Forefeast of the Dormition.
Prophet Micah (8th c. B.C.)
August 14 Old Style
I have been covering all or most of my hair for the majority of my adult life. There have been many reasons for this but religion has played the biggest role in growing this conviction in me. Now that I am an Orthodox Chrisian there is even more force behind my conviction. Ironically, I stopped covering when I entered the Orthodox Church. I wanted re-examine my reasons for many things in my spiritual life and practices to be sure that they conformed with Orthodoxy.
After four five years of praying with women who look like this
and this
and this
I feel that my conviction on covering has a place in my Orthopraxis. There is an almost tangible holiness about the women that I know who cover. The holiness that we experience at the Divine Liturgy and other divine services is mysteriously enhanced by our covering and modesty. It is only natural that the holiness should spill over into everyday life just as every other part of Orthodoxy does. The only challenges in my opinion is how to refrain from judging others who do not agree and covering in such a way that I do not draw undue attention to myself.
This is a topic that I plan to write about often. If there are women like me that scour the internet looking for others with this urge to cover their bodies including their hair, I want them to be able to find a likeminded soul or two through this blog.
10 comments:
You are starting a very interesting Blog. I attend a Russian Orthodox Church where the women cover their heads.
Blessings! I have found several women through the internet who seek and find, and who cover their heads. A couple of my favorite bloggers are women of God who worship with the Orthodox churches - see "light and good order" and "free to cover" from the blog list on the Those Headcoverings blog. How God is glorified... :)
Welcome to the Those Headcoverings webring! So cool to see you here, Monica! Looking forward to knowing you better.
Kristin from the Yahoo 'coveredorthodox' group
Wow! Three readers already! Welcome :)
Ah, when I read "scouring the internet" I knew you were talking to me! I see some of my headcovering sisters have commented too, we're everywhere!
Monica, where was the third photo taken? I love the headcovering style.
Ah, so you prefer to be inconspicuous. THis is something I've been pondering; whether or not for me I'm flying under the radar out of cowardice, or out of a natural need to be inconspicuous (which I guess does go with humility,hmm.)
I look forward to reading more of your musings on headcovering.
Blessings,
mary
Hi, nice post. Are you the Monica I know?
Mary,
The 3rd picture was taken in Iran. The caption for the photo says "Worshippers led by Father Methodios celebrate Easter at Tehran’s Greek Orthodox Church."
I don't know how inconspicuous I am. It is obvious that I cover. I don't think my coverings necessarily lead people to think I am covering for religious reasons. I might post some pics of my covering styles as I go along.
Thanks for reading :)
Alana,
Yes, its me. Hi!
Hello! I have just started with headcoverings and only part time, but I can tell you that I just feel better when I have something on my head, so it must be right for me. I'm not Orthodox, but come from Roman Catholic tradition and now am non-demoninational Christian. I am interested in the parallels between the 3 Abrahamic religions and feel a kinship with all the daughters of Sarah, and with all women who cover.
Here is an interesting article on women covering their heads that you all may like: http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/praxis/headcoverings.aspx
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