haircut, but still the scarf, like a bridle, gets in the way...

That's exactly what a haircut is!

While serving as a watchman at the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Izhevsk, I came across an interesting pattern: not once did I have to advise a woman with long hair cover your head with a scarf, only cut.

There was a case: at the beginning of the service, a middle-aged woman with a haircut came into the temple, and a large scarf was tied around her neck. I quietly held her by the sleeve and whispered: “Throw on a scarf.” The woman jerked away from me, quickly approached the line for confession, stood for a while, but did not put on a scarf, then ran up to me and shouted: “It’s because of you that I didn’t go to confession, it’s all your fault!” and flew out of the temple like a cork. Who is to blame for what? The other watchman and I shrugged our shoulders and came to a simple conclusion: the demon of pride attacked this woman and did not allow her to confess.

Let it be known to you, my dears, that in most cases, haircuts are done by those women who have two clearly expressed passions: Pride and Gluttony (beautifying oneself is a type of gluttony, i.e. pleasing one’s body). Such women are always Special attention give their appearance, they constantly change their hairstyles, hair color, use bright and abundant cosmetics on their faces. They are always not indifferent to how they look, what others think about their appearance: something is wrong, they immediately become despondent; everything is fine, they get compliments, they are in seventh heaven. Try not to notice such a woman’s new hairstyle - you will make a mortal enemy; praise - you will be the best best friend. And in the temple they need to cover their beauty with a scarf! What are you talking about!?

What kind of humility is there? And Pride is the most terrible sin!

The scarf is precisely intended to humble Pride. Please, humble yourself before God.

Can you just throw a transparent scarf over your head?

It’s like the saying goes: “And the wolves are fed, and the sheep are safe,” and they covered their heads, and did not hide their beauty? Oh, what wickedness this is! Is this how to humble pride? And God sees everything...

And how inconvenient it is when a nylon scarf constantly slides through your hair and keeps trying to fly off your head, especially if it’s not tied. Don't create problems for yourself. Why did you come to the temple? To God or to show off? Choose one of the two. In the second case, you did not have to go to the temple, but to another place.

I somehow urgently needed to go to the temple in the summer, but I didn’t have a scarf with me, so I didn’t go. Aren't you creating unnecessary obstacles for people who don't go to churches often anyway?

Where is it written, in what document, that women are strictly forbidden to enter the temple with their heads uncovered?

Every rule has its exceptions. If we had to come in, we would have come in. And if someone didn’t let you into the temple because of this, he would have committed a great sin. And at services in city churches, many women stand with their heads uncovered. I was surprised myself when I watched the recording of Easter in Epiphany Cathedral Moscow and saw that half of the women in the Patriarchal Choir sang with their heads uncovered. This is tolerated. And it’s not for us to judge these women. But we will always warn about the sinful nature of this act.

In addition, I must warn those who are especially proud and do not want to cover their beautiful heads on principle, that any Orthodox priest such people will not be confessed, given communion, anointed, allowed to kiss the cross or other shrines, and admitted to other sacraments. That’s what I, a sinner, do too.

Well, in order not to create inconvenience for yourself due to the lack of a scarf, do not forget to always have one, along with any cosmetics, in your purse. It won't take up much space and won't make the bag too heavy. What if you find yourself next to a temple and want to go there? And you have a scarf with you. Very practical.

Should a girl wear a headscarf? After all, in Rus' it has always been an accessory of women’s attire?

As far as I know, it belongs to a woman’s outfit, i.e. married women, in Rus' there were not scarves, but special, very elegantly decorated headdresses, over which scarves were usually thrown. But these were festive or weekend clothes. In everyday life, scarves were worn every day, by the way, not only in Rus', but also by women all over the world, in order to protect the head and hair, and sometimes the face from heat, cold, bad weather, and dust. Girls did the same thing, and among some peoples, men too. The headscarf is historically an element of women's clothing, regardless of age, not only in Rus', but also in Udmurtia. I see no point in making exceptions for girls in the recommendation to cover their heads in the temple. And it’s very beautiful, and girls from childhood develop the skill of humility before God.

Should boys take off their hats in the temple?

If the boy is still a baby, and you are afraid of catching a cold because of the drafts in the temple, then a cap on his head will not hurt. In all other cases, the headdress is removed.

Recently I came to church with makeup on my face, and my grandmothers scolded me for it. Why do you prohibit the use of cosmetics?

Before visiting a temple, it is not recommended to use cosmetics, since you will not be allowed to kiss icons, the Gospel, the cross, take communion and take a blessing from the priest, because:

All these shrines will definitely have traces of your lipstick, even the most non-smearing one;

Modern lipsticks contain active chemicals that destroy the thinnest layers of gilding and silvering on shrines and varnish on icons, irrevocably;

And it can also be quite difficult for a priest to wash off the lipstick from his right hand, but it’s almost impossible to wash it off the handrails.

I saw the expression on the face of one deacon who, for half an hour, tried to wash off the slips of lipstick from the altar cross with cologne. It was very interesting to know what he thought about their mistresses!

And the first thing the mascara will start to eat into your eyes is when you suddenly start crying in confession, and at the same time you will look, let’s say, not very attractive.

About those and for those who make comments in the temple. Very often, regular parishioners come up to me and ask what they should do when they see someone entering the temple wearing inappropriate clothing and/or makeup on their face. To tell them about this can lead to condemnation; not to say it would seem to allow that someone in the church is sinning.

The answer is quite simple:

During the service, try not to pay attention to this, for your prayer is what you came here for, and everything else is vanity of vanities and temptation;

Outside of the service, if you are completely unbearable, you can come up and politely advise the dunno not to do this next time and immediately leave without engaging in conversation, while you should be guided by a feeling of compassionate love with the sinner, but not anger;

If a person tries to sin, for example, take communion with lipstick on his lips, politely stop him in time and warn him about a possible sin, and then let him do as he wants;

The best way to exhort is a joke: don’t offend, and give edification.

I heard that using cosmetics in general is a great sin, is that true?

It depends on what purpose you use it for:

If for therapeutic or prophylactic purposes, for example, hygienic lipstick so that your lips don’t crack, then this not a sin;

If for decoration, then this is of course sin:

- pride, or rather its variety - lies, since you are trying to look better than you really are, and this is deception;
- pride, since you are very proud when, thanks to cosmetics, people pay attention to you;
- vanity when someone compliments you on your appearance;
- gluttony, or rather the decoration itself, since you please your body;
- fornication, since most women, consciously, and more often subconsciously, use this product in order to please men (isn’t that why you put on makeup to please your friends? Although, in our time I would not be surprised by this either.) and thereby seduce them.

Teenage girls, who strive to become adults as soon as possible so that boys will like them, are very susceptible to the last sin. At the same time, it is the mother’s duty to very tactfully explain to her daughter what passion she is developing in herself, and how it all can end, and not to indulge her whims.

I can still understand those adult women who try to hide the signs of their decline with carefully applied makeup. I can’t understand grandmothers who use bright cosmetics that look like a clown mask against the background of old and sagging skin on their face and neck. Very sad and not funny at all.

Any makeup specialist will tell you: the one who uses cosmetics correctly is the one who has no visible traces of its use.

By the way, women who constantly use cosmetics have sagging skin much faster.

My advice to you: the best cosmetic product is washing your face in the morning and evening with ice water. Tested - your skin will be as soft as a baby's.

And finally: the most beautiful women’s faces in Vavozh are those of our regular, devoutly believing parishioners - grandmothers, as they glow with the unfading light of God’s grace, relentlessly abiding in their hearts. And no cosmetics will give such an effect.

I heard that women should not come to church in trousers, but there are women’s, very beautiful and elegant trouser suits that are very popular now...

This question is probably the most difficult in discussing clothing for visiting the temple. The world is changing, and what was considered blasphemous yesterday, for example, for a woman to wear men's clothing, is today the norm and the most common thing. Looking around, you notice that more than half of the young women and girls on the street are dressed in jeans or trousers. Those. nowadays, trousers are a common element of women's clothing. This is very practical, especially in the mud, when women wear massive boots that don’t go well with a skirt, and splashes of dirt on trousers are not as noticeable as on stockings. In winter, trousers are much warmer than any gaiters. All this is true. But!

There is a tradition. Tradition of visiting Orthodox churches women. And it provides for a ban on women wearing trousers visiting churches. And no one has yet canceled this tradition. And for now we must try, as far as possible, to follow this tradition, because it is not for us to change these rules and laws.

There is no great sin in the fact that a woman in trousers came into the temple for 5 minutes to light a candle or find out something.

But, when going to church for a religious service or service, try to find in your wardrobe a skirt, sundress or dress of sufficiently chaste length, i.e. no higher than the knees, no cuts or odors, not very tight, i.e. practical and comfortable, and go in it.

No one will kick you out of church, even if you come there in jeans, but be prepared for the fact that the priest will refuse to confess you, give you communion, give you a cross to kiss, etc.

Very often young girls complain that all their skirts are short, and therefore they have nothing to wear to church. If you had a special occasion, wouldn't you be able to convince your parents to buy you a new dress? Convince them that you, as an Orthodox Christian, should have a skirt or dress of sufficient length.

There was one young singer in my choir who thought that jeans suited her very well. And what excuses did she not find for coming to the temple to serve them! The time will come when she will understand her naivety, but at this time we came to an amicable agreement: she came to church in jeans, but usually changed into a skirt for services. Even so, thank God!

There is no obligation for a woman to enter an Orthodox church with her head covered.
This is not an obligation, but a historical tradition and recommendations of the Apostle Paul. Moreover, tradition can be the opposite. For example, in Greece, women are required to enter Orthodox churches without a headdress (!) The Greeks developed this approach to a woman’s covered head during the national liberation struggle against the Turks.
And moreover, in Ukraine there is a temple - in Akhtyrka (Sumy region) - where, according to their tradition, women enter the temple with their heads uncovered, since in this temple the image of the Mother of God with her head uncovered is kept.
- Priest Georgy spoke about all this today on radio "Era".
“And when asked why women are not allowed into certain churches by grandmothers if she does not have a headscarf,” Father Georgy answered with some irritation : We are aware of this problem that some ministers are trying to impose their vision of faith in God, and we are trying to fight this. And, in general, it is better to come to God with your head uncovered than to pass by, he concluded.
This is how one of the canons of the external ritual suddenly collapses: it turns out that in a number of Orthodox denominations and even in some churches, women are required to enter with their heads uncovered. And in general, adhering to such strictness can harm the Church.

Here is the development of this vision of the gender problem:

It's funny to hear: it turns out that covering a woman's head in a temple is just "recommendation of the Apostle Paul"

By the way, where there is a tradition, there are always magical or witchcraft explanations for this tradition: one of the “folk” explanations for the need for women to cover their heads in the temple:
"It has long been known that hair has great strength(something related to magic). And the longer the hair, the more power. There is even such a belief that if a woman makes a wish and at this time combs her hair with the fingers of her fingers, then the wish will come true . Naturally, men don’t have this; they have short hair. It was not for nothing that in the Middle Ages a woman with long, thick and beautiful hair was considered a witch and burned at the stake. And since the strength and might of our Lord is much greater feminine power, then by entering the temple in a headscarf, a woman shows God that she submits to His will and pacifies her desires and passions before Him. Since according to church laws, passion can only be known married woman Therefore, it is she who should enter the temple in a headscarf. Although, nowadays, some temples require that even little girls enter the temple with their heads covered." (from here)

Well, some advice for women (under the cut) from the website of the rural Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in the village of Vavozh, Udmurtia. - very useful for understanding the equality of men and women and the vision of the place of women in the Orthodox world
But first, the surprise of the priest, the author of advice on what and why a woman should wear when she goes to church: “I myself was surprised when I watched the recording of Easter in the Epiphany Cathedral in Moscow and saw that half of the women in the Patriarchal Choir they sang with their heads uncovered. This is tolerated. And it’s not for us to judge these women. But We will always warn about the sinful nature of this act.".

Sorry for quoting so much, the text itself is very interesting, so I couldn’t resist

I heard that to visit a temple you need to dress in a special way, or can you go in whatever you want?

The Temple of God is not a store, much less a cowshed. This is the place of the special and constant presence of the Most High God. Anyone who does not think about the form in which he will enter this Holy place, unworthy, simply does not have the Fear of God, he is an absolute atheist. What should an atheist do in an Orthodox church?

- a man must be in the temple in men's clothing, and a woman in women's clothing;

- as a sign of humility before God, men take off their hats when entering, and women cover their heads, usually with a scarf.

Is it possible for a woman to wear a hat or cap to church?

This is quite common in the city churches of Izhevsk. But the scarf... This is not only a women's headdress, it is also a beautiful women's decoration (...)

By the way, have you ever tried to make a bow or prostration while wearing a cap or hat? And did you succeed? The scarves do not fly off.

And I really don’t like wearing scarves, although I have a haircut, but still the scarf, like a bridle, gets in the way...

That's exactly what a haircut is!

While serving as a watchman at the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Izhevsk, I came across an interesting pattern: not once did I have to advise a woman with long hair to cover her head with a scarf, only a cropped one.

(...) Let it be known to you, my dears, that in most cases, haircuts are done by those women who have two clearly expressed passions: Pride and Gluttony (beautifying oneself is a type of gluttony, i.e. pleasing one’s body). (...) Try not to notice such a woman’s new hairstyle - you will make a mortal enemy; Praise - you will be your best friend. And in the temple they need to cover their beauty with a scarf! What are you talking about!?

What kind of humility is there? And Pride is the most terrible sin!

The scarf is precisely intended to humble Pride. Please, humble yourself before God.

Can you just throw a transparent scarf over your head?

Where is it written, in what document, that women are strictly forbidden to enter the temple with their heads uncovered?

Every rule has its exceptions. If we had to come in, we would have come in. And if someone didn’t let you into the temple because of this, he would have committed a great sin. And at services in city churches, many women stand with their heads uncovered. I myself was surprised when I watched the recording of Easter in the Epiphany Cathedral in Moscow and saw that half of the women in the Patriarchal Choir sang with their heads uncovered. This is tolerated. And it’s not for us to judge these women. But we will always warn about the sinful nature of this act.

In addition, I must warn those who are especially proud and do not want to cover their beautiful heads on principle, that any Orthodox priest will not confess, give communion, anoint such people, let them kiss the cross or other shrines, and admit them to other sacraments. That’s what I, a sinner, do too.

Recently I came to church with makeup on my face, and my grandmothers scolded me for it. Why do you prohibit the use of cosmetics?

Before visiting a temple, it is not recommended to use cosmetics, since you will not be allowed to kiss icons, the Gospel, the cross, take communion and take a blessing from the priest, because:

- on all these shrines there will definitely remain traces of your lipstick, even the most non-smearing one;

- modern lipsticks contain active chemicals that destroy the thinnest layers of gilding and silvering on shrines and varnish on icons, and irrevocably;

- and it can also be quite difficult for a priest to wash off the lipstick from his right hand, but it is almost impossible to wash it off the handrails.

(...)
About those and for those who make comments in the temple. Very often, regular parishioners come up to me and ask what they should do when they see someone entering the temple wearing inappropriate clothing and/or makeup on their face. To tell them about this can lead to condemnation; not to say it would seem to allow that someone in the church is sinning.

The answer is quite simple:

- during the service, try not to pay attention to this, because your prayer is what you came here for, and everything else is vanity of vanities and temptation;

- outside the service, if you are completely unbearable, you can come up and politely advise the dunno not to do this next time and immediately leave without engaging in conversation, while you should be guided by a feeling of compassionate love with the sinner, but not anger;

- if a person tries to sin, for example, take communion with lipstick on his lips, politely stop him in time and warn him about a possible sin, and then let him do as he wants;

- the best way to exhort is a joke: don’t offend, and give edification.

I heard that using cosmetics in general is a great sin, is that true?

It depends on what purpose you use it for:

- if for therapeutic or preventive purposes, for example, with hygienic lipstick to prevent lips from cracking, then this is not a sin;

- if for decoration, then this is of course a sin:

- pride, or rather its variety - lies, since you are trying to look better than you really are, and this is deception;

- pride, since you are very proud when people pay attention to you thanks to cosmetics;

- vanity, when you are praised for your appearance;

- gluttony, or rather decoration itself, since you please your body;

- fornication, since most women, consciously, and more often subconsciously, use this product in order to please men (isn’t that why you put on makeup to please your friends? Although, in our time I would not be surprised by this either.) and thereby deceiving them.

Any makeup specialist will tell you: the one who uses cosmetics correctly is the one who has no visible traces of its use.

By the way, women who constantly use cosmetics have sagging skin much faster.

My advice to you: the best cosmetic product is washing your face in the morning and evening with ice water. Tested - your skin will be as soft as a baby's.

I heard that women should not come to church in trousers, but there are women’s, very beautiful and elegant trouser suits that are very popular now...

There is a tradition. The tradition of women visiting Orthodox churches. And it provides for a ban on women wearing trousers visiting churches. And no one has yet canceled this tradition. And for now, we must try, as far as possible, to follow this tradition, because it is not for us to change these rules and laws.

There is no great sin in the fact that a woman in trousers came into the temple for 5 minutes to light a candle or find out something.

But, when going to church for a service or service, try to find in your wardrobe a skirt, sundress or dress of sufficiently chaste length, i.e. no higher than the knees, no cuts or odors, not very tight, i.e. practical and comfortable, and go in it.

No one will kick you out of church, even if you come there in jeans, but be prepared for the fact that the priest will refuse to confess you, give you communion, give you a cross to kiss, etc.

In the photo: Akhtyrskaya mother of God(from here)
Conclusion: the capital’s priests are trying to modernize the church, but in the outback all communications are held back as if by cement by traditions, which are very strongly reinforced in the popular consciousness by pagan ideas

There is probably no other wardrobe detail around which so many copies would be broken as an ordinary skirt, which, according to tradition, a believing woman should wear to church.

All priests and the believing public are divided into two groups on the issue of skirts: some believe that a woman can come to the temple of God in trousers, as long as they are women's trousers, the second prove that this is contrary to the will of the Lord and are ready to wrap the weaker half of humanity in a veil from head to toe, like the Apostle Paul.

Women's clothing

Indeed, in Deuteronomy, where Moses gives the Israelites the laws by which they should continue to live, it is written: “A woman must not wear a man’s clothing, and a man must not put on a woman’s clothing, for anyone who does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God” (Deut. .22:5).

The famous interpreter of Old Testament texts, theologian and writer Alexander Lopukhin points out: the goal of Moses and God, who speaks through his mouth, is to preserve the Jewish people from unnatural corruption, that is, from homosexuality, which was common among many pagan peoples peace. The Bible indicates the inadmissibility of this: “You shall not lie with a man as with a woman: it is an abomination” (Leviticus 18:22). There is a version that changing clothes was also associated with various pagan rituals, when, when praising demons, the priests changed into clothes of the opposite sex.

On the other hand, neither at the time Old Testament, neither in the times of the New Testament did they know about trousers, much less about women's trousers: both sexes wore mantles of varying lengths. Women's mantles were most likely longer and made of soft and thin materials.

The decision of the Sixth is in complete agreement with the Old Testament Ecumenical Council, which was convened in Constantinople (Constantinople) in the 7th century. On it, the exarchs of the church determined that: “no husband should dress in women’s clothing, nor a wife in clothes characteristic of a husband... ...nor wear comic disguises... ...not proclaim the vile name of Dionysus...”. Here we are also talking, first of all, about same-sex relationships and rituals of worship of pagan gods.

Not a word about trousers

In general, trousers, as an element of men's clothing, became known in the Middle East only during the Crusades, when local peoples saw medieval knights, and in Europe itself, trousers became popular after the invasion of Rome by German barbarian tribes.

Therefore, we will not find any special statements about trousers either from the early Christian saints or from the Christian holy fathers of the Middle Ages, who considered the instructions of the Old Testament and the Council sufficient for women.

Our days

The rector of the Assumption Church in the city of Krasnogorsk, Archpriest Konstantin Ostrovsky, says that those who want to dress all women in long skirts are mistaken, believing that this is the main thing, but those who consider long skirts something unworthy, ugly and look at “ "skirt girls" with contempt, "For the kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Rom. 14:17).

Archpriest Igor Fomin believes that it is better to enter the temple in jeans and bareheaded than to pass by, but emphasizes that it is much more natural and beautiful when a girl or woman comes to the temple in traditional clothes.

Recently canonized saint of Georgia Orthodox Church, our contemporary Archimandrite Gabriel (Urgebadze) pointed out that a person’s clothing “reveals the state of his soul.” It turns out that jeans on a girl in a temple in this context act as a symbol of rebellion, feminism, which is not pleasing to God, while traditional clothing becomes a sign of humility of the soul, submission to the will of God and striving for perfection.

Surprisingly, for two thousand years, Christianity has not developed common tradition: exactly how a woman should dress when going to church. In some churches, even infant girls’ heads are covered (ROC), in others, only married women wear a headscarf, in the East, Christian women remain bare-haired to distinguish themselves from Muslim women, and in Greece they calmly go to churches without headscarves and in trousers.

Tradition

The tradition of the Russian Orthodox Church is based on the fact that any believer must look modest, not attract the gaze of parishioners, not disturb someone else’s prayer and not arouse lust. Therefore, it is better to go to church in women’s clothing below the knees, with a scarf or stole on your head.

Surprisingly, many of yesterday’s lovers of jeans or trousers claim that frequent visits to church change women’s preferences - they become more conservative. One of the abbots of the city of Kazan said very true words: “A woman herself should feel the need to wear a skirt, and there is no need to force her to do this.”

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