The Early Church Fathers on 1 Corinthians 11:3–10 and 11:13–16

Introduction

• 1 Corinthians 11:3–10 and 11:13–16 are two of the important passages where St Paul speaks about headship, creation order, modesty, worship, and women covering their heads during prayer. The passage says that “the head of every man is Christ", “the head of the woman is man", and “the head of Christ is God" and then connects this teaching with prayer, prophecy, creation, angels, nature, and the practice of the churches of God. [1]
• The early Church Fathers did not usually read this passage as an attack on women’s value or dignity. They normally understood it as a teaching about worship, reverence, modesty, and order in the church. At the same time, the Fathers also kept the wider Christian truth that man and woman are both created by God, both need salvation, and both stand before God with spiritual dignity. This is why the passage must not be used to humiliate women or to make male headship a form of pride or control.
• From a Coptic Orthodox perspective, this passage should be read with the whole teaching of Scripture. Genesis teaches that males and females are both created in the image of God. St Paul himself balances the passage by saying that “in the Lord, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman.” Therefore, the correct Orthodox reading holds together two truths: there is holy order in worship, and there is equal human dignity before God. [2]

1. St John Chrysostom — on “the head of the woman is man”

“It is as a wife, as free, as equal in honor.” [3]

• St John Chrysostom does not understand Paul as teaching that woman is lower in human value than man. His words are very important because he says that even when the wife is spoken of in relation to her husband, she remains “free” and “equal in honour". This means that headship is not slavery, and order is not humiliation. Chrysostom’s reading protects the dignity of the woman while still taking St Paul’s words seriously.
• This is useful in answering the accusation that St Paul was simply against women. Chrysostom sees Paul’s teaching as part of Christian order, but he does not allow this order to become a denial of the woman’s honour. In Christian marriage and worship, the woman is not treated as a lesser creature but as a person with real dignity before God.

2. St John Chrysostom — on “head” not meaning the same thing in every case

“Do not, therefore, strain the example of the man and the woman to all particulars.” [4]

• Chrysostom warns that the word “head” must be interpreted carefully. In 1 Corinthians 11:3, Paul speaks about Christ, man, woman, and God in one sentence, but Chrysostom does not allow the reader to force the same meaning onto every relationship. This is especially important for the doctrine of Christ, because “the head of Christ is God” must not be understood as meaning that Christ is inferior in divine nature.
• This is a very Orthodox point. The Son is eternally begotten of the Father, but He is not a creature, and He is not less divine. Therefore, when Paul uses the word "head", it can include ideas such as order, source, and relation, but it must not be turned into a crude teaching of inferiority. The same care is needed when speaking about men and women.

3. St John Chrysostom — on creation order

“For the man is not of the woman, but the woman of the man.” [5]

• Chrysostom connects Paul’s argument with Genesis and the creation of Eve from Adam. He understands that Paul is not giving a random social rule but is pointing back to the creation order. For Chrysostom, this gives the passage theological weight, because Paul is not only talking about local Corinthian custom but also about the way creation is used as a sign of order.
• This does not mean that woman is outside the image of God or that she is less important. Genesis 1:27 says that God created mankind in His own image: "Male and female he created them.” So the creation order in 1 Corinthians 11 must be held together with the equal dignity of male and female in Genesis. [6]

4. St John Chrysostom — on “because of the angels”

“For although thou despise your husband", says he, "yet reverence the angels.” [7]

• Chrysostom understands Paul’s phrase “because of the angels” as a call to reverence in worship. The Church does not worship as an ordinary human gathering. In Orthodox worship, the Church stands before God and worships together with the heavenly hosts. Therefore, the outward behaviour of the faithful should show modesty, fear of God, and respect for the holiness of the liturgy.
• Chrysostom’s point is not that women are spiritually unclean or rejected by God. His point is that worship is holy, and the woman’s covering is treated as a visible sign of reverence in the presence of the angels. This fits the wider Orthodox sense that the Divine Liturgy joins heaven and earth.

5. St John Chrysostom — on mutual balance

“Neither is the man without the woman, nor the woman without the man, in the Lord.” [8]

• Chrysostom highlights Paul’s own correction in 1 Corinthians 11:11–12. Paul does not allow men to become proud after hearing about headship and creation order. He immediately reminds the Church that man and woman are mutually dependent “in the Lord". Woman came from man, but every man after Adam is born from woman, and everything comes from God.
• This balance is very important for the Coptic Orthodox reading. The Church can speak about order without allowing male pride. The Church can speak about modesty without humiliating women. The Church can speak about creation without forgetting that both man and woman depend completely on God.

6. Tertullian — on women being veiled

“It behoves our virgins to be veiled.” [9]

• Tertullian applies Paul’s teaching about veiling not only to married women but also to virgins after maturity. His interpretation is stricter than many later pastoral approaches, but it shows that some early Christian communities took the practice of women covering their heads very seriously. For Tertullian, veiling was connected with modesty, discipline, and visible Christian behaviour.
• His witness is important historically because it shows that head covering was not understood by some early Christians as a small or meaningless matter. Tertullian saw it as part of Christian obedience and as something linked to the apostolic teaching in 1 Corinthians 11.

7. Tertullian — on “because of the angels”

“It is on account of the angels.” [10]

• Tertullian connects Paul’s phrase “because of the angels” with the need for veiling and modesty. Like Chrysostom, he treats the presence of angels as a serious reason for reverence in worship. The woman’s covering is, therefore, not only a social sign but also a religious sign connected with the holiness of prayer.
• This does not mean that the woman is rejected by God during worship. Rather, it means that worship is sacred, and the outward signs used in worship should express humility and reverence before God and the heavenly powers.

8. St Irenaeus — on 1 Corinthians 11:10

“A woman ought to have a veil upon her head because of the angels.” [11]

• St Irenaeus gives one of the earliest witnesses that 1 Corinthians 11:10 was understood as referring to a veil or covering. This is important because Irenaeus lived very close to the apostolic age. His use of the verse shows that early Christians connected Paul’s words with a visible covering, not only an inward attitude.
• However, Irenaeus is not giving a full commentary on the whole passage here. He is quoting the verse in a wider discussion. Still, the quotation is valuable because it shows how early the connection between “authority on her head” and a veil was made in Christian interpretation.

9. Ambrosiaster — on “head” as source/order

“God is the head of Christ because he begat him.” [12]

• Ambrosiaster understands “head” in 1 Corinthians 11:3 partly in terms of source or origin. This is important because it helps avoid a wrong interpretation that would make Christ inferior in His divine nature. If “head” includes source and relation, then the Father is called the head of Christ because the Son is begotten of the Father, not because the Son is a created being.
• This interpretation also helps when reading the statement that “the head of the woman is man". It does not need to mean that a woman is less human or less valuable. It can point to creation order and relation, especially because Paul later says that woman came from man while also saying that man is born of woman and everything comes from God.

10. Ambrosiaster — on woman taken from man

“The man is the head of the woman because she was taken from his side.” [13]

• Ambrosiaster connects Paul’s teaching with the creation of Eve from Adam’s side. This is important because the image of the side can be read in a balanced way. Eve was not made from Adam’s head to rule over him, and she was not made from his feet to be crushed by him. She was taken from his side, which points to closeness, companionship, and shared life.
• Therefore, even when Ambrosiaster speaks about man as head, this should not be turned into cruelty or contempt. The woman’s origin from Adam’s side can be understood as a sign of unity and relationship, not as a sign that she is worthless or spiritually inferior.

11. Ambrosiaster — on 1 Corinthians 11:10

“The veil signifies power, and the angels are bishops.” [14]

• Ambrosiaster reads the “authority” or “power” on the woman’s head as a veil. He also interprets “angels” as bishops or church leaders. This is different from Chrysostom and Tertullian, who connect the phrase more directly with heavenly angels, but Ambrosiaster still agrees that the passage concerns reverence, modesty, and church order.
• This shows that the early Fathers did not always explain every detail in the same way. They could differ on the meaning of "angels" yet still agree that Paul was speaking about visible reverence in worship and the proper order of the Church.

12. Apostolic Constitutions — on women and head covering in church

“Let the women approach with their heads covered.” [15]

• The Apostolic Constitutions show that in some early church orders, women approaching in worship with covered heads was treated as part of proper church discipline. This was connected with reverence, holy fear, and the ordered reception of the holy things. It was not simply a private custom but was connected with the liturgical life of the Church.
• This witness is especially important for an Orthodox discussion because the Apostolic Constitutions reflect an early concern for liturgical order. The head covering is presented as something fitting to the order of women in worship, especially when approaching sacred things.

13. Apostolic Constitutions — on “head of the wife”

“If the head of the wife is the man.” [16]

• The Apostolic Constitutions use the language of 1 Corinthians 11:3 when discussing church order. This shows that Paul’s teaching about headship was used in early Christian discussions about authority, order, and the role of men and women in the Church. The passage was not ignored by the early Church.
• At the same time, this must be read with the full teaching of the New Testament. Christian headship must be shaped by Christ’s sacrificial love, not by worldly domination. Ephesians 5:25 says, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” So Christian headship means responsibility, love, sacrifice, and humility, not control or humiliation. [17]

14. St Augustine — on women covering their heads

“The apostle commands women to keep their heads covered.” [18]

• St Augustine understood Paul’s instruction as an apostolic command that still had meaning in his pastoral setting. He did not treat the practice as empty or unimportant. For Augustine, women covering their heads was connected to the authority of the apostle and to proper Christian modesty.
• Augustine’s witness shows that the practice continued to be respected in later Western Christianity. Together with Chrysostom, Tertullian, Irenaeus, Ambrosiaster, and the Apostolic Constitutions, Augustine shows that many early Christian writers understood 1 Corinthians 11 as referring to a real, visible covering in worship.

Simple Coptic Orthodox Summary

• The early Church Fathers usually understood 1 Corinthians 11:3–10 and 11:13–16 as teaching real modesty, visible reverence, and holy order in worship. They did not normally treat the passage as a denial of women’s dignity but as a teaching about how Christians should stand before God in prayer and liturgy.
• The Fathers commonly connected the woman’s head covering with modesty, creation order, reverence before angels, and the practice of the Church. Some fathers, like Chrysostom and Tertullian, connected “because of the angels” with heavenly angels present in worship. Ambrosiaster gave another interpretation, seeing the angels as bishops or church leaders. Even with these differences, the common direction is reverence and order.
• The passage must not be used to teach that women are less human, less holy, less intelligent, or less loved by God. Genesis teaches that male and female are both created in the image of God, and St Paul himself says that “in the Lord woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman.” [19]
• The strongest Orthodox reading is that woman has equal dignity before God; worship must be approached with modesty and order; and male headship must never become pride, control, or humiliation. True Christian headship must be shaped by Christ, who loved the Church and gave Himself for her. [20]

References and Endnotes

[1] 1 Corinthians 11:3–16, NIV. BibleGateway provides the full NIV text of the passage, including Paul’s teaching about headship, covering, angels, nature, and church custom.

[2] 1 Corinthians 11:11–12, NIV; Genesis 1:27, NIV. These verses give the biblical balance: man and woman are mutually dependent “in the Lord", and both male and female are created in God’s image.

[3] St John Chrysostom, Homily 26 on First Corinthians, on 1 Corinthians 11. New Advent edition.

[4] St John Chrysostom, Homily 26 on First Corinthians, on the meaning of “head” in 1 Corinthians 11: 3.

[5] St John Chrysostom, Homily 26 on First Corinthians, quoting and explaining 1 Corinthians 11: 8.

[6] Genesis 1:27, NIV.

[7] St John Chrysostom, Homily 26 on First Corinthians, on 1 Corinthians 11:10 and “because of the angels".

[8] St John Chrysostom, Homily 26 on First Corinthians, commenting on Paul’s balancing statement in 1 Corinthians 11:11–12.

[9] Tertullian, On the Veiling of Virgins. New Advent and CCEL editions. Some editions spell "behoves" as "behoves".

[10] Tertullian, On the Veiling of Virgins, on Paul’s phrase “because of the angels".

[11] St Irenaeus, Against Heresies, Book I, Chapter 8, quoting 1 Corinthians 11:10.

[12] Ambrosiaster, Commentary on Paul’s Epistles, on 1 Corinthians 11: 3. Cited in Catena Bible.

[13] Ambrosiaster, Commentary on Paul’s Epistles, on 1 Corinthians 11:3 and woman taken from man’s side.

[14] Ambrosiaster, Commentary on Paul’s Epistles, on 1 Corinthians 11:10. The quotation is cited in the Catena Bible and also discussed in later articles referring to Gerald Bray’s translation.

[15] Apostolic Constitutions, Book II, on the order of worship and women approaching with covered heads.

[16] Apostolic Constitutions, Book III, using the language of 1 Corinthians 11:3: "If the head of the wife be the man.”

[17] Ephesians 5:25, NIV. This verse gives the Christian meaning of headship as sacrificial love.

[18] St Augustine, cited in discussions of his teaching on women’s head covering; the referenced wording appears in summaries of Augustine’s letter tradition.

[19] 1 Corinthians 11:11–12, NIV; Genesis 1:27, NIV.

[20] Ephesians 5:25, NIV.