Should Women Cover Their Heads When They Pray & Prophesy?

Paul gave a curious instruction to members of the church in Corinth that wives should wear head coverings when they pray & prophesy (1 Corinthians 11:3-16). Is this a universal law for all the churches throughout Christian history or was it simply a cultural thing pertaining to the customs of a certain time & place?

The answer is the latter since Paul’s instruction had to do with respecting the customs of a particular region: Wives in the Corinth church were to show respect for their husbands by having their heads covered when they prayed or prophesied at the gathering, which obviously didn’t apply to single women. Please understand that the Greek word for “woman” or “women” in the New Testament is guné (goo-NAY), which is also the same word used for wife/wives, as observed in verses like Matthew 1:20,24.

A woman wearing a head covering in that culture signified that she was married; in other words, it acknowledged the fact that she had a husband and was therefore ‘taken.’ It’s comparable to a wedding ring in our culture. Or consider the Amish custom of males not having beards unless they’re married. These types of things signal if the person is available or not available in the corresponding culture. Just as going to a formal social occasion without one’s wedding ring would be disrespectful to the spouse in our culture, so a wife not wearing a head covering at the Corinth assembly would be disrespectful to her husband.

Let’s face it, there is nothing intrinsically spiritual about wearing a head covering — a hat of some sort — or not wearing one. So the issue of married women wearing a head covering in public was a cultural thing, just like the length of men’s hair (11:14). It’s also a love-walk issue as was the case with eating meat that had been sacrificed to idols, which Paul covered earlier in chapter 8. Eating meat that was sacrificed to idols and then sold in the marketplace was permissible for believers with strong consciences, but the open practice of it could cause a fellow believer with a weak conscience to fall, which isn’t love, so mature believers had to be wise in the matter, as explained by Paul.

This all ties into the two greatest commands (with three applications): Love God and love others as you love yourself (Matthew 22:35-40). If doing something in a certain situation or culture is going to create unnecessary social havoc and possibly cause a brother or sister to stumble, it’s not walking in love and not conducive to the ministry of God’s Word, both of which link to the believer’s prime directive.

Consider the example of men taking off their hats when entering an abode. This used to be a custom in America, but not anymore. Now we see men wearing hats indoors all the time. Back in the 80s a friend of mine was asked to leave a big fellowship in Columbus because he refused to remove his hat. This was a rule this particular assembly had, possibly because their services were recorded & televised (it was Rod Parsley’s fellowship). By not complying with this custom my friend caused undue strife in the situation (even though he had understandable reasons for not removing his hat). While a small number of churches in America may still have this rule it’s no longer the customary trend for men to automatically take off their hats indoors.

Obviously if you’re at a service of a ministry that has certain rules, the best policy is to go along with the relevant customs for the sake of peace and effective ministry; and even more so if you want to minister to the people and have them receive from you. Keep in mind that Paul wasn’t talking about issues of morality and God’s commands thereof, but rather issues of customary practice, which explains Paul’s reference to “practice” in the context of his instructions (1 Corinthians 11:16).

Say a Scottish assembly had a custom about men having to wear a kilt, particularly if they want to minister in one way or another (e.g. pray, prophesy, teach or preach). This has zero to do with morality, but rather culture. If you’re a guy and you want to minister at this hypothetical Scottish fellowship, what would you do — make waves by objecting to their custom or put on the kilt and serve the people? Obviously the latter. It’s the same principle.

If you’re at a service where the pastor adheres to the belief that women must wear a head covering when ministering (praying, prophesying, whatever) due to Paul’s instructions in 1 Corinthians 11:3-16 then I suggest complying since the pastor is the head of that particular fellowship in the sense of an under-shepherd — under Christ of course (Colossians 1:18, 2:10, 2:19 & 1 Peter 5:1-4). The Bible puts it this way: “everything that does not come from faith [belief] is sin” (Romans 14:23). So, if the pastor believes something is intrinsically wrong — even though it’s not — please respect their belief/custom when functioning at that particular fellowship. It’s a matter of humbly walking in love, peace and harmony for fruit-bearing Christian service.

This is different from complying with a legalistic rule that actually hinders effective ministry. For instance, the Pharisees had a rule against healing on the Sabbath, which Christ refused to obey when a man desperately needed a healing (Mark 3:1-6). In such cases, don’t follow the rule, but rather minister to the people as led of the Holy Spirit and let the stuffy legalists be offended. Such people need rebuked (Proverbs 27:5 & 27:17).

Speaking of legalism, Paul was concerned about wives respecting their husbands during a church assembly in Corinth, which corresponds to his instructions in Ephesians 5:33. In that culture a wife wearing a head covering in public showed respect for her husband, which is good, but such a rule can become uselessly legalistic if the wife just goes through the motions of “respecting her husband” by following the custom, but otherwise has a disrespectful attitude. The Lord denounced this kind of legalism because it’s hypocritical, aka putting on an act (Matthew 23:28 & Mark 7:6).

Legalism — Understanding its Many Forms

Spiritual Growth — The Four Stages

Hair Length for Men – How Short or How Long?

The Issue of Eating Meat Sacrificed to Idols

What is Conscience?

Women of the Bible / Women in Ministry

Jesus Christ — Milksop or Mighty Lord?

Bible—Is it Full of Contradictions? Does it Promote Slavery, Tyranny and Discrimination?