Christian Pure

Christian Head Covering: What 1 Corinthians 11 Says and Which Churches Keep It

Christian Pure Team

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Summary

  • In 1 Corinthians 11:2–16 Paul says that a woman who prays or prophesies should cover her head and a man should not.
  • He gives reasons from headship, from the creation of Eve in Genesis 2, “because of the angels,” from nature and from the practice of the churches.
  • Early writers, including Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian and John Chrysostom, treated the passage as a rule for their own churches.
  • The 1917 Code of Canon Law required Catholic women to cover their heads at Mass; the 1983 Code has no such rule.
  • The Amish and Mennonites who keep the 1963 confession treat the covering as a lasting practice, and United Pentecostals teach that a woman’s uncut hair is her covering.
  • A 1976 Vatican declaration holds that the veil rule was “probably inspired by the customs of the period” and no longer binding.

Paul tells the Corinthians that a woman should cover her head when she prays or prophesies and a man should not. Christian head covering comes from that passage, 1 Corinthians 11:2–16. Christians disagree over whether the rule binds every age or reflected the customs of Paul’s day. Many Orthodox, Amish and Mennonite women still cover their heads. What does 1 Corinthians 11 say about head coverings? Paul begins by praising the Corinthians because they “maintain the traditions even as I…

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Bibliography (Click to show)
  • Scripture quotations from the English Standard Version (1 Corinthians 11:2, 3, 4–5, 6, 7–9, 10, 11–12, 13, 15, 16). Other passages described: Hebrews 1:12. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+11%3A1-16&version=ESV
  • 1 Corinthians 11:3–16 in the King James Version, the New International Version and the Revised Standard Version. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+11%3A3-16&version=KJV;NIV;RSV
  • Blue Letter Bible, Strong’s G435 anēr, G1135 gynē, G2619 katakalyptō, G177 akatakalyptos and G4018 peribolaion. https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g4018/kjv/tr/0-1/
  • John Chrysostom, Homily 26 on First Corinthians, New Advent. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/220126.htm
  • Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor (Paedagogus), Book 3, chapter 11, New Advent. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/02093.htm
  • Tertullian, On the Veiling of Virgins, New Advent. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0403.htm
  • “Clement of Alexandria,” Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent. https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04045a.htm
  • “St. John Chrysostom,” Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent. https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08452b.htm
  • “Tertullian,” Encyclopaedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Tertullian
  • United Pentecostal Church International, Articles of Faith, “Holiness” (Europe Region). https://www.upci.eu/positions/articles-of-faith/
  • David K. Bernard, Practical Holiness: A Second Look, chapter 9, “Hair.” https://s3.amazonaws.com/mychurchwebsite/c2279/hair_-_practical_holiness_david_bernard_1.pdf
  • Mennonite Confession of Faith (1963), “Ceremonies and Practices.” https://skylinemennonite.org/beliefs/confession-of-faith/full-1963-mennonite-confession-of-faith/
  • Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Inter Insigniores, 15 October 1976. https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_19761015_inter-insigniores_en.html
  • “Head Coverings for women,” Question and Answer, Orthodox Presbyterian Church, 29 April 2007. https://opc.org/qa.html?question_id=244
  • Matt Fradd, “What Happened to Head Coverings at Mass?,” Catholic Answers, quoting canon 1262 of the 1917 Code of Canon Law. https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/what-happened-to-head-coverings-at-mass
  • Code of Canon Law (1983), canon 6. https://www.vatican.va/archive/cod-iuris-canonici/eng/documents/cic_lib1-cann1-6_en.html
  • “Catholic Re-Veiling,” Religion and American Culture, Indiana University Indianapolis, 23 October 2025. https://raac.indianapolis.iu.edu/programs/congregations-and-polarization/cap-news-publications/catholic-re-veiling/
  • Bishop Alexei of Sitka and Alaska, “Modesty, History, Veils, and Head-coverings,” Diocese of Sitka and Alaska, Orthodox Church in America, 18 October 2022. https://odosa.org/news/article-on-headcoverings
  • “Do women need to cover their heads in Orthodox churches?,” St. Michael Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church, Beaumont, Texas, 17 December 2025. https://stmichaeltx.org/orthodox-101/worship-services/do-women-need-to-cover-their-heads-in-orthodox-churches/
  • Erik Wesner, “Comparing Amish Women’s Head Coverings,” Amish America, 16 January 2019. https://amishamerica.com/amish-womens-head-coverings/

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