Christian Headcovering

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The Christian headcovering is a veiling worn by some Christian women. Some cover only in church or while praying; others cover their heads all the time. They reference 1 Corinthians 11 as the basis for their practice. Many Christians, however, see no need for women to wear a headcovering.

1 History of the Christian Headcovering
2 Reasons for the headcovering
3 Objections to the headcovering
4 References
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] History of the Christian Headcovering

1 Corinthians 11 contains the only reference to a headcovering in the New Testament. However, various Early Church Fathers, such as Hermas<ref>Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume Two, Book One, Part Three, Chapter Two </ref>, Clement of Alexandria<ref>Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume Two, Book Five, Part 13, Chapter 11</ref> and Tertullian<ref> Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume Four, Book One, Part Three — On the Veiling of Virgins</ref> mentioned headcoverings. Early Christian art shows women wearing headcoverings.<ref>Let Her Be Veiled, pp. 51-58. Tom Shank, ed. (Eureka, MT: Torch Publications, 1988)</ref>

Through the ensuing centuries, it was common for a woman to wear a headcovering. The Catholic Church, until 1983, required that women be veiled during services. Katharina von Bora, Martin Luther’s wife, wore a headcovering. John Knox and John Calvin both called for women to wear a headcovering.<ref>John Knox, "The First Blast Of The Trumpet Against The Monstrous Regiment Of Women", Works of John Knox, David Laing, ed. (Edinburgh: Printed for the Bannatyne Club), IV:377</ref>,<ref>Seth Skolnitsky, trans., Men, Women and Order in the Church: Three Sermons by John Calvin (Dallas, TX: Presbyterian Heritage Publications, 1992), pp. 12,13.</ref> Commentators such as Matthew Henry, A. R. Fausset and A. T. Robertson wrote that women should wear a headcovering.

During the 1900’s, the headcovering gradually disappeared from churches. Various denominations dropped their requirements that women cover their heads during the church service. Perhaps the most notable was the Catholic Church, which, in the Code of Canon Law of 1983, abolished the requirement of the headcovering in church.

A few denominations still practice the headcovering, at least during services. Among them are the Mennonites and the Plymouth Brethren.

[edit] Reasons for the headcovering

Those who practice headcovering call attention to the universal aspect of 1 Corinthians 11:2-16. They argue that since the passage mentions “every man” and “every woman,” as well as the universal order of creation, this passage must apply to all Christians, in all ages and in every continent. They hold that the Bible is not merely referring to hair, long hair, or submission, but rather a literal cloth headcovering.

[edit] Objections to the headcovering

The majority of Christians interpret the passage as a cultural mandate that was only for the first-century Corinthian church. Therefore, they say, women no longer need to cover their heads. Others believe that long hair is the headcovering. Still others believe that a woman’s husband is her covering. Yet another view, propagated by feminist Katharine Bushnell, holds that 1 Corinthians 11 teaches that women should not cover their heads, but this is not even a consideration to most Christians, because they don't take her seriously.