Instruction in women's attire from the early Church

What follows is a selection of quotes from early fathers on veiling and women's attire. I'll let them speak for themselves.

But we admonish you, too, women of the second (degree of) modesty, who have fallen into wedlock, not to outgrow so far the discipline of the veil, not even in a moment of an hour, as, because you cannot refuse it, to take some other means to nullify it, by going neither covered nor bare.
(...) Arabia's heathen females will be your judges, who cover not only the head, but the face also, so entirely, that they are content, with one eye free, to enjoy rather half the light than to prostitute the entire face.
(...)
It is incumbent, then, at all times and in every place, to walk mindful of the law, prepared and equipped in readiness to meet every mention of God; who, if He be in the heart, will be recognised as well in the head of females. To such as read these (exhortations) with good will, to such as prefer Utility to Custom, may peace and grace from our Lord Jesus Christ redound

- Tertullian, "On the Veiling of Virgins." approx 200 AD

"Let the woman observe this, further. Let her be entirely covered, unless she happens to be at home. For that style of dress is grave, and protects from being gazed at. And she will never fall, who puts before her eyes modesty, and her shawl; nor will she invite another to fall into sin by uncovering her face. For this is the wish of the Word, since it is becoming for her to pray veiled." [Clement, The Instructor 3.12]
Clement of Alexandria, Egypt, approx 190 AD

"And let all the women have their heads covered with an opaque cloth, not with a veil of thin linen, for this is not a true covering."
-- Hippolytus (200 AD), Apostolic Tradition

“Woman, because she was created by being drawn from man’s side, is constantly trying to return to him. She desires the original unity of one flesh and one bone. The desire for unity between man and woman is a mirror of the relationship between Christ and the soul. As woman longs for union with man in human relationships, she is also drawn to unity with God. He calls her to become one with Him: to come under His side and become flesh of His flesh and bone of His bone. This occurs during reception of the Eucharist. The covering of the head with a veil symbolizes the reality of woman sheltered in the side of her Source and becoming one with Him. She becomes covered and hidden in her Divine Spouse.”

~ St. John Chrysostom, Father and Doctor of the Church

Instruction in Christian prayer from the early Church

Let every faithful man and every faithful woman , when they rise from sleep at dawn, before they undertake any work, wash their hands and pray to God. Then they may go to work. But if there is some instruction in the Word, they shall go there, considering that it is God whom they hear in the one instructing. For having prayed in the assembly, they will be able to avoid all the evils of the day. The pious should consider it a great wrong if they do not go to the place in which they give instruction, especially if they know how to read…

If there is a day when there is no instruction, let each one at home take a holy book and read enough of it to gain an advantage from it.

If you are at home, pray at the third hour and praise God. If you are elsewhere at that time, pray in your heart to God. For in this hour Christ was seen nailed to the wood. And thus in the Old Testament the Law instructed that the shewbread be offered at the third hour as a symbol of the Body and Blood of Christ. And the sacrifice of the irrational lamb was a symbol of the perfect Lamb. For Christ is the Shepherd, and he is also the bread which descended from heaven.

Pray also at the sixth hour. Because when Christ was attached to the wood of the cross, the daylight ceased and became darkness. Thus you should pray a powerful prayer at this hour, imitating the cry of him who prayed...

Pray also at the ninth hour a great prayer with great praise, imitating the souls of the righteous who do not lie, who glorify God who remembered his saints and sent his Word to them to enlighten them. For in that hour Christ was pierced in his side, pouring out water and blood, and the rest of the time of the day, he gave light until evening. This way he made the dawn of another day at the beginning of his sleep, fulfilling the type of his resurrection.

Pray also before your body rests on your bed.

Around midnight rise and wash your hands with water and pray. If you are married, pray together. But if your spouse is not yet baptized, go into another room to pray, and then return to bed. Do not hesitate to pray, for one who has been joined in marital relations is not impure. Those who have bathed have no need to wash again, for they are pure. By catching your breath in your hand and signing yourself with the moisture of your breath, your body is purified, even to the feet. For the gift of the Spirit and the outpouring of the baptism, proceeding from the heart of the believer as though from a fountain, purifies the one who has believed. Thus it is necessary to pray at this hour.

For those elders who handed down the tradition to us taught us that in this hour every creature hushes for a brief moment to praise the Lord. Stars and trees and waters stand still for an instant. All the host of angels serving him, together with the souls of the righteous, praise God. This is why it is important that all those who believe make certain to pray at that hour. Testifying to this, the Lord says thus, "Behold, a cry was made at midnight, saying, 'Behold the bridegroom is coming! Arise to meet him!'" And he adds,
saying, "Watch, therefore, for you do not know when the hour is coming."

Likewise, at the hour of the cock-crow, rise and pray... hoping daily in the hope of eternal light in the resurrection of the dead.

With these things, all you faithful, if you do and remember them, instructing one another, and encouraging the catechumens, you will not be able to be tempted or to perish, having Christ always in your thoughts.

--  St. Hippolytus of Rome written around 215 AD.

Theology Thursday: Clues from the Early Fathers

If we can agree that the Bible, while complete and containing all things pertaining to life and salvation, certainly needs "interpreting" in a correct manner, we can ask ourselves what, then, is the correct way to interpret the Bibles' teachings on Church and unity of the faith? The Catholic way is to look at what we call "the deposit of faith," or the traditions handed down from the earliest recorded writings of church leaders. Here we find a group often referred to as the "Church Fathers." These men were disciples of the 12 apostles, and the disciples of those disciples. And in their writings we glimpse the issues and ideas of the early Church in such a way as to ensure that we are still living an "authentic" Christian faith. One of the wonderful things about being a Catholic is that I can read the Early Fathers and find in their writings that I am practicing the same, exact, literal word-for-word, thought-for-thought, action-for-action faith that they practiced then. Their writings sound neither obscure nor irrelevant to the Catholic ear but completely and totally... Catholic! It's a fabulous confirmation to read the writings of the earliest Christians and find your own faith in them.
However, many protestants of all denominations also enjoy reading the Church Fathers and find in them value and historical context in which to place their own faith. They know that whatever direction they feel led to take, they cannot stray far from the teachings of the Fathers, for it is only in them that we begin to see the Bible's teachings in light of "accurate" Christian living--and to see the "HOW" that is sometimes unclear or difficult to extrapolate from the scripture.
To read the Church Fathers is to know the faith that Christ Himself taught his own disciples- it's the earliest recorded explanation of Christianity.
So here are a few of my favorite early Fathers quotes on how to "do" Church and on unity in the faith.
As you read them, ask yourself if your own walk of faith conforms to what these earliest of Christian teachers taught? If it doesn't, do you think it should? Why or why not? I'd love to hear from you.

‎"When we refer them to that tradition which originates from the Apostles, which is preserved by means of the succession of presbyters (priests) in the churches, they object to Tradition, saying that they themselves are wiser not merely than the presbyters, but than even the Apostles." St. Irenaeus, "Against All Heresies," c. 180 A.D.

 

"Let us note that the very tradition, teaching, and faith of the Catholic Church from the beginning, which the Lord gave, was preached by the Apostles, and was preserved by the Fathers. On this was the Church founded; and if anyone departs from this, he neither is nor any longer ought to be called a Christian." St. Athanasius, "Four Letters to Serapion of Thmuisc," c. 360 A.D.

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"Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Savior of our souls, the Governor of our bodies, and the Shepherd of the Catholic Church throughout the world." St. Polycarp, "The Martyrdom Of St. Polycarp," c. 135 A.D.

"Why are there quarrels and ill will and dissensions and schism and fighting among you? Do we not have one God and one Christ, and one Spirit of grace poured out upon us? And is there not one calling in Christ? Why do we wrench and tear apart the members of Christ, and revolt against our own body, and reach such folly as to forget that we are members of one another?" St. Clement Of Rome,"First Epistle To The Corinthians," c. 96 A.D.

"He, therefore, who does not assemble with the Church, has even by this displayed his pride, and he has condemned himself." St. Ignatius of Antioch, "Epistle to the Ephesians." c. 105 A.D.

"Although dispersed throughout the whole world, even to the ends of the earth, the Church has received this faith from the apostles and their disciples.... The Church received this preaching and this faith. Although she is scattered throughout the whole world, yet, she carefully preserves it, as if she occupied only one house. She also believes these points just as if she had only one soul, and one and the same heart. She proclaims these things, teaches them, and hands them down, with perfect harmony, as if she possessed only one mouth. For although the languages of the world are different, yet the significance of the tradition is one and the same. For the churches which have been planted in Germany do not believe or hand down anything different. Neither do those in Spain, Gaul, the East, Egypt, Libya, or in the central regions of the world." St. Irenaeus, "Against All Heresies," c. 180 A.D.

"Peter answered Him, 'Lord, to whom will we go?'... Peter, on whom the Church was to be built...taught and showed in the name of the Church that a rebellious and arrogant multitude may depart from the Church. I speak of those who will not hear and obey. However, the Church does not depart from Christ. And the Church consists of those who are a people united to the priest. It is the flock that adhere to its pastor. Therefore, you should know that the bishop is in the Church and the Church is in the bishop. If anyone is not with the bishop, he is not in the Church.... The Church is Catholic and is one. It is not cut or divided. Rather it is connected and bound together by the cement of priests who cohere with one another." St. Cyprian of Carthage, "The Unity of the Catholic Church," c. 250 A.D.

"For this has been the source from which heresies and schism have arisen, that God's priest is not obeyed, nor do people reflect that there is for the time one priest in the Church, who for the time is judge instead of Christ, and if the whole brotherhood would obey him, according to divine teaching, no one would stir up anything against the college of priests...." St. Cyprian of Carthage, "Letters," c. 252 A.D.

"Secede not from the Church: for nothing is stronger than the Church. Thy hope is the Church; thy salvation is the Church; thy refuge is the Church. It is higher than the heavens and wider than the earth. It never grows old, but is ever full of vigor. Wherefore Holy Writ pointing to its strength and stability calls it a mountain." St. John Chrysostom, "Homilies on Eutropius," c. 399 A.D.

"I say and protest that it is as wrong to divide the Church as to fall into heresy." St. John Chrysostom, "Homilies on Ephesians," c. 4th century "Whosoever shall have separated himself from the Catholic Church, no matter how praiseworthy such a person may fancy his life has been, yet for that one crime of having cut himself off from the unity of Christ he shall not have eternal life, but the wrath of God shall abide with him for ever." St. Augustine of Hippo, "Letter 141," c. early 5th century