Our Life In The Wilderness: headcoverings

I know, ya'll already think I've totally lost it with some of my personal beliefs (Hey, I'm just following God's word!), but I'm going to go even weirder on you tonight. Ready?

The early church studied the doctrinal teachings of the apostles, and one of those teachings was on head coverings. I think that the reason there is not much space devoted to it in the New Testament is because back in those times it was more easily understood.

Okay, so I have been studying 1 Cor. 11 for a few months now, and in the beginning I was just convicted to be more submissive to my husband, and out of that came the decision to grow my hair back out again (because of the passage AND because he never wanted it short to begin with). That was all very clear to me, but now God is taking me deeper, and it's just not quite as clear. I just wanted to ask your opinion on it.

How do you feel about head coverings? Paul is clearly talking about a material covering as opposed to the hair, but I am finding two different beliefs on this. One is that a woman should ONLY cover while praying or prophesying (which includes reading the Bible aloud) in corporate worship, which I understand why they believe this, but I just have never completely agreed with it. The other, more common, belief is that women of those times were covered at ALL times when in public as part of their modest attire, and that Paul was saying to leave the cover on while praying or prophesying (don't take it off). I have read that there were prophetesses who would remove their cover when they prayed or prophesied (because they were doing a man's work), and that is what Paul was referring to. (But note that later he says that women should remain silent in the church!)

Paul specifically tells them to keep it on (I believe.....the 2nd take on it), and though this is based in part on cultural dress, I think we, as Christian women today, should also include a head covering as part of our modest ensemble! It is clear, if you study head coverings throughout the centuries, that women gradually changed to more fashionable coverings, designer hats and then stylish hairdos because of current styles........so does that make it okay NOT to cover just because the majority of women in our modern culture do not??? What do you think? I really do want to hear what your understanding of this apostolic teaching is!

And keep in mind, we were called out as a peculiar people to be different from the world! I'm all over that one! :)

I am doing a study on head coverings right now, and it has been very interesting! The passage I am studying is 1 Cor. 11:2-16. I will not get into debating it here, but I came across this site that I wanted to share. I found it so interesting to see the way head coverings have changed over the centuries!

The Christian Woman’s Head Covering Through the Centuries

Christian Women’s Head Coverings

When I first saw some Mennonite women with their head coverings, I couldn’t imagine why they were wearing those things on their heads. I figured it was simply some type of quaint costume.

But then I read the writings of the early Christians. And then I understood why Mennonite and Amish women wear prayer veils or head coverings. I realized that it was in obedience to 1 Corinthians 11:5, which says, “Every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, for that is one and the same as if her head were shaved.” The early Christian women veiled their heads not only in church, but also anytime they were in public.

From my later study of church history, I discovered that Christian women continued to maintain this practice through the all centuries up to the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. During the nineteenth century, many Christians in the United States and western Europe began arguing that long hair constituted the only covering women needed. Others said that women only needed to wear a covering when in church. The middle class and wealthy women switched from veils and caps to ornate bonnets—if they wore a covering at all. Bonnets became more a matter of fashion than of modesty or obedience to 1 Corinthians 11.

By the turn of the twentieth century, the ornate bonnets of the nineteenth century had given way to ladies’ hats. Until the mid-century, women in Europe and America typically wore a hat or scarf in public, but they were simply following tradition and fashion—without realizing that there was originally a spiritual reason behind the practice. Similarly, until about 1960, western women wore hats when in church. But the meaning behind the hat was lost.

Today, Christian women in eastern churches still cover their heads in church. Some of them cover their heads all of the time. In the west, some Plymouth Brethren women still wear the prayer veil in church, as do many black women. But usually these sisters do not wear a head covering at other times.

Generally speaking, in the west today, only the Mennonite, Amish, Brethren and Hutterite women still practice wearing a head covering at all times. However, in recent years, they have been joined by thousands of Christian women from house churches and other independent congregations who have re-discovered this New Testament practice.

But, as it has been said, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” So I have set forth below pictures of the Christian woman’s head covering from the early Christian era to the present day.

David Bercot

200's: Catacombs-Rome

200's: Catacombs-Rome

200's: Catacombs-Rome

200's: Catacombs-Rome

300's: Catacombs-Rome

Middle Ages

During the Middle Ages, Christian women continued to wear head coverings for modesty and prayer. These coverings were quite substantial. In fact, the traditional veil worn by Roman Catholic nuns until recent times were based on the coverings that most Christian women wore in medieval Europe.

800's: England

1100's: Europe

1200's: Europe

1300's: England

1400's: England

1400: Germany

1450: Italy

Reformation Era

Around the time of the Reformation, the cap form of head covering became popular in northern Europe in place of a hanging veil.

1500's: Europe

1500's: Europe

1520: Germany

1525: Lutheran Church Service

1530: England

1530: German Anabaptist

1535: Belgium

1560: France

1567: Belgium

1580: Netherlands

1600's and 1700's

In the sixteenth century, the cap type of covering replaced the hanging veil in western Europe and in the newly discovered Americas.

1600's: Europe

1620: France

1620: New England

1625: France

1600's: Netherlands - Anabaptists

1650: England

1650: Netherlands

1655: Netherlands

1660: England

1670: Europe

1750: Europe

The 1800's

During the 1800's, middle and upper class women generally wore bonnets for head coverings. Sometimes these were more a matter of fashion than of modesty. However, among the common people, caps and veils were still quite common.