The Roman Church lost something when the tonsure and minor orders were done away with.
In their current system the order of acolyte and lector were preserved. These were two of the minor orders in the former system, prior to ordination to the sub-diaconate (Note: there is a range of opinions on whether the sub-diaconate was a minor or major order. However, in common usage and understanding it was considered a major order and carried with it the obligation to recite the Divine Office and to perpetual celibacy).
The orders of lector and acolyte are still quasi-secular. In certain Roman Catholic dioceses men wishing admission so as to minister as lectors and acolytes are so admitted. Note however that in today’s Roman Church a man does not become a cleric per se until he receives ordination to the diaconate.
Luckily, the tonsure and the full range of minor orders were maintained in the PNCC. They are also maintained in the SSPX, the FSSP, and in several monastic orders as well as in the Eastern Churches.
I decided to set down these reflections on the tonsure and minor orders. These reflections were precipitated by my musing about the symbolism of clothing. I was inspired to this train of thought from two sources.
Before I was ordained as Deacon I went through the tonsure and minor orders. My ecumenical friends were very interested in this. They asked: Why? What does it symbolize etc? I wanted to address that.
Second, I was reading the posts on Anglo Catholicism at Pious and Overly Devotional (cross posted at Occidentalis) which is, in my opinion, a tongue in cheek look at the trends in Anglo Catholicism, while at the same time, a cry for something the vast majority of the Roman Catholic faithful miss.
These rites are rich with historical symbolism and a message for today.
The tonsure (Lat. tonsura, from tondere, to shave) consists of shaving or cutting part of the hair of the head as a sign of dedication to special service. The reception of the tonsure marked admission to orders and to the rights and privileges of clerical standing. It is administered by a bishop or abbot.
The Scriptures are replete with the call to disavow worldliness. The idea of shaving the head to mark an oath or to denote service appears in the Old Testament (Num. 6:18)
Then at the entrance of the meeting tent the nazirite shall shave his dedicated head, collect the hair, and put it in the fire that is under the peace offering.
St. Paul had his head shaved when he made a vow (Acts 18:18);
Paul remained for quite some time, and after saying farewell to the brothers he sailed for Syria, together with Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had his hair cut because he had taken a vow.
And others did likewise as in Acts 21:18-24 (Council of Jerusalem).
The next day, Paul accompanied us on a visit to James, and all the presbyters were present. He greeted them, then proceeded to tell them in detail what God had accomplished among the Gentiles through his ministry. They praised God when they heard it but said to him, “Brother, you see how many thousands of believers there are from among the Jews, and they are all zealous observers of the law. They have been informed that you are teaching all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to abandon Moses and that you are telling them not to circumcise their children or to observe their customary practices. What is to be done? They will surely hear that you have arrived. So do what we tell you. We have four men who have taken a vow. Take these men and purify yourself with them, and pay their expenses that they may have their heads shaved. In this way everyone will know that there is nothing to the reports they have been given about you but that you yourself live in observance of the law.
The fathers and Counsels each tried to address the issue of worldliness.
Tertullian advised Christians to avoid vanity in dressing their hair.
What purpose, again, does all the labor spent in arranging the hair render to salvation? Why is no rest allowed to your hair? First, it must be bound, then loosed, then cultivated, then thinned out? Some are anxious to force their hair into curls. Tertullian, 4.21.
Jerome chastises any treatment of the self as an object of beauty for the sake of beauty. In his Letter to Eustochium Letter 23 para. 28 —“ 384)
Avoid men, also, when you see them loaded with chains and wearing their hair long like women, contrary to the apostle’s precept
According to Prudentius (IIepur. xiii. 30) it was customary for the hair to be cut short at ordination.
Paulinus of Nola (c. 490) alludes to the tonsure as in use among the (Western) monks.
In approx. 500 Sidonius Apollinaris (iv. 13) testified that Germanicus the bishop had his hair cut ” in rotae speciem.”
The earliest instance of an ecclesiastical precept on the subject occurs in can. 41 of the Council of Toledo (the Council was presided over by St. Isidore who notes the clerical tonsure as a rite established before his time.) (A.n. 633):
omnes clerici, detonso superius capite toto, inferius solam circuli coronam relinquant.
Can. 33 of the Quinisext council (or Council of Trullo – 692) requires even singers and readers to be tonsured.
Ancient Epitome: Whoever is worthy of the priesthood should be ordained whether he is sprung of a priestly line or no. And he that has been blessed un-tonsured shalt not read the Holy Scriptures at the ambo.
The Fourth Council of Constantinople (869-870) Canon 5, discuses the acceptance of tonsure and the intent of the tonsured.
St. Bonaventure writes (Opera Omnia S. Bonaventurae, Ad Claras Aquas, 1889, Vol 4, pp. 607-610.):
Ad illud quod obiicitur, quod in Christo Iesu non valet circumcisio etc.; intelligendum est, quod per se non valet ad iustificationem capillorum amotio, verumtamen ad eruditionem valet, valet etiam ad distinctionem. [To that which is objected, that in Christ Jesus circumcision is not worth etc.; it must be understood, that per se the removal of hair is not worth (anything) for justification, nevertheless for instruction it is worth (something), (and) it is also worth (something) for distinuishing.]
By a recurring focus, beginning in scripture, finding a symbolism in the usages of Rome where slaves had their hair cut marking them as slaves, finding common usage in the monasteries, to its gradual adoption by all clerics, the tonsure is well established as the symbolic and outward testimony of the cleric as to his service to Christ. The cleric was no longer part of the world, but a slave of Christ. As Bonaventure states, the tonsure has worth for instructing and distinguishing.
I myself was fortunate to have been admitted to the clerical state by this rite. Symbolism and ancient rites are something that the PNCC faithful have carried on because they well know that such rites touch us deeply.
Rites are good practice, marking both the times of, and events in, our lives. These are moments of solemn reflection. In them we find a moment that brings us one step closer to Christ. A moment that confirms our intention to not only do what the Church does, but live out in reality what the living Church teaches. Thusly the tonure is a sacramental.
As noted, the tonsure is the transition point from the lay to the clerical state. It is symbolized by the cutting of each man’s hair, in the form of the Holy Cross, followed by his receiving the surplice. The Bishop tonsures each man who has acknowledged this willingness to abide in the Church.
In the opening prayer the Bishop says:
May God bestow upon them the Holy Spirit, to preserve in them forever the spirit of piety and protect their hearts against the entanglements of the world and worldly ambition. And as they are changed in outward appearance, may His right hand grant them an increase of virtue, deliver their eyes from all blindness, spiritual and human, and bestow on them the light of everlasting grace.
After the tonsure he turns toward the tonsured and prays:
Here, O Lord, our humble prayer, and grant to bless these Your servants. In Your holy name we now invest them with the garb of holy religion. May they, by Your help, remain faithful in Your Church and merit to attain life everlasting. Through Christ our Lord.
The bishop then invests each man with the surplice, saying to each:
May the Lord clothe you with the new man, who is created according to God in justice and true holiness.
He then prays:
Almighty, eternal God, forgive our sins and deliver these Your servants from all slavery of secular fashions, so that, as they renounce the ignominy of worldly style, they may possess Your grace forever. And as we make them wear the likeness of Your crown upon their heads, may they, by Your help, merit to attain within their hearts the everlasting inheritance. Who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, God, forever and ever.
The bishop then gives the men the following admonition:
Dearly beloved sons, you should consider that today you have been placed under the jurisdiction of the Church and have received the privileges of clerics. Take care, lest you forfeit them through you fault. Strive to be pleasing to God by modest dress, becoming demeanor, and good works. May He grant it to you by His Holy Spirit.
Now think about this. We are acknowledging separateness. Not aloofness, but separateness. We are acknowledging that we desire a spirit of piety and protection against the entanglements of the world and worldly ambition. That is a powerful message and witness in this day and age. We are asking God to create us as a new man, a man of justice and holiness. As Psalm 51 proclaims: Create a new heart in me.
Against you alone have I sinned; I have done such evil in your sight That you are just in your sentence, blameless when you condemn.
True, I was born guilty, a sinner, even as my mother conceived me.
Still, you insist on sincerity of heart; in my inmost being teach me wisdom.
Cleanse me with hyssop, that I may be pure; wash me, make me whiter than snow.
Let me hear sounds of joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
Turn away your face from my sins; blot out all my guilt.
A clean heart create for me, God; renew in me a steadfast spirit.
Do not drive me from your presence, nor take from me your holy spirit.
Restore my joy in your salvation; sustain in me a willing spirit.
I will teach the wicked your ways, that sinners may return to you.
Rescue me from death, God, my saving God, that my tongue may praise your healing power.
Lord, open my lips; my mouth will proclaim your praise.
For you do not desire sacrifice; a burnt offering you would not accept.
My sacrifice, God, is a broken spirit; God, do not spurn a broken, humbled heart.
We are pledged to God’s work in a special way. We undertake that work not just in the philosophical sense or intellectually, but physically as well. We dress differently. We look differently. Inwardly and outwardly we strive to be the new man.
This message is not lost on the lost culture of today. Think of ‘Goth’ culture. Goth culture is replete with religious elements and symbolism. The Goth wiki states:
Religious imagery has frequently played an important part in gothic fashion and also in song lyrics. Many Goths believe in open-mindedness and diversity, and aspire to “free themselves from the limitations” of traditional belief systems. An interest in neo-paganism and the occult amongst Goths is higher than amongst the general population, but there is a wide diversity of other religious beliefs. The main exception to this tolerance is for any form of religious fundamentalism…
Right down to black dress and makeup, the Goth culture takes (and certainly has co-opted Christian) symbolism and has used it to effectively place its mark on mainstream culture. It is defined by and expanded by its dress. Some people would say —“ hey look, they dress as they believe, I can identify with that. If it were merely philosophical or intellectual its world would be limited to a few small discussion groups. People couldn’t get their minds around it. Instead its lived blackness is the outward and public proclamation of what it stands for: individualism, nihilism, and anarchy. It is its point of departure and its point of attachment.
Dress and posture convey to the eyes, and rites culturally sustain A message. We need to recapture the means of delivering THE message. The tonsure is the anti-Goth message, the anti-worldliness message. It is not individualism, but submission. It is not nihilism but a proclamation that God is indeed alive and active in the world and in each of our lives. It is not anarchy, but order.
Tradition and order in historical perspective are necessary in order to counter what we rail against. If we believe in the communion of saints as more than just a happy concept and an intellectual construct, but rather as a reality, we need to recapture the precedence of our Catholic/Christian imagery.
Stay tuned for more on the Minor Orders (The Order of Porter, The Order of Reader, The Order of Blesser, The Order of Acolyte).
