Any Orthodox Christian knows for sure: according to established tradition, a woman enters the temple with her head covered, which is a sign of her meekness and humility. Speaking about the origin of this tradition, they usually turn to the words of the Apostle Paul, who, in a letter to the residents of the city of Corinth, said that a woman’s head should be covered during prayer.
Greek Orthodox women do not wear headscarves to church: reasons
In Russian churches, this tradition is usually observed. It does not cause inconvenience to true believing women, just like the tradition that does not recommend wearing trousers and short skirts to church. However, you will not see scarves so familiar to our eyes in the Greek church. Deeply religious Orthodox Greek women attend the service with their heads uncovered. The only exceptions are elderly widows or Russian tourists. Even if a lady comes to the temple wearing a hat, she takes it off. Many parishioners of the Greek church wear trousers.Expressive Greek women are closer to European culture and consider trousers an integral part of a woman’s wardrobe, appropriate in any setting, including a temple.
As for the bare head, this has a well-founded historical origin. The liberation struggle of the Greek people against the Ottoman Empire left a significant mark on the history of this state. In the first quarter of the 19th century, not a single Greek woman had the right to appear on the street without a hijab. Forced Islamization caused protest among the population. Men and women gathered for services in secret, usually at night. There the women threw off the hated scarf from their heads. And today in Greece the headscarf is perceived as an element of Muslim culture.
The opinion of the priests
However, there is no direct prohibition in the Gospel to appear in church with your head uncovered. Today, you can increasingly hear from Russian clergy a more tolerant position in relation to the way their parishioners dress. Despite the fact that in the Russian church only little girls are usually without a headscarf, the church fathers are convinced that the main thing is still the sincere faith in the heart and soul of a woman, with which she comes to church and turns to the Lord.
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