Beards on Clergy

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samurai333

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Hey, Im just wondering what the deal is with bearded clergy. I realize its not that big of a theological point, but it seems like some Eastern Catholic churches have bearded priests/monks and some dont, whereas all Eastern Orthodox churches do? Just wondering why this is and why beards are necassary in the first place? Thanks for answering the silly questions of a Roman!
God Bless all
 
Oh, ok, the local Ukranian priest doesnt have one though, huh. Anyway could you explain why? (it is necassary, not why the local priest doesnt have one haha)
Thanks again and God Bless!
 
samurai333 said:
Hey, Im just wondering what the deal is with bearded clergy. I realize its not that big of a theological point, but it seems like some Eastern Catholic churches have bearded priests/monks and some dont, whereas all Eastern Orthodox churches do?
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I know at 6 O.C.A. priests that do not have beards and a couple of ACROD priests as well who do not have beards…
 
Well, I don’t have one because my wife doesn’t like the feel of a beard.

Deacon Ed
 
Deacon_Ed said:
Well, I don’t have one because my wife doesn’t like the feel of a beard.

Deacon Ed
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Father Deacon,

You’re breaking my heart.

Seriously, I don’t know why Eastern clerics tend to wear beards. I like them and I think all men should wear beards but I don’t know why.

CDL
 
And so the informative pagan practices are revealed! Go on…are there more I should know? I’m ignorant of these things.😉
 
samurai333 said:
Hey, Im just wondering what the deal is with bearded clergy. I realize its not that big of a theological point, but it seems like some Eastern Catholic churches have bearded priests/monks and some dont, whereas all Eastern Orthodox churches do? Just wondering why this is and why beards are necassary in the first place? Thanks for answering the silly questions of a Roman!
God Bless all
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It is traditional for Orthodox (and I would assume Eastern Catholic) clergy to wear beards. I’ve heard two reasons for this. One, that Christ and all of the Apostles wore beards and second, and probably more accurately it rose out of the ascetical practices of monastics who wore a beard in an effort to shun earthly beauty. After all what respectable woman would want to be with such a hairy man? 😉

I would also assume the tendency of more Eastern Catholic clergy to be clean shaven is a result of Latin influences.

Yours in Christ
Joe
 
Patchunky said:
So was taking a bath and washing one’s hair…
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Hmmmm…so you’re saying that Jesus and the Jews of His day had bad hygiene?

John 13:10 - Jesus answered, “A person who has had a **bath **needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.”

Just put “wash” in an online Bible search engine. If you look at Jewish kosher laws, Jews were big into cleanliness.

The problem with the early Christians is that they didn’t like all the debauchery going on in the Roman bathhouses – a lot of prostitution went on. So eventually the Christians shunned bathing altogether.

You could say they threw the bathwater out with the babes. 😃
 
Ghoti said:
Just put “wash” in an online Bible search engine. If you look at Jewish kosher laws, Jews were big into cleanliness.
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Which is why Christians didn’t bathe. Because it was a Jewish custom and not a Christian one.

It was also very popular among the Muslims. We all know they aren’t Christian.

During the Dark Ages, bathing was thought to be one of the reasons for the Black Plague…

Bathing was a daily event for the Native Americans but the Europeans shunned this idea calling it barbaric…

Oh, well…
 
GregoryPalamas said:
Father Deacon,

You’re breaking my heart.

Seriously, I don’t know why Eastern clerics tend to wear beards. I like them and I think all men should wear beards but I don’t know why.

CDL
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Some of us grow some rather sad beards, some have wives who would just as soon have their bearded men sleep on the sofa… So it goes.

Then what of the mustachioed clergy and the Father T. Hopkos of the world with goatees/van dykes? Do those count? Is it “beardly” enough? A viable “beard-like-substance?”

Father Hopko is no slouch, I hope no one here thinks the less of him for not having a full beard.

http://old.svots.edu/Faculty/graphics/Thomas-Hopko.jpg

++PHILLIP of the AOA is one of the great supporters of Orthodox mission work in America… If there is a bishop who works harder than that man, I have not heard of him.

http://www.stjamesantorthchurch.org/Phillip2.jpg Last time I saw him he was sporting a bit o’ hair on the chin, and lookin’ good in his clergy suit with an Anglican-style clerical collar…

It would be a bold move to cast aspersions on either of these two remarkably august gents who get much respect from me just because they don’t pass the whisker litmus.

If only that was the worse we ever had to worry about! I just can’t be bothered to make a fuss.
 
Some people can’t grow beards even if they want to so I wonder what those people do?
 
I have had a beard since 1975. To do otherwise would have me succomb to the ritual blood letting. 😃 Those of us with fair and thin Irish skin are much relieved to have beards.
 
I remember someone explaining to me that it was simply a sign that Christians shouldn’ t be vain.

In the East, this took the form of priests and monks not shaving, while in the West it took the opposite form, with monks shaving their heads (tonsure).
 
GregoryPalamas said:
All Bishops and priests should have beards.

CDL
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Ghoti said:
Agreed.

Actually, all Christian men should have beards. Shaving is a pagan practice.
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Well then, they should also have long hair and finger nails. Why cut them if they do not shave their beards?

Also all bishops and priests should be Jewish as Jesus and his Apostles were.

This is a very silly argument. Show me where any of the Church Fathers lays out such a “rule” and then back it up with something from on of the Councils.
 
ByzCath said:
Well then, they should also have long hair and finger nails. Why cut them if they do not shave their beards?

Also all bishops and priests should be Jewish as Jesus and his Apostles were.

This is a very silly argument. Show me where any of the Church Fathers lays out such a “rule” and then back it up with something from on of the Councils.
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Yes. Yes, it is. 😃
 
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