Question about tonsures

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I had asked a question about tonsures, only to have my thread hijacked by people who didn’t answer my question; they went off-topic, and my thread was closed. So, I am asking my question again…and I must add that if you know nothing about what I ask, please don’t respond to this thread.

My original comment and question:
While I’m aware that tonsures were no longer required since 1973 or so, I was wondering if before that time, did priest AND monks wear tonsures - around the 17th and 18th centuries? Or was it something that only monks wore?
Thanks!
 
I believe that the practice of tonsure stopped in England and the English colonies after the Reformation, when Catholic priests were persecuted and had to travel secretly.
 
I learned that the practice, which was common in midieval Catholicism…and up to 1972 is still practiced today as a sign of humility, reportedly, with Papal permission…I have a friend that is an Orthodox Priest who was tonsured last year, he is now a hieromonk living in a Monastery…he just had a little tuft of hair cut from his scalp…acutally kept the hair as a parent might do for a childs first haircut. he now has a full beard and long hair…I have a question…l.does anyone know where I might purchase a whip…as in self flagellation…I collect different things and would appreciate any suggestions…other than ebay…got no where with that…and surfing the net just led to all sorts of unholy sites…In my inquiries I received some rather harsh admonisments from individuals assuming that I was going to use the whip myself…I would just like to have one as a conversation piece…tks…
 
MFHMFH said:
I had asked a question about tonsures, only to have my thread hijacked by people who didn’t answer my question; they went off-topic, and my thread was closed. So, I am asking my question again…and I must add that if you know nothing about what I ask, please don’t respond to this thread.

My original comment and question:
While I’m aware that tonsures were no longer required since 1973 or so, I was wondering if before that time, did priest AND monks wear tonsures - around the 17th and 18th centuries? Or was it something that only monks wore?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
As I understand it, clerical tonsure was the norm, but for most of the last few centuries prior to 1973 was fairly modest, often involving little more than the cutting of hairs near the back of the head. (Even this was dispensed with in places where identifying clergy meant executing them, such as post-Reformation England). Religious of some orders continued use of the full tonsure.
 
I want to thank those who have replied.

So - does that mean that BOTH priest AND monks were tonsured? I’m confused, as I was under the impression that only monks in monasteries wore them. Note that I am not Catholic, so some of my questions may come across as dumb…lol
 
MFHMFH said:
I want to thank those who have replied.

So - does that mean that BOTH priest AND monks were tonsured? I’m confused, as I was under the impression that only monks in monasteries wore them. Note that I am not Catholic, so some of my questions may come across as dumb…lol
Click to expand...
Not necessarily “full tonsure” (i.e., shaved head leaving only a ring around the side). Like I said, clerical tonsure was typically pretty modest, involving only the clipping of a few hairs in the back of the head. But yes, tonsure of some sort appears to have been the norm for both secular clerics and religious prior to Paul VI.
 
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