What is your opinion, do you oppose the European tradition of men shaving their faces? After all, God created men so that they had a beard. The people of God of the Old Testament did not shave their beards, unlike the Egyptians. Isn't the custom of laughing at a beard a kind of disagreement with the Creator? Did this tradition appear for some sexual motives? Is the growth of hair on the face a distinctive masculine quality, and a face without hair is a feminine quality?

It is true that shaving the face has many meanings in the Bible and I will present this aspect below.

Shaving a man's face was a sign of mourning

In the Old Testament, God gave this commandment to His people:

Do not cut your head around, and do not spoil the edges of your beard. For the sake of the deceased, do not make cuts on your body and do not prick inscriptions on yourself. I am the Lord your God. (Leviticus 19:27-28)

Why did God give this commandment? Because this is how the pagan peoples around them expressed mourning and horror. When the destruction of Moab is described, the prophet Jeremiah writes:

Each one has a naked head and each one has a reduced beard; all have scratches on their arms and sackcloth on their loins. On all the rooftops of Moab and in its streets there is a general cry, for I have crushed Moab like a vile vessel, says the Lord. (Jeremiah 48:37-38)

These peoples were idolaters also at death, or when misfortune came, because in this way they wanted to draw the attention of the idols they worshipped. God never allowed His people to practice these pagan practices, and as the idolatrous peoples shaved between the eyes when someone died, God said the following to the people of Israel:

You are the sons of the Lord your God; do not make cuts on your body and do not cut off the hair above your eyes after the deceased; for you are a holy people to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be his own people out of all the nations that are on the earth. (Deuteronomy 14:1-2)

The way the pagan peoples expressed mourning and horror was a manifestation of their despair and hopelessness. The children of God have a God in heaven who will not leave them in despair and hopelessness.

In today's world, the opposite expression of mourning

If in ancient times people expressed pain when someone close died by shaving their head or beard, or the corners of the beard, or between the eyes, today pain and mourning are expressed by allowing hair to grow on the face. If a man is dressed in dark clothes and not shaved, then others assume that he is in mourning.

Shaving the beard is a manifestation of culture and good manners

When Joseph was in an Egyptian prison, Pharaoh had a dream and one of the servants said that Joseph could give an interpretation of the dream:

And Pharaoh sent and called Joseph. And they hurriedly brought him out of the dungeon. He cut his hair and changed his clothes and went to Pharaoh. (Genesis 41:14)

Joseph was a decent man and did not compromise his faith and worship among the pagan people where he lived. If shaving his face had been contrary to the will of God, Joseph would not have shaved. Or, if shaving the face had a pagan or sinful meaning in Egypt, Joseph would not have done it. The fact that he shaved is a manifestation of culture and respect for the authority of the pharaoh to whom he was going.

Shaving a man's face has no sexual motives

Nowhere does the Bible make such a statement, and even in the culture of our day, I have never heard that shaving a man's face is a manifestation of sexuality or a sexual consequence.

Translation: Moses Natalia

ATTITUDE TO THE BEARD IN VARIOUS RELIGIONS

Wearing a beard is prescribed by all major religions, except Buddhism, which adheres to the exact opposite point of view.

BUDDHISM

In Buddhism, monks, imitating the Buddha, shave not only their beards, but their entire heads as a sign of renunciation of sensual pleasures and leading a righteous life. When Prince Siddhartha Buddha left home in search of the Path beyond death, old age and disease, he shaved off his hair and beard and put on a robe the color of saffron. Thus, he got rid of the need to care for his hair, and in addition, he demonstrated to others his attitude towards worldly things.

Buddhist monks

A shaved head in general is a symbol of submission, renunciation of one's own personality. Refusal of material goods, simplicity in everything - this is one of the ways to achieve nirvana. Every Buddhist aspires to this state. On the way to knowledge, nothing should distract. Little things like washing your hair, drying and styling your hair - take up a lot of time that can be devoted to internal self-improvement. Therefore, Buddhist monks shave their heads.

Orthodox priests, including Orthodox monks, in the tradition of growing hair and beards follow the example of Christ, and Buddhist monks follow the example of Siddhartha Gautama.

HINDUISM

Hinduism is one of the most unusual religions in the world, in which polytheism reaches incredible proportions - an innumerable number of gods and goddesses adorn the niches of the pantheon.

Three deities - Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva - are considered supreme. They constitute the concept of Trimurti, i.e. a triple image that unites Vishnu the almighty, Brahma the creator, and Shiva the destroyer.

According to the Puranas, in Hindu cosmology, Brahma is seen as the creator of the universe, but not as God. (on the contrary, it is believed that he was created by God). Brahma is often depicted with a white beard, which symbolizes the almost eternal nature of his existence. Brahma's beard indicates wisdom and represents the eternal process of creation.

In the old days, the Indians smeared their beard with palm oil, and at night they put it in leather cases - beards. Sikhs twisted their beards around a cord, the ends of which were tucked under a turban. In special cases, the beard was loosened with a magnificent fan almost to the navel.

ISLAM

At the beginning of the 7th century, the prophet Muhammad, who began to preach in Mecca, stood up to protect the beard. He required his followers to grow beards. From the hadiths commenting on the various statements of the prophet, it follows that he attributed the beard to what is natural for a person and, therefore, embodies the plan of God - since the beard grows, then it must be worn.

Muhammad said: "Shave your mustache and grow your beard"; "Don't be like the pagans! Shave your mustache and grow your beard"; “Cut off your mustache and grow your beard. Don't be like fire worshipers!".

The Koran forbids shaving the beard. Shaving the beard is a change in the appearance of the creation of Allah and submission to the will of Shaitan. Growing a beard is one of the natural properties bestowed by Allah, it is not commanded to touch it and it is forbidden to shave it. Muhammad said: "Allah has cursed men who imitate women." And shaving the beard is likened to a woman.

In one of the hadiths about the prophet Muhammad, it is said that he received an ambassador from Byzantium. The ambassador was clean-shaven. Muhammad asked the ambassador why he looked like that. The Byzantine replied that the Emperor forced them to shave. “But Allah, Almighty He and the Great, ordered me to leave my beard and trim my mustache.” During the ensuing diplomatic conversation with the ambassador, Muhammad never once again looked at the shaved ambassador because he treated him like an effeminate creature.

A beard is an obligation in Islam and it is forbidden to cut it completely. However, there are cases where beard shaving is allowed (for example, in the case of a trip to a country where there may be persecution for wearing a beard). But be that as it may, shaving off the beard for a long time is a great sin (kabira).

JUDAISM

In Judaism, a shaved beard is considered a loss of honor (2 Kings 10:4-6, 1 Chron.19:4-6, etc.). For example, in Hasidism, the removal of the beard is tantamount to a formal break with the community.

In the Torah it is forbidden to cut the beard: "Do not cut your head around, and do not spoil the edges of your beard." Therefore, the Jews, zealously faithful to the laws of the Torah, did not shave their beards. The Torah's prohibition against "destroying" the beard applies (obviously) only to the use of a razor-blade of any kind. The issue of "trimming" or "shaving" the beard has been, and remains, a subject of rabbinic debate. (there are authorities that allow you to "shave" a beard with scissors and an electric razor, there are also authorities that believe that these methods are strictly prohibited).

Shaving the beard is mentioned in the Tanakh as a sign of mourning or humiliation.

The Talmud mentions the ban on shaving the beard as one of the protective measures against assimilation. By the way, it was in the Talmud that the beard was first mentioned as an integral element of male beauty (“Bava Metzia” 84a). According to the customs of Judaism, Orthodox Jews wear sidelocks (long uncut strands of hair at the temples), a beard and certainly a headdress.

In modern times, with the spread of Kabbalah, the ban on shaving the beard has already acquired a mystical meaning. For example, according to the teachings of Kabbalah, the entire created world is a material reflection of the Almighty. Moreover, a person is to some extent a reflection of the Almighty in the material world. In the spiritual world, each part of the human body corresponds to a certain aspect of the manifestation of the Supreme. It turns out that a person without a beard is an incomplete person, shaving off his beard moves away from the Creator, loses the Divine “image and likeness” of the Almighty.

But, at the same time, it is believed that the Jew who does not yet feel that he is at a sufficiently high spiritual level to fulfill everything that is required by Kabbalah should not be afraid to shave. And he can safely do this on all days of the week (of course, except for Saturday).

Common to all Jews (including non-religious), is the custom not to shave the beard for a month as a sign of mourning for a close relative.

CATHOLICISM

Catholic clergy are ordered not to have free-growing beards: Clericus nec comam nutriat nec barbam. The interpretation of this prescription in different periods was different. It is known that from the 16th to the 18th centuries, many popes were bearded! (Julius II, Clement VII, Paul III, Julius III, Marcellus II, Paul IV, Pius IV, Pius V).

Pope Julius II was the first to grow a beard in 1511. Despite the fact that his most famous portrait is with a beard, he did not break the custom for a long time - only for a year. He let go of his beard as a sign of sorrow. After him, a few more dads did not think about rough facial hair.

However, the resonance of Julius II's act was felt through the years, and Pope Clement VII grew a luxurious beard in 1527, which he did not shave off until his death in 1534. He was treacherously poisoned by feeding the unsuspecting pontiff a pale toadstool for his sympathy for France.

Subsequent popes decided that a beard is beautiful and pleasing to God and proudly wore facial hair for more than two centuries. Pope Alexander XVII, however, gave his beard a refined and more modern form(mustache and goatee, the subsequent Popes adhered to the same form of beard and mustache) - his papacy lasted from 1655 to 1667.

The glorious tradition was interrupted by Pope Clement XI (note that Clement VII started it). He ascended the throne on November 23, 1700.

In general, at first in the Roman Church there were no canonical rules regarding whether to wear a beard or not, and earlier Popes considered it their duty to grow a beard - starting from the Apostle Peter, few of them even thought about shaving facial hair. This was the case until the Great Schism in 1054.

Even in ancient times, the Romans used to see a beard as a symbol of barbarism. Perhaps this was the reason for the propensity of Catholic clerics to clean shave.

In the Western Church, one of the symbols of priestly ministry was tonsure- hair cut in a circle at the crown.

In the Russian tradition, the analogue of tonsure was gumenzo (circle on the head, symbolizing the crown of thorns). The shaved part was covered with a small cap, called "gumenets" or "skufya". The custom of cutting gumenzo existed in Russia until the middle of the 17th century.

In Catholicism, a clergyman is required to shave his beard - a smooth face is considered a symbol of holiness, and in some monastic orders, a tonsure is also accepted - a shaved head.

ORTHODOXY

In Orthodoxy, on the contrary, it is a thick beard that indicates priestly status.

Russian saints. Detail. From left to right Anthony of the Caves, Sergius of Radonezh, Theodosius of the Caves

From the point of view of Orthodox customs, beard - a detail of the image of God .

Shaving the beard (barbering) is one of the serious sins according to Orthodox teaching. In Orthodoxy, it has always been illegal, i.e. violating the Law of God and the ordinances of the Church. Barbering was forbidden in the Old Testament (Leviticus 19:27; 2 Samuel 10:1; 1 Chronicles 19:4); it is also prohibited by the rules of the VI Ecumenical Council (see the interpretation on the 96th rule of Zonar and the Greek Pilot Pidalion), and many patristic writings (creations of St. Epiphanius of Cyprus, St. Cyril of Alexandria, Blessed Theodoret, St. Isidore Pilusiot). Condemnation of barbering is also contained in the Greek books (creations of Nikon Chernyaya Gory, p. 37; Nomocanon, p. 174). The Holy Fathers believe that the one who shaves his beard expresses dissatisfaction with his outward appearance, which is given to him by the Creator, and tries to "edit" the Divine regulations. About the same canon 96 of the cathedral in Trulla Polatny "about cutting off the brad."

The decrees of the holy Apostles: “It should also not spoil the hair on the beard and change the image of a person contrary to nature. Do not bare, says the law, your beards. For this (to be without a beard) the Creator God made acceptable for women, and for men He declared obscene. But you who bare your beard to please, as opposed to the law, you will be abominable to God, who created you in his own image.

In the city of Vilna (now Vilnius), pagan soldiers tortured three Orthodox Christians in 1347 Anthony, John and Evstafiy for refusing to be barbered. Prince Olgerd, who tormented them, after many tortures, offered them only one thing, that they shave off their beards, and if they do this, he will let them go. But the martyrs did not agree and were hanged on an oak tree. The Church ranked the Vilna (or Lithuanian) martyrs among the saints of God, believing that they suffered for Christ Himself and for the Orthodox faith. Their memory is celebrated on April 27, N.S.

During the Great Schism in 1054, the Patriarch of Constantinople Michael Cerularius, in a letter to the Patriarch of Antioch, Peter, accused the Latins of other heresies and that they were "cutting off the brada." The same accusation is confirmed by the Russian venerable father Theodosius of the Caves in his Sermon on the Christian and Latin Faith.

Shaving the beard (barbering) is strictly forbidden as a Latin custom. The next to him should be excommunicated from church communion (Lev. 19, 27; 21, 5; Stoglav ch. 40; Pilot Patr. Joseph. Rule of Nikita Scyphite "On the tonsure of the beard", fol. 388 on ob. and 389).

In Russia, wearing a beard was enshrined in the decisions of the Stoglavy Cathedral. Stoglavy Cathedral of the Russian Church (1551) defined: “if someone shaves his brother and tacos pass away (i.e. not repenting of this sin) , serve over him, neither sing magpies for him, nor prosvir, nor bring candles for him to the church, let it be reckoned with the unbelievers, from the heretic, more than you know.” (i.e., if one of those who shaves his beard dies, burials should not be served over him, nor magpies should be sung, nor marshmallows or candles should be brought to church for his remembrance; for he is considered unfaithful, since he learned this from heretics).

The Old Believers still believe that without a beard it is impossible to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, and they forbid a shaved person to enter the church, and if an Old Believer living “in the world” shaved and did not repent of it before his death, he is buried without performing a funeral rite.

The Bible says about the beard: "... the lash will not rise on your breasts", or, to be clear, - you can not cut your beard. If we believe in God, then we must understand that He created us the way He saw fit. Shaving means not resigning yourself to the will of God, and yet, reading “Our Father” every day, we repeat: “Thy will be done.” The Lord divided people into two ranks - male-rank and female-rank, and each commanded his own: men should not change their faces, but should cut their hair on their heads, and women should not cut their hair.

For Orthodox Christian the beard has always been a symbol of faith and self-respect. The ancient Russian Church strictly forbade barbering, seeing it as an outward sign of heresy, falling away from Orthodoxy.

The grounds for the custom of wearing long hair among the Orthodox clergy were found in the Old Testament, where a special Nazirite rank , which was a system of ascetic vows, among which there was also a ban on cutting hair (Num. 6:5; Judg. 13:5). In this regard, the fact that in the Gospel Jesus Christ is called a Nazarene has gained particular weight.

Icon "Savior Not Made by Hands"

Evidence of the special length of the Savior's hair was also considered His lifetime image (the icon "Savior Not Made by Hands"); the image of Jesus Christ with hair flowing over his shoulders is traditional for iconography.

Up until the time of Peter I, cutting a beard and mustache was considered a serious sin and was compared with sodomy and adultery, punishable by excommunication from the Church. The ban on shaving the Beard was explained by the fact that man was created in the likeness of God and, therefore, it is a sin to distort this appearance in any way by his willfulness.

The hairs on the head of the disciples of Christ are all numbered with God (Mat. 10:30; Luke 12:7).

The tradition of Orthodox priests to wear a beard

In modern Russia (before and throughout the Orthodox world), the wearing of a beard by priests is a good age-old tradition that is preserved by the Orthodox Church. The beards of Orthodox clergy remain an important distinguishing feature.

Priest Orthodox Church is the bearer of the image of Christ. The example of wearing a beard was given to us by Jesus Christ. This tradition He passed on to His apostles, and they, in turn, to their disciples, those to others, and this chain has continuously come down to us.

The custom of Orthodox priests to wear beards goes back to the Old Testament tradition. The Bible clearly says this: “And the Lord said to Moses: tell the priests, the sons of Aaron, and tell them ... They must not shave their heads and trim the edges of their beards and make cuts on their bodies.” (Lev.21:1.5). Or elsewhere: “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Declare to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and tell them... Do not cut your head around, and do not spoil the edges of your beard. For the sake of the deceased, do not make cuts on your body and do not prick writing on yourself.(Lev. 19:1,2,27-28).

AT Jeremiah 1:30 says: “And in their temples sit priests in torn clothes, with shaved heads and beards, and with uncovered heads”. This quote is for priests. As we can see, the priest should in no case shave his beard, otherwise, he is likened to pagan priests who sit "in temples ... with shaved heads and beards."

And let it not be embarrassing that all the quotations are taken from the Scriptures of the Old Testament: The Lord Himself said that He did not come to break the Law, but to fulfill it.

Today, however, it seems that the disputes around brotoshaving have subsided - the time has come for stabilization. Priests are given greater freedom in choosing the shape and length of their beards.

As for the laity, today most of them do not wear a beard. This indicates a lowering of the bar of the spiritual life of modern man. Now wearing a beard is more of a fashion trend than any religious reasons. Is it correct? - a question another.

Material prepared by Sergey SHULYAK

Literature used in the preparation of the material:
1. V.A. Sinkevich “Beard in the history of Christianity”
2. "History of the beard and mustache" (publications in the historical and literary journal "Historical Bulletin", 1904)
3. Giles Constable “Beards in history. Symbols, fashion, perception"
4. B. Bellevossky "Apology of the beard"

“It should also not spoil the hair on the beard and change the image of a person contrary to nature. Do not bare, says the law, your beards. For this (to be without a beard - author's note) the Creator God made acceptable for women, and He recognized men as obscene. But you, who bare your beard to please, as opposed to the law, you will be abominable to God, who created you in His image.

The decrees of the holy apostles, book 1, pp. 6-7.

In the first books of the Bible, namely in the book "Leviticus", the Lord gives commandments to his chosen people, and among these commandments there is this: do not shave your head and do not spoil the edges of your beard". Thus, the Lord strictly commands that every believer, every pious person, if he is a man, by all means wore (that is, did not shave) his beard. And why, exactly, should it be so?

Well, actually we shouldn't be asking that question! If the Lord has given us such a commandment, then we must accept it simply as the will of God, as an instruction to us on behalf of our Lord, the Creator of the entire visible and invisible world. And if we accept this commandment with just such a mood, then we will have no doubts about the need to fulfill it - since the Lord wants this from us, then it must be so. But today we still allow ourselves to reflect on the importance and meaning of this commandment.

The creation of the first people, Adam and Eve, as we know, the Lord made "in His own image and likeness." This implies that the natural form that man received from the hands of his Creator is the image of God, the reflection of the Lord in each of us. And therefore, we, recognizing ourselves as the creation of God, must also accept with gratitude the form that we, each of us, have received from God.

But maybe someone will say: “What do I have to do with it? After all, Adam received his appearance from the hands of God! And I was born like this from my mother? Nevertheless, is each of us the architect of his own body? Does everyone construct their own flesh and appearance? Not! Everyone is born into the light of God from their parents, and this happens in an inexpressible way, according to God's command, which He spoke to our forefathers, Adam and Eve. And so, from Adam to you and me, as well as to those who will live on Earth after us, in the birth of each new person, this mysterious blessing of God is fulfilled again and again. None of us brought ourselves into earthly life, and therefore it is already believed that the external appearance that we have inherited, we must protect as the seal of God's creation. Hence follows the requirement of the Law - not to interfere in any unnatural way in that external image that we initially received from the Lord and which is dear and natural to us. That is why they are considered unnatural and sinful, and therefore unacceptable, any kind of action to distort the human appearance, including the very widespread in recent times sin shaving beard and mustache in men.

However, it should be noted that for the same reason, not only barbering is considered sinful, but also a number of similar encroachments on the image of God: in particular, the custom that has spread over the past two decades among “tough guys” to shave their heads almost completely, which is also unnatural and not pleasing to God. And we see even more liberties today in women. These are cosmetics, and haircut / coloring / curling of hair, and all sorts of tricks in the field of manicure; this includes plastic surgery, and much, much more, invented by the devil not at all for the salvation of our souls. And all this is a deliberate perversion of the image of God, which is given to each of us, and a conscious opposition to the will of God, an unwillingness to accept from the hands of God the image that the Lord Himself handed over to each of us. But today we will talk, first of all, precisely about the beard.

18th century illustration Shaving the beard. In the pre-schismatic Russian Church, barbering was considered a blasphemy against God.

I must say that in the past, even quite recently - about 100 years ago, wearing a beard for men it was quite natural. Even at the beginning of the last century, seeing a shaven man, and especially somewhere in the outback, among ordinary Christians, was a rarity. And if such a person could meet someone, then it was immediately clear that this was either a foreigner, or a non-believer, or some other renegade, in a word - anyone, but not a real, true believer. But in the past 20th century, as we know, terrible events took place in our country; these events broke the established life, turned people's minds upside down, perverted customs, and turned a lot of things upside down. And today our common misfortune is that we often do not even understand what's what and why. Therefore, I am sure that this simple question today causes some bewilderment among many, both men and women:

“Well, of course, we believe in God ... And what does the beard have to do with it?”

The whole law of God agrees that it is not enough just to "believe," that is, to believe in words. Faith in the Lord - if it is real, real - our faith must be confirmed not by verbal assurances, not by ostentatious beating in the chest “I am a Christian!”, but by concrete deeds: by keeping the commandments of God. And if our life, our actions contradict the commandments of the Lord, then it is premature to call ourselves Christians, for, according to the words of the Apostle John the Theologian, “Whoever says: “I have known Him,” but does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and there is no truth in him. "(1 John 2-4).

There are many instructive examples of the strict observance of the Lord's ordinances regarding the part of the beard. In 1341 in Vilna for refusing to fulfill the will of the Lithuanian prince Olgerd (he demanded shave your beard) suffered to death Martyrs Anthony, John and Eustathius; their bodies rest incorruptible (their memory and service on April 14). For refusing to bless the prince's son, the barber, Archpriest Avvakum was also thrown off the ship into the Volga (see his "Life ..."). There are many other examples when, right up to the shedding of blood, true Christians were ready to suffer - for the sake of wearing a beard in order to fulfill this important commandment of God.
But today everything has become much simpler: no one is forcing us to do anything, no one is threatening us with anything - live as you please. Now it has become not at all difficult for everyone to keep the commandments of God, now everyone can begin to organize their life according to the Law of Christ! This is when Christian piety should flourish! But - no ... On the contrary: it is at the present time that zeal for keeping the commandments has decreased - as never before! So, is it really not for the benefit of us today's freedom, modern social well-being? Or have we become so weak in our faith that we fear not only some kind of threats, but often even the simplest question, like a terrible one: “ Listen, what are you - a beard has become grow, whether?».
This question is presented here not at all for the red word. Such, or similar questions, must have been heard, probably, by every man who once decided grow a beard. Well, so what? What is the problem? Is it difficult to answer such a question? Yes, I decided to grow”- and all questioners quickly lose interest in this topic! But the trouble with many of today's men is that even such a small, fleeting question asked suddenly it can cause them a serious fright ... And it happens that some adult man, the head of the family, the father of his children - suddenly begins to tremble, like an aspen leaf, from such questions! Although - if you still think about it - what are we afraid of? Who can prevent us today from fulfilling the commandment of God, if we want it? What fears, what oppressions prevent us from doing this? Only one thing - our lack of faith! If we doubt, it means that the Lord God is not so terrible to us, and His saving commandments are not so dear to us, but the sidelong glance of a neighbor or the sarcastic question of a colleague at work seems much more terrible to us - this frightens us much more. And the fact that we have trampled on, trampled on God's commandment - it turns out that we are not at all afraid? Yes-ah-ah ... But if you think about it - in essence, why should we be afraid of the opinions of other people? Yes, let them think what they want! We should answer for our conscience before God!

And in general - when we want to look back at others, we should always think: what do we want to see, what to learn from the people around us? Okay, if good, truth and good faith! But there is little truth around us, and goodness - not so much, and even examples of the good faith of Christ - this is the least of all. And then - why do we look around? Are we afraid that we will look somehow “unfavorable” in the eyes of our friends, neighbors, colleagues? Afraid of the questions they might ask us? Are we afraid to seem like "white crows" among others? But you and I know that all the world, almost all the people who surround us today, all of humanity that has not come to the saving church fence - this whole world will perish overnight, and this hour is approaching. Only a select few will be saved, and God grant that we are among them. That is why we should not be sick with our dependence on the outside world. This is what the Lord calls us to, and His apostles tell us about this:

“And if you call Him the Father, Who impartially judges everyone according to their deeds, then spend the time of your wandering (through earthly life) with fear, knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible silver or gold from the vain life given to you from the fathers, but with precious Blood Christ as a lamb without blemish and without spot" (1 Peter 1:17-19).

And now, when we have been redeemed from the world around us, mired in fuss and sins, at such a high price - are we really going to look back at this fallen world around us, looking for understanding and support there? And why do we need it? On the contrary - brethren, let's stop this our looking around, for the Lord Himself redeemed us, and gave us freedom from any sin, from any unkind dependence. And therefore, looking back at the godless world around us, taking examples from various sinful customs that have been registered around us - this is a pernicious deed, contrary to the Christian conscience. Not only will this not help the cause of our salvation, but it can lead even deeper into the abyss of a sinful life and deprive us of the Kingdom of God. No, brethren, it does not profit us from the fact that we look back at the surrounding atheists! But if we compare ourselves with anyone, then with those people who live today according to the faith of Christ or who lived in times gone by.

Today, many of the women, listening to me, may be perplexed: “It is clear that barbering is a sin, but what do we have to do with it? After all, this is a purely masculine problem, so talk about it with the peasants!” However, dear sisters, this is not entirely true: in general, today there are no “purely male” or “purely female” sins, and everyone should think about their participation in this or that issue that may have something to do with human sins. The Lord at the Last Judgment will ask not only for the perfect deeds, but also for the intentions, for the advice given to someone, or even for the assessments expressed. And we must already today carefully think about all this and reflect soberly.

For example, a certain man wanted to fulfill the commandment of God and decided grow a beard, but is afraid to directly say this to his wife, and thinks to himself: “ I won’t shave for a couple of days - I’ll see how my wife reacts to this? If she likes - grow a beard If you don't like it, I'll shave it off. I wonder what she'll tell me? Maybe they won't even notice?". And on the second day of this “experiment”, the wife so casually says: “ Listen, I don’t understand – is your razor broken?» Having met with a sort of manifestation of care, a rare man will have something to answer. And now, with sighs, he shaves off the traces of his failed experiment - the issue is resolved. But who, in this case, will be more to blame for the sin of the completed barbering? And you say - "man's sin"!

That is why you, dear sisters, show that Christian consciousness that will help your husbands, and your children, and other loved ones to shake off this human weakness from themselves, and at least in their outward image come closer to God! It is good for us to learn even from this small example to follow the commandments of God. And only in this way, supporting each other and helping each other in matters of our salvation, can we come to God and inherit His Heavenly Kingdom.

Former pious Christians, who unquestioningly believed in the authority of the Holy Church teaching expressed in sacred books, to recognize the sinfulness or holiness of some custom, were content with how such a custom was recognized in the patristic books (Basil the Great, rules 89, 91 ). For example, barbering in these books is recognized as a sinful act.

"...do not spoil the edges of the beard"

The pagan, ancient world, which Christianity was called to replace by God's Providence, believed the ideal of beauty in youth and youthful freshness (Wisdom Sol. 2), while old age for the pagans served as a sign of the exhaustion of bodily forces and the destruction of man. They recognized only earthly life, denying the spiritual, afterlife.

"But behold, merriment and joy! They kill oxen and slaughter sheep; they eat meat and drink wine: "We will eat and drink, for tomorrow we will die!" (Is.22:13)

"Do not be deceived: bad associations corrupt good morals" (1 Cor. 15:33; Ps. 72; Job 21).

Therefore, the pagans, and especially the Greco-Roman world, depicted almost all their gods as beardless, effeminate. Meanwhile, Christianity teaches, first of all, about the spiritual beauty of man, i.e. about the degree of his religious and moral perfection, as far as the person has learned, managed to implement all this or manifest it in his life.

And since in order to achieve spiritual maturity in the spiritual and moral sense, in order to apply the Christian teaching assimilated by a person, it is necessary to live longer, fight the temptations of the world, then, naturally, in the Christian understanding, senile, mature types, having a beard like sign of maturity and experience. The believing gaze saw in the image of the elders, whitened with gray hair on their heads and beards, in this external form of the body, the ageless light of the spiritual world. That is why one of the ways by which in Christianity it became customary, in special honor to wear a beard as a natural adornment of men, was Christian icon painting, as a plausible image on St. icons of people who actually existed.
In the Christian Church there is a dogma about the veneration of saints, and hence the need for their image on St. icons. Christian art could not but pay attention to the fact that the faces depicted on the icons are not fictional, but really once lived on earth, in a visible, definite image. And when depicting the saints of God hallmark husbands was their beard.

Constituting the necessary accessory of the depicted saints, it could serve as a characteristic difference between one person and another, and therefore served to recreate the icon-painting type. And that in the beginning, before the retreat into heresy, and among the Latin Catholics everyone wore beards, you can see in their early images (see Pope Sixtus "Sistine"). The originals describe the face of the saints.

January 5, Savva the Sanctified, fell into a pit with fire near the Dead Sea, scorched his beard and face. The beard did not grow, remained small and rare. He thanked God for such an ugly beard that there was nothing to boast about.

January 11, Theodosius the Great, from the beard of St. Marciana carefully took the grain, put it in the granary, and they became full.
On June 23, "The Repentance of Theophilus", who sold himself to the devil, the enemy of the soul stroked his beard, kissed him on the mouth.

February 10, Kharlampy, a long beard, the tormentors put coals on his beard, but fire broke out of the beard and burned 70 people. June 12, Onufry, beard to the ground.

April 14, John, Eustathius, strangers learned that they were Orthodox by their beards - they did not want to cut their hair.

September 01, Simeon the Stylite, when he died, the patriarch wanted to take the hair from his beard, his hand immediately withered.

November 20, Proclus, saw apostle paul, his beard is wide, there is no hair on the front of his head. May 8, Arseny the Great, beard to the waist. January 2, Evfimy, with a large beard with gray hair.

The descriptions were compiled partly according to legend, partly on the basis of already existing icon images:

About Dionysius the Areopagite: gray-haired, with long hair, with a somewhat long mustache, with a sparse beard.

About St. Gregory the Theologian: the beard is not long, but rather thick, bald, with blond hair, the end of the beard with a dark tint.

About St. Cyril of Alexandria: the beard is thick and long, the hair on the head and beard is curly, with gray hair, etc.

In addition, there are descriptions of saints where only one beard is named, for example, Patriarch Herman - "old, rare beard";

St. Euthymius - "beard to the lid";

Peter Athos - "beard to the knees";

Macarius of Egypt, "beard to the ground". Christians have always imitated not only in the deeds of the saints, but also in their appearance.

The beard was considered a sign of that image of God, in the likeness of which man was created.

In 1054, Patriarch Michael Cerularius of Constantinople, in his letter to Patriarch Peter of Antioch, accused the Latins of other heresies and of "cutting their beards."

The Monk Theodosius of the Caves expressed the same accusation against the Latins in his "Sermon on the Christian Faith."

Barbering is a fornication heresy to tempt and corrupt good morals, leading to the distortion of the sexes, to the sin of Sodom; and the princes of Russia punished with fines those who, during a fight, tore out part of their beard. So, under the Grand Duke Yaroslav, for pulling out a tuft of beard from the guilty, a fine of 12 hryvnias was collected in favor of the treasury, and in the 15th century, the guilty person’s hand was cut off for pulling out a beard.

One of the authoritative councils in Russia, which was attended by three Russian saints, the Stoglavy Cathedral, determined: “The sacred rules forbid Orthodox Christians to everyone: not to shave their beard and mustaches and not to cut their hair; such are the Orthodox, but Latin and heretical.
Traditions of the Greek king Konstantin Kovalin; and about this the apostolic and patristic canons forbid and deny: the canon of the saints The Apostle says this: if someone shaves his beard and passes away like this, he is not worthy to serve over them, do not sing magpies over him, nor prosphora, nor bring candles to church on him, with let it be reckoned with the unfaithful, from the heretics this is used up "ch. 40.

About the same interpretation of Rule 96, VI Ecumenical Council on cutting the beard: “What was not written in the law about cutting your beards: do not cut your beards.

"...do not spoil the edges of the beard" (Lev.19:27).

But you, doing this human for the sake of pleasing, are contrary to the law, you will be hated by Him who created you in His image, and if anyone wants to please God, then depart from such evil. "The negative attitude towards barbering - the evil custom of Catholics and atheists, has reached its highest The time of troubles in Russia, when the Latins, before the eyes of the Russians, insulted everything that hitherto the Russians were accustomed to consider inviolable and holy, they laughed at the faith, life and customs of the Russians.

Therefore, a curse was placed on barbering.

In the Potrebnik of 1639 and in the Service Book of 1647, an instruction was placed: "do not shave beards and do not cut mustaches."

The Great Requirement said this: "I curse the God-hated and fornicating image, the charm of the soul, destructive from darkened heresy; and so as not to cut the beard (sheet 600 on the back) and not to shave it." In the missal of Patriarch Joseph it is written: "destructive charm of the soul, stupefaction from heresy, do not cut your beard (sheet 600 on the back) and do not shave it."

“And I don’t know how our Orthodox people and at what time in great Russia a heretical disease entered, as according to the chronicle books, the legend of the king of Greece, or better to say the enemy of the Christian faith, and the lawbreaker Konstantin Kovalin and the heretic, to cut their beards, or shave , in other words, to corrupt God-created goodness.Or else, let's say, according to the annals, [we find] confirmation of the whole evil heresy [arising from] the new son of the devil and Satan, the forerunner of Antichrist, the enemy and apostate from the Christian faith, the Roman Pope Peter the Gnawed, for and having supported this heresy, he commanded the Roman people, especially their sacred ranks, to do such things in order to cut and shave their beards.

***

• About the sin of barbering - Ignatius Lapkin
• Is shaving your beard an expression of unmanliness and a sin? - Dmitry Tsorionov
• Can an Orthodox shave his beard? - hegumen Vitaly Utkin

***

Epiphanius of Cyprus called this heresy Eutych. For Tsar Konstantin Kovalin and a heretic legitimized this, and everyone knows that they are heretical servants, because their beards are trimmed "(Edited in summer 7155, sheet 621).

St. Maximus the Greek wrote: "If those who deviate from the commandments of God are cursed, as we hear in sacred hymns, those who devour their beards with a razor are subject to the same oath" (Word 137).

“It should also not spoil the hair on the beard, and change the image of a person contrary to nature.

Do not expose, says the law, your beards, for this [to be without a beard) the Creator God made fit for women, and He declared obscene to men. The same, exposing his beard to please, as one who resists the law, you will be disgusting with God, who created you in His image (post. apost., ed. Kazan, 1864, p. 6).

St. Epiphanius of Cyprus writes: “What is worse and more disgusting than this, to cut off the beard - the image of the husband, and grow the hair on the head; the word of God, the teaching prescribes about the beard in the decrees of the Apostles, so as not to spoil it, that is, not to cut the hair on the beard " (his work, part 5, p. 302, ed. M. 1863).

96 rule of the sixth ecumenical council with the interpretation: “Those who tint their hair to make it light or golden, or tie it up to make it curly, or wear someone else’s hair, are subject to penance and excommunication. Those who shave their beards are subject to that penance, so that they grow more even and more beautiful after or to always appear young without beards, as well as those who burn their facial hair with small tweezers to appear softer and prettier, who tint their beards so as not to appear old.

Women who use whitewash or rouge to attract men to themselves are subjected to the same penance. Oh! how can God recognize in them His creation and His image when they wear a different, devilish face? Don't they know that they are like the prodigal Jezebel? So, all men and women who do anything like that are excommunicated. If all this is forbidden to the laity in general, then even more so to the clergy and priests, who must teach the people both in word and deed, and outward piety "(Greek helmsman" Pedalion "p. 270, ed. 1888).

“Barbering is a heretical and ungodly custom, and therefore true Christians must keep themselves from this abomination, so that through the transgression of the commandments of God and patristic traditions we will not be deprived of eternal and unending bliss in the future afterlife. For the Lord will say to His good servant and active servant:

"Good servant, faithful in little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your Lord" (Luke 19:17).

Genesis 34:2, 7, 9, 26 says, "As the son of Emorr the Hive slept with Dinah the daughter of Jacob, he did violence to her, he did dishonor to Israel."

In another place we read: “And Annon took the servants of David, and shaved each of them half of their beard, and cut off their clothes in half, to the loins, and let them go. When this was reported to David, he sent to meet them, since they were very dishonored, and the king commanded them to say, Stay in Jericho (the city of the curse) until your beards grow, and then return" (2 Sam. 10:1-5).

And if rape was called dishonoring, and so it is today: for with regard to the flesh, the New Testament did not make any changes to its creation, then the word very dishonored shows that barbering is a greater sin than the loss of virginity. And just as there those guilty of dishonor were all destroyed, so in the case of violence against beards. And if David did not let the dishonored with spoiled beards into earthly Jerusalem, then shouldn't those who are preparing to enter Heavenly Jerusalem, the Kingdom of Heaven, not be more attentive?

"Do not cut your head around, and do not spoil the edges of your beard" (Lev.19:27).

"How good and how pleasant it is for brothers to live together. It is like precious oil on the head, flowing down on Aaron's beard, flowing down on the edges of his clothes" (Ps. 132).

Ancient leaders and people wore beards:

"Hearing this word, I tore my outer and outer garments, and tore the hair of my head and my beard, and sat sad" (1 Ezra 9:3)

The loss of the beard was a sign of the loss of God's favor, the wrath of the King of Heaven:

"On that day the Lord will shave off the head and the hair of the legs with a razor hired on the other side of the river by the king of Assyria, and will even take away the beard" (Is.7:20)

"... all of their heads are shorn, their beards are all shaved" (Is.15:2)

"And you will do the same thing that I did; you will not cover your beards, and you will not eat bread from strangers" (Ezek.24:22)

In Dan.7:9-13 - God is shown as the Ancient of Days and, of course, with a beard. Such are the images of saints in temples. But in temples (of pagans, heretics and sectarians)

"priests are sitting ... with shaved heads (like Buddhists and Hare Krishnas) and with shaved beards" (Letter Jeremiah 30).

And if you are not faithful in small things (is it a great thing not to shave your beard), then what can we say about the preservation of morality and chastity.

September 21, Dmitry Rostovsky, nominee to the Rostov cathedra from Peter the Great, this terrible Russian Antichrist, who destroyed all the foundations of ancient piety, a cynic and blasphemer of all that is holy, who commanded to forcibly "chop" beards. And when Dimitry of Rostov told the zealots, suffering from the rapists of the Antichrist, to their question whether they should be allowed to cut their beards, he replied: "Let them cut off the beards, the second ones will grow back, and if the heads are cut off, then they will not grow back." Peter the Transformer liked these words so much that he ordered this treatise on beards to be printed.

Peter's window to Europe, into which the whole of Russia fell through together with the house of the Romanovs, lost its beards, unity divided Russia, and was the beginning of its death. And, as Nekrasov writes, at first they pointed the finger at those who smoke (there were so few of them), but they will come (and have already come) when they point the finger at those who do not smoke. Same with the beard.

March 28, Hilarion Novy: they smeared beards with pitch - and smeared over the image of God, joined the beardless Europe, became Catholic through Uniatism, Ukraine and Belarus, lost the image of God, the Russian man.

All saints, pray to God for us!