Temple in the village of Gubino
According to the Interfax agency (in 2006), the Head of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, criticized some believers for their excessive neglect of their appearance, which, according to him, creates a negative impression of Orthodoxy in general.
“ We should not give the impression of strange, idiotic people if we want to be the Church of the people, and not be locked in a ghetto . We must set an example for the people, including with our appearance,” Bishop Kirill said on Wednesday in Moscow at a conference dedicated to the Orthodox pilgrimage.
In this regard, the Metropolitan told how he was shocked when he once received a letter from viewers of his program “The Word of the Shepherd” asking why Orthodox women look so miserable.
Aesthetics in the Church, according to Metropolitan Kirill, is of great importance, including the appearance of believers, clothing, and church decoration.
“Orthodoxy is not squalor, it is the beauty of life. Orthodoxy does not force us to dress in gloomy gray-black-brown colors,” the representative of the Moscow Patriarchate emphasized.
It's amazing how these words are still relevant today!
Many people and even some Orthodox believe “that the church is a refuge for the orphaned and wretched.” You've probably noticed how in churches some grandmother in a stretched sweater and a black frayed skirt swears at a young girl in a fluffy pink knee-length skirt, saying that they don't come to church to show off, but to pray... No friendliness, no good nature, just teaching and condemnation.
You can often easily recognize a parishioner of a church on the street by a worn scarf of an unknown color, worn-out shoes, a dark skirt one size too big, or even two, dragging on the asphalt, and a huge backpack on her back...! This phenomenon is difficult to explain!!! False humility or foolishness..?
This fashion of disregard, sloppiness and ugliness is followed by many young women, called to bring beauty to the world, expressed not only in good deeds and an honest life, but also, no matter how unusual it may sound, in appearance.
What should an Orthodox girl look like?
An Orthodox woman - wife and mother - should look like this:
- Please the Lord
- Be an example for children and others
- To please your spouse Let's start from the beginning. What should a woman look like to please God? This is what the Holy Fathers and Holy Scripture say about this.
- True beauty is recognized not by appearance, but by morals and decent behavior (St. John Chrysostom)
- A woman should not wear men's clothing, and a man should not dress in women's clothing, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God (Deut. 22:5)
- No husband should dress in women's clothing, nor a wife in clothes characteristic of a husband (Rule 62 of the 6th Ecumenical Council)
- ..if a woman grows her hair, it is an honor for her (1 Epistle of St. Paul to Cor. 11:15)
- Let your adornment be not external braiding of hair, not gold jewelry. or finery in clothing. But the hidden man of the heart is in the incorruptible beauty of a meek and quiet spirit, which is of great price in the sight of God” (1 Peter 34 3-4)
- Some kind of modesty. Moderation, simplicity and naturalness were observed in clothing. Clothes, according to Christians, have only two purposes, which must be consistent with them. Namely, to keep the body in proper warmth, protecting it from the harmful influence of air, and to cover indecent parts of the body... Clothes for shine and splendor could not be allowed and put into use for children (St. Basil the Great)
- One color is kind in women - this is the kind blush of modesty... Give your beauty pallor, exhausting yourself with deeds for Christ, prayers, sighs. And let’s save the dyes for the walls... (St. Gregory the Theologian) As we see, the Lord, through His saints, gave an image to which a woman should strive. First of all, a woman should be satisfied with the appearance that the Creator has endowed her with. Secondly, a woman should not seduce people with her appearance or lead them into sin. Excessively revealing clothing tempts men into fornication and adultery, and women into condemnation. Woe to him through whom temptation comes to earth! And thirdly, a woman should wear women's clothing, and not “unisex” clothing, i.e. "universal floor".
Holy Queen Alexandra provides us, dear girls, with a marvelous example of how to follow the middle, and in this case literally the royal path. On the one hand, to look worthy of the position that she occupied, on the other hand, never to cross the line in what was so accessible and easily achievable to her in relation to the conditions of that time. But tact, a sense of proportion, and correctness are undeniable in her appearance. The same can be said in relation to the sovereign, traditionally depicted in a military uniform, so adorning everyone, wearing it with honor, and so befitting, like any uniform, for every man - this is a model that it is good for us to follow.
God bless!
There is no need to allow duality in your life.
On another pilgrimage trip, I confess to the priest who accompanied us my doubts: “I am ashamed to show others what I do.” And he responded to me: “Why don’t you sew dresses? It's so beautiful. These are the ones with collars. "Sew the dress." I looked at him and then thought: “Yes, and who will buy this from me? Some old-fashioned priest, what is he talking to me about?
Several more years passed, continuing to work in the same style, which increasingly ran counter to my inner world, I slowly began to implement the idea of the “old-fashioned” priest - to sew dresses. And when I started offering people what I wore myself, the long-awaited calm came, everything finally fell into place.
There is no need to allow duality in your life. As it was before? If on Sunday, after the service, according to plans, it was time to go on a visit, for example, then this meant that you had to go home and be sure to change clothes. After all, I can’t go out in public wearing a “skirt for the temple.” All the “puzzles” of my life came together into a single picture at the moment when I realized that I no longer needed to change clothes after visiting the temple, and neither did my clients.
— Do you take part in shows with your new models?
— I think it would be possible, but no, I’m not participating. It is important for me to make good expensive collections and invest money in quality fabrics. Impressions are a very big expense. It turns out that you need to “pull” this money out of production, make a cheaper collection, but at the same time present it in a pretentious way. Therefore, I decided to give it up, especially since I feel uncomfortable in the “crowd” of the fashion world, it’s a little not for me.
This is inherent in us - the desire to look good, so why be shy and hide?
— Yes, it turns out that the saying that “a man loves with his eyes” is not abolished in Orthodoxy?
- Of course, they won’t cancel it. This is inherent in human nature. We're not talking about looking at someone with lust. The eye rejoices when you look at a well-groomed, beautifully dressed girl or woman. Let there be five children spinning around such a woman, and her figure is not according to the standard of the model, but when she is neatly dressed, everything is chosen with taste, you look and think: “Well, this is beauty!” Why not look at such beauty with joy?
Once I went to some kind people abroad. I thought for a long time about what to bring them as a gift and decided to give all the women a dress. What joy they had! Words cannot describe it! And this suggests that there is no escape; we women have it in our blood. They rejoiced equally - both old and young, and even those who were already far from the world. This is inherent in us, so why be shy and hide?
- And they often greet you by their clothes...
- Exactly. And love begins at first sight - that is, external sympathy arises, and then everything else. If there is no first good impression, it is very difficult to create one later.
“I am an Orthodox woman” is not a reason to forget about your appearance forever
— How, according to your observations, do Orthodox women dress?
- Differently. I don’t think that the concept “I am an Orthodox woman” is a reason to forget about your appearance forever. If a woman does not take care of herself, then first of all she leads her husband into temptation. He, the poor man, has to go out into the street, see beautiful, neat, neatly dressed women, for him this can become a temptation. Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems to me that you can find a little time to take care of your appearance, especially since, I'm sure, every woman has taste.
Why not give flowers on March 8th and see the smile and joy on the face of another person
— Do you offer a discount on March 8?
- I do. But not 8%, like many, but – 23% – especially for men, they will mainly give gifts to their wives.
— How appropriate is it to celebrate such holidays?
— There was a period in our workshop when we abruptly “cancelled” all secular holidays: no gifts on March 8th. Not only did our women work when everyone had a day off, but they also went home with nothing, like orphans. All the women come with gifts, with flowers from work, but they come with nothing.
And then, seeing their upset faces, on which it was written “how unlucky we are with our evil Orthodox bosses,” we decided - why not once again please our employees, especially if they are waiting for it. Why not give flowers, some modest gift and see a smile and joy, instead of a gloomy, bewildered look?
“Appearance is not important” is a far-fetched idea
There are no ugly girls. It is important to match your age and lifestyle. Spend a little time and see what suits you, what color suits you. It's not difficult at all. Yes, it happens that I didn’t guess right - I chose the wrong wardrobe. But this can always be corrected; I repeat, all women have an innate taste. Another thing is that it happens that a person simply waves his hand at himself: oh, I don’t care what I look like.
“Appearance is not important” is a far-fetched idea. I know of cases where even their Orthodox husbands left women who, having joined the Church, stopped taking care of themselves. If you don’t want to look good for yourself, look good for the person next to you. If there is a holy ascetic nearby, then maybe he won’t care. But an ordinary man wants his wife to look good, it seems to me.
How to take the first step
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The designer’s worldview influences the product of his activity and places it within a certain framework.
— Tell me, doesn’t the “Orthodox designer” sign confuse people?
- Confusing, very confusing. Some laugh, others come in and ask various tricky questions.
In fact, the meaning of the inscription on the sign is this: clothes are sold here from a designer who has a certain worldview, which means the product of his activity will be within certain limits.
— And these frames regulate the length of the product and the depth of the cutout?
— I think not the length and cuts, but the presentation. You can look indecent in a mega long dress, although there will not be a single cutout on it. In our presentation, the emphasis is primarily on femininity. And femininity is never vulgar.
“It’s so good that you opened here. We have now started going to the Lavra”
— What is special about your store?
“There was one case when I realized that my work was not so useless - it’s not just dresses, bows, and ribbons. One day, two women accidentally drove past our store, came in, liked the skirts, bought them, and now they are my regular clients. One time they say: “It’s so good that you opened here. We have now started going to the Lavra.” This was real happiness, it was the most important event in my life related to work.
We have special conditions for mothers - wives of priests, for example, a 50% discount (product cost).
Many people like that there is a place where you can come and immediately pick up a dress, a scarf, and even shoes. Because often these same mothers have very little free time, and there is no opportunity to go shopping: in one you need to buy a skirt, in another - a blouse, in a third, a belt, shoes. And here it’s all together: I immediately came, bought it and left with one package, but spent 15 minutes of my time.
