Shroro

The Syriac Orthodox Christian Digest - July, 2005

Beards in the Syriac Tradition

V. Varughese

After my wedding, I had returned to the United States and shared some photos of my wedding with some of my co-workers. Upon seeing the clerics, several of my Protestant colleagues made some rather startling remarks.

“Why are these Al Qaeda people standing behind you?”

“I thought you were Christian; why are these Arabs there?”

I could not do much more than shake my head and fix myself a pot of tea. This was going to be a long lunch hour.

Though they know I am Indian, I reminded them that these clerics are not Arabs, but like me, Indian. Society it seems, has planted in their minds certain ideas about the Eastern world. After they had thought a bit more about things, they realized that Jesus is almost always pictured with a beard, as are most of the apostles.

I cannot remember a time when I have seen a priest, bishop, or monk without a beard, nor do I remember seeing any icons in Kerala like this. Taking all of this for granted, the encounter with my coworkers inspired me to look into the situation further. This piece is by no means exhaustive, but simply an introduction to the question: Why do we then wear beards and why do Western Christians seem to always be clean shaven?

Beards in the Syriac Christian Tradition

There are three major points I’ve uncovered as to why our clerics wear beards:

1) The service of the priesthood.

When a priest celebrates the Qurbana, he is for us as Christ. The liturgy is structured on the priesthood that Christ held and gave to those He ordained. During one of our communion hymns we say, “The priest stands in place of a man clothed in linen;” This man in linen is Christ. Just as Christ greeted His disciples saying “Peace be with you all,” so to is it the role of the priest. The celebrant is a reminder for us of Christ, even to the point where he is a living semblance of Him.

2) Beards are a rejection of the world.

Growing out the beard is an outward means of displaying one’s rejection of the world. It is a retort to the vanity of the slick looking man. Most ascetics are remembered in their icons with beards for this very reason. Certain monastic rules observe very strict grooming restrictions because of this.

3) The Syrians are the inheritors of the Semitic traditions

The Hebrews deeply revered the beard as can be seen from many examples in the scriptures “You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard”(Leviticus 19:27). The beard was worn by the priests, as we see in the Psalms: “It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down upon the beard, upon the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes!” (Psalms 133:2)

When Hanun shamed King David’s servants, David responded to their humiliation by letting their beards grow back before their return. So Hanun took David's servants, and shaved off half the beard of each, and cut off their garments in the middle, at their hips, and sent them away. When this was told to David, he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, "Remain at Jericho until your beards have grown, and then return." (2 Samuel 10:4-5)

In other Semitic art, the Assyrians of Mesopotamia are typically depicted with the beard. It is a mark of their culture.

Beards in the Western Tradition

From various sources, one can observe the gradual eradication of beards in Western Europe. One major contributing factor was the decrees (or synods held under Charlemagne) which ordered the clergy to be clean shaven so that they would not appear like the Barbarians of Northern-Central Europe. From my study, it seems that the issue was far more refined, detailed, and worthy of further study. Nevertheless, the beard gradually departed from the Western European mindset and the clean-shaven cleric became the standard.

I believe that the beard is a living witness to the rejection of vanity. It is a part of our tradition, and our clerics should continue to grow their beards as a subtle part of their ministry. Had I not shown these co-workers these photographs, I might have missed an opportunity to share my faith with them. With the lack of understanding that is prevalent in the Western world, this is one way we may help educate other individuals about our faith and spiritual heritage.