The Clothing of a Christian #
In everyday life, a Christian outwardly differs little from the average person. Worship, however, is another matter entirely.
Among Orthodox Old Believers, there is a pious ancient custom of wearing special clothing for prayer in church. In essence, this is the attire that was commonly worn in everyday life in ancient Rus’: a kaftan or Russian kosovorotka —worn untucked and belted—for men, and a sarafan for women.
A woman covers her head with a scarf. According to the tradition of central and northern Russia, it is pinned under the chin in a distinctive way using a brooch or pin. In southern regions of Russia, as well as in Ukraine, Moldova, and Romania, the scarf is tied in a knot. The scarf must be made of opaque fabric, not bright or colorful, but modest and appropriate for prayer and for being in church. A woman should cover her head so that no hair is visible. The pinned scarf should also cover the shoulders and chest.
On Sundays and feast days, it is customary to wear white or light-colored scarves. During fasting periods (including the feasts of the Exaltation of the Precious Cross, September 27, and the Beheading of John the Forerunner, September 11), black or dark-colored scarves are worn. A married woman must also wear a povoinik (also called a kichka) beneath the scarf—a special cap which is blessed by the priest with a prayer at the time of her wedding.
If one is not able to sew a sarafan or kaftan for prayer, then modest, clean, and neat clothing is acceptable for attending church—clothing that does not tightly cling to the body, is not brightly colored, and has long sleeves.
High-heeled shoes are not appropriate. It is impossible to pass through the church unnoticed in such footwear, and performing prostrations or standing through the full service would be quite difficult.
For men, suitable clothing includes classic dress shoes, trousers, and a shirt worn untucked and belted with a sash. It is not customary to attend church wearing a necktie, short-sleeved shirt, jeans, or athletic wear.
The question of clothing worthy of a Christian has a rich canonical and literary tradition. Many Holy Fathers and teachers who wrote about how a pious Christian should appear considered this seemingly private matter to be one of Church-wide importance. According to Canon 71 of the Sixth Ecumenical Council, a Christian is to be excommunicated if he “dresses in any clothing contrary to common custom.”
Today, if this fundamental principle is taken too literally, it can distort the true understanding of what kind of clothing the Church considers pious and acceptable. On one hand, some zealous individuals urge modern Old Believers to wear ozyams, zipuns, kaftans, sarafans, and the like not only to church services, but also to work, shops, and other places. Far more common, however, is the opposite extreme—when “common custom” is equated with modern fashion trends. Therefore, we must carefully reflect on the words of the biblical prophet: “Be silent at the presence of the Lord God: for the day of the Lord is at hand. For the Lord hath prepared a sacrifice, He hath sanctified His guests. And it shall come to pass in the day of the Lord’s sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king’s children, and all such as are clothed with foreign apparel” (Zephaniah 1).
What kinds of garments, then, did the Fathers of Orthodoxy consider to be “foreign”? St. Ephraim the Syrian (in Sermon 82) teaches not to wear garments of many colors, but to clothe oneself modestly. For we require only a covering, not decoration. “The purpose of clothing,” writes Nikon, abbot of the Black Mountain, “is simply to cover the flesh” (Sermon 37). Each person should wear clothing appropriate to his station and sex. In the Kormchaya Kniga (the Church’s canon law collection), we find that the Council of Gangra, in Canon 11, commands excommunication for a woman who dresses in men’s clothing (even if for the sake of asceticism), though it does not forbid Christians from wearing light-colored garments. Nevertheless, one must avoid luxury, lest it tempt weaker brethren. Some people spend extravagantly on fashionable and ornate clothing, and to such persons St. Cyril of Alexandria exhorts: by being captivated by dazzling apparel, they deprive themselves of the divine garment. The same instruction applies to those of clerical rank (Nikon of the Black Mountain, Sermon 37): if a bishop or reader walks about in bright, ornamented clothing, he should be corrected; if he refuses to obey, he must be suspended and defrocked. The Kormchaya (leaf 602 verso) gives instructions to a newly ordained priest, stating: “Wear clothing that reaches to the ankles, without bright colors or worldly embellishments.” In other words, the priest should wear a long robe, down to the ankles, free of worldly patterns and decorations. It is categorically forbidden for women to wear garments that reveal the shoulders, chest, or similar. In the book of St. Dimitry, Metropolitan of Serbia (Chapter 39), this practice is labeled as “Latin” and therefore heretical.
Old Believers have always treated traditional attire with great seriousness, especially regarding the cut and form of prayer clothing. Even today, in churches one can see men wearing kaftans and boots, with a shirt beneath, worn untucked and belted with a woven or braided sash, often embroidered with a prayer or commemorative inscription. Women, especially those singing on the kliros (choir stand), are clothed in sarafans and headscarves pinned beneath the chin, with the color of the scarf often changing according to the feast—red for Pascha, for instance, and green for Pentecost. Old Believers who, for one reason or another, do not possess such traditional garments, still wear modest and proper clothing that never exposes the shoulders or arms.
The custom of pinning the headscarf under the chin with a brooch is widespread among all Old Believer confessions. However, in the South—particularly in parishes of the Nekrasovtsy—the scarf is tied in a knot, which resembles the practice of the New Rite (Nikonian) parishioners. Reflecting on this difference, some Old Believer women interpret the custom of tying the scarf in a knot as a symbol of Judas’s noose—a sign of betrayal of Christ. This interpretation, however, has no basis in Church tradition and is characteristic of folk reasoning rather than ecclesiastical teaching.
Among Popovtsy (priestly Old Believers), disputes over the cut or style of clothing did not cause schisms, but such questions were nevertheless raised regularly. At the Council of 1913, a special report was presented by I. Staroverov on the topic of the clothing of those coming to pray in church. A discussion followed. Bishop Geronty of St. Petersburg concluded the debate by saying: “Even Saint John Chrysostom opposed immodest dress. He insisted that one dress modestly, but he did not prescribe a particular cut; therefore, it is permissible to come to church not only in sarafans, but also in other garments—so long as they are proper and decorous. But look at what some women have come to lately in their fashions! They no longer even know where they are going—to church or somewhere else. And once in church, they cannot pray in a Christian manner—they cannot even make a proper bow.”
The Council resolved to issue a pastoral exhortation to the faithful, urging them to wear garments according to local custom, but garments that are proper, modest, and befitting the dignity of an Orthodox Christian and the house of God—the house of prayer. A similar resolution and exhortation had also been adopted by the Holy Council of 1905.