ACC ~ 1 Corinthians 11 v3

CHRIST’S SUBMISSION A MODEL FOR BOTH SEXES. TERTULLIAN: To what kind of a crown, I ask, did Christ Jesus submit for the salvation of both sexes? What crown has he who is the head of man and the glory of the woman and the husband of the church? It was made from thorns and thistles. THE CHAPLET 14.

HOW THE TWO BECAME ONE. NOVATIAN: Scripture states: “And the two shall be but one flesh,” so that what was once one may become one again. … The head matches its own limbs and the limbs their own head, a natural bond uniting both in complete harmony, lest the closeness of the divine covenant be shattered by some sort of discord arising from the division of members. … Husbands are to love their wives even as Christ loved the church, and wives are to love their husbands as the church loves Christ. IN PRAISE OF PURITY 5.

THE CRUCIFIED HEAD BECOMES THE HEAD OF ALL POWER. CYRIL OF JERUSALEM: The Head suffered in the “place of the skull.” O great and prophetic appellation! The very name all but reminds you to think not of the crucified as a mere man. He is the head of every principality and power. The Head which was crucified is the Head of all power. CATECHETICAL LECTURES 13.23.

THE NATURAL ORDER AND CHRIST’S HEADSHIP. PELAGIUS: The man is head of the woman in the natural order but not in Christ, in whom there is neither male nor female. Nevertheless, Paul wanted women to be subject to their husbands. God is the head of Christ’s humanity, because the divinity which was in the human Jesus controlled his doings. COMMENTARY ON THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS 11.

THE ORDERING OF FATHER, SON, MAN AND WOMAN. AMBROSIASTER: God is the head of Christ because he begat him; Christ is the head of the man because he created him, and the man is the head of the woman because she was taken from his side. Thus one expression has different meanings, according to the difference of person and substantive relationship. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

EQUAL SUBSTANTIALLY, DIFFERENT RELATIONALLY. CHRYSOSTOM: The word head is used in two different senses here, since otherwise absurdity would result. The distance between Christ and man is far greater than between man and woman, on the one hand, or between Christ and God on the other, and is of a different kind. Christ and God are equal in substance but different in relationship, and the same applies to man and woman. But between God and Christ the Son on the one hand and man [and woman] on the other, there is a vast difference of substance as well as of relationship. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 26.3.

PROTECTING THE HELPER. AMBROSE: This is a warning that no one ought to rely on oneself. She who was made as a helper needs the protection of the stronger. In this sense “the head of the woman is the man.” Yet while he believed that he would have the assistance of his wife, he fell because of her. Hence no one ought to entrust himself lightly to another unless he has first put that person’s virtue to the test. Neither should he claim for himself in the role of protector one whom he believes is lesser to his strength. Rather, each one should share his special grace with the other. Especially is this true of the man, who is in the position of greater strength, who plays the part of protector. PARADISE 4.25.

TO WHOM IS THE MAN RESPONSIBLE? AUGUSTINE: For the man is the head of the woman in perfect order when Christ who is the Wisdom of God is the head of the man. AGAINST THE MANICHAEANS 2.12.16.

THE NATURE OF MAN AND WOMAN THE SAME. SEVERIAN OF GABALA: Since man did not make woman, the question here does not concern the origin of woman. Rather it concerns only [the relation of] submission. The nature of God and Christ is the same. Similarly the nature of man and woman is the same. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION 1 CORINTHIANS 11:4-16

OVERVIEW: The difference between man and woman lies not in their nature but in their relationship (CHRYSOSTOM, SEVERIAN OF GABALA). Woman is the glory of man, but there is an enormous distance between that and the glory of God (AMBROSIASTER). A man who approaches the throne of God should wear the symbols of his office, which in this case is represented by having his head uncovered (CHRYSOSTOM). Just as God has nobody over him in all creation, so man has no one over him in the natural world. But woman lives under the protection of man (SEVERIAN). The relation of man and woman to God makes all the difference in understanding their relation to each other (AMBROSIASTER, CHRYSOSTOM). Being covered is a mark of voluntary subjection (AMBROSIASTER), calling the woman to be humble and preserve her virtue (TERTULLIAN, CHRYSOSTOM). Since woman is the glory of man, it is shameful for a woman to desire to be like a man (CHRYSOSTOM). In the Genesis narrative man precedes woman in the order of their creation (EPIPHANIUS, THEODORET OF CYR). The woman was created with gifts of serving, the man with gifts of ordering (THEODORET OF CYR). Paul appears to be not confining his instruction about hair to a particular place and time (TERTULLIAN). He appealed to church tradition (CHRYSOSTOM), to nature (AMBROSIASTER, AMBROSE) and to the argument from general consent of reasonable people in these matters (CHRYSOSTOM). Since hair is potentially erotic, it can play into temptation (PELAGIUS). Natural hair is preferred to deceptive wigs (CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA).

1 Cor