Beards on Clergy

[VL93]

From a 1998 issue of Orthodox England:

Q - Why do Orthodox priests wear beards, when until recently Catholic priests were actually forbidden to wear beards? And why did Catholic monks have tonsures, but not Orthodox?
A. S., Durham

A - The simple reason why Orthodox priests wear beards is because, as a Nazarene, Our Lord had a beard, as can be seen from any icon. Since the priest is a dispenser of sacramental grace and an icon of Christ, he should physically resemble Our Lord, not only in wearing a robe or cassock (which need not at all be black, contrary to popular myth), but also in being bearded and having the same hairstyle (long hair with a parting down the middle)…

[More here]

 

[VL93]

From the Orthodox Information Center:

"…With regard to shaving, the Old Testament, the Church Fathers, and the Canons forbid a clergyman to cut his beard. One of the observations made by the Orthodox against the Popes during the union councils (and repeated by a number of Orthodox Fathers in modern times) was that, as they began to deviate from the Apostolic Faith, they also, oddly enough, began to shave off their beards. Moreover, not only should clergymen not shave, according to various Church authorities, but many holy men, such as St. Kosmas Aitolos, hold that laymen should let their beards, or least a moustache, grow naturally.

"All of this does not, of course, mean that an Orthodox clergyman should not be clean and well groomed. The Canons allow for the trimming of the moustache (primarily for the purpose of insuring care in taking Holy Communion), and certainly by economy a Priest can trim his beard slightly, if he has to hold a secular job. Long hair should also be tied up in back or tucked under the collar, for which reason it rarely presents a problem for a working Priest who truly wishes to abide by canonical exactitude. (And by Priest, here, we mean, of course, both the Presbyter and the Deacon.) Nor would we argue that a beard and uncut hair are the sure signs of a good Priest. They are, as Bishop Chrysostomos of Etna always tells us, no more or less important to a Priest than ‘feathers are to a bird.’

“Finally, in anticipation of those who oppose the canonical disciplines placed on Orthodox clergy, let us acknowledge that some monks, in the history of the Church, maintained a tonsure which involved cutting hair from the top of the head. This was one of many customs which did not last, and is not an argument against the living tradition of the Church as it has survived today, which assigns to monastics and ‘secular’ clergy alike the discipline of leaving the hair and beard uncut, This discipline, combined with adherence to the canonical dress of the clergy (in Church, on the street, and at home), is a powerful deterrent against improper behavior on the part of Priests, who should be moral exemplars for the people, and provides a vivid witness of the peculiar nature to the people of God, the Christians.”

 

[Formosus]

“The hair of the chin showed him to be a man.” St Clement of Alexandria (c.195, E), 2.271

“How womanly it is for one who is a man to comb himself and shave himself with a razor, for the sake of fine effect, and to arrange his hair at the mirror, shave his cheeks, pluck hairs out of them, and smooth them!..For God wished women to be smooth and to rejoice in their locks alone growing spontaneously, as a horse in his mane. But He adorned man like the lions, with a beard, and endowed him as an attribute of manhood, with a hairy chest–a sign of strength and rule.” St. Clement of Alexandria, 2.275

"This, then, is the mark of the man, the beard. By this, he is seen to be a man. It is older than Eve. It is the token of the superior nature….It is therefore unholy to desecrate the symbol of manhood, hairiness.” St. Clement of Alexandria, 2.276

“It is not lawful to pluck out the beard, man’s natural and noble adornment.” St. Clement of Alexandria, 2.277

In their manners, there was no discipline. In men, their beards were defaced." St Cyprian (c. 250, W), 5.438

“The beard must not be plucked. ‘You will not deface the figure of your beard’.” [Lev 19:32] St. Cyprian, 5.553

“Men may not destroy the hair of their beards and unnaturally change the form of a man. For the Law says, “You will not deface your beards.” For God the Creator has made this decent for women, but has determined that it is unsuitable for men.” Apostolic Constitutions (compiled c.390, E) 7.392. (1)

You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard. ( Leviticus 19: 27)

 

[ASimpleSinner]

From a 1998 issue of Orthodox England:

From the Orthodox Information Center:

What makes those traddy-groups authoratative? Every time I look at stuff from either it always reads like an Anglo-convert who took up Orthodoxy and started speaking like Boris from the Rocky and Bullwinkle show

*** “Moose and Squirrel is not having beard! Is outrage!”***

Both sources represent - at best - a cottage industry where they are. I am fairly certain that the OIC is affiliated with old calendarists… At least that is what you get from reading the way they talk about the “ecumenist bishops”… Anyone chosing to base their Orthodox worldview on such sources…

well, good luck with that.

 

[ASimpleSinner]

Some people can’t grow beards even if they want to so I wonder what those people do?

1. grow an awful beard as best they can or
2. take it as a sign they are not to become priests…

…I guess.

or

1. be a good and holy (if clean shaven) priest.

 

[holdencaulfield]

Some of the Byzantine Rites when they were Latinized started to shave. Others did not. After Vatican II the Byzantine Rites are starting to go back to their roots so I wouldn’t be suprised if the number of bearded clergy increases.

 

[VL93]

What makes those traddy-groups authoratative? Every time I look at stuff from either it always reads like an Anglo-convert who took up Orthodoxy and started speaking like Boris from the Rocky and Bullwinkle show

Both sources represent - at best - a cottage industry where they are. I am fairly certain that the OIC is affiliated with old calendarists… At least that is what you get from reading the way they talk about the “ecumenist bishops”… Anyone chosing to base their Orthodox worldview on such sources…

well, good luck with that.

Okay perhaps there is a kernel of truth in your characterization of the Orthodox Information Center - although the editor (for lack of a better term) of that site is now, I believe, affiliated with the Serbian Orthodox Church not the Greek Old Calendarists.

However, what is one to do if all the “cradle Orthodox” (laity and hierarchs alike) more and more succumb to a general laxity in their theology and liturgical practices? Perhaps it is precisely these “Rocky and Bullwinkle” converts who still dare to point out the authentic teachings of the Church?

Hmm. Sort of like the convert apologists in the Catholic Church, methinks. Or would you dismiss the likes of Scott Hahn, Karl Keating, Rosalind Moss, Marcus Grodi, et al. just because they aren’t life-long Catholics?!

 

[Friar_David_O.Carm]

From a 1998 issue of Orthodox England:

Q - Why do Orthodox priests wear beards, when until recently Catholic priests were actually forbidden to wear beards? And why did Catholic monks have tonsures, but not Orthodox?
A. S., Durham

A - The simple reason why Orthodox priests wear beards is because, as a Nazarene, Our Lord had a beard, as can be seen from any icon. Since the priest is a dispenser of sacramental grace and an icon of Christ, he should physically resemble Our Lord, not only in wearing a robe or cassock (which need not at all be black, contrary to popular myth), but also in being bearded and having the same hairstyle (long hair with a parting down the middle)…

[More here]

And because Jesus had a beard, which can not be proven factually, then only Jewish men should be priests because as a Nazarene he was Jewish.

 

[Alexios]

In fact, shaving one’s head is traditionally considered a sign of eschewing the things of the world by many cultures. This is why, until recently, Latin Catholic priests were forbidden to have facial hair, and also why they were all required to have very short hair or be tonsured. Same exact thing with Buddhist monks.

It’s a rather cross-cultural concept.

 

[VL93]

And because Jesus had a beard, which can not be proven factually, then only Jewish men should be priests because as a Nazarene he was Jewish.

Perhaps they really meant “Nazirite” (Numbers 6:1-21) … ?

As an aside, didn’t some of the earliest images of Christ depict him as a young beardless man? For example, Christ the Good Shepherd from the S. Callisto catacomb.

 

[holdencaulfield]

Perhaps they really meant “Nazirite” (Numbers 6:1-21) … ?

As an aside, didn’t some of the earliest images of Christ depict him as a young beardless man? For example, Christ the Good Shepherd from the S. Callisto catacomb.

Does it matter though. Beards were typical for the time.

 

[ASimpleSinner]

Okay perhaps there is a kernel of truth in your characterization of the Orthodox Information Center - although the editor (for lack of a better term) of that site is now, I believe, affiliated with the Serbian Orthodox Church not the Greek Old Calendarists.

However, what is one to do if all the “cradle Orthodox” (laity and hierarchs alike) more and more succumb to a general laxity in their theology and liturgical practices? Perhaps it is precisely these “Rocky and Bullwinkle” converts who still dare to point out the authentic teachings of the Church?

Hmm. Sort of like the convert apologists in the Catholic Church, methinks. Or would you dismiss the likes of Scott Hahn, Karl Keating, Rosalind Moss, Marcus Grodi, et al. just because they aren’t life-long Catholics?!

Hmm. NO.

It has nothing to do with not being a lifer and everything to do with gravitating towards the most stridently strict & sectarian subgroupings. Given how much allowance there is on different matters and issues that - without a magisterium or even a latter council to teach definatively on - you see these sorts of discrepencies… Well WHO is to say that the conclusions of “Jurisdiction X” are representitive of laxity, but these guys over here, now they are the REAL Orthodox?

Are you going to make that call? All things being equal the “lax members of the Orthodox Church of X in America” are as legit as the pontifications of the “True Orthodox Church of X outside of X”.

It doesn’t have anything to do with whether they were cradle-dox or not. Thought as frequently as not, the cradle embarass the ultra-Orthodox parties by NOT sharing in some of the radical polemics.

 

[Steve12045]

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

I was just wondering what the chances were of the apostles having a decent razor. Having a beard spared them the discomfort of shaving.