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| A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
(Latintondere, "to shear")
A sacredrite instituted by theChurch by which abaptized and confirmedChristian is received into theclerical order by the shearing of his hair and the investment with thesurplice. Theperson thus tonsured becomes a partaker of the commonprivileges andobligations of theclerical state and is prepared for the reception of orders. The tonsure itself is not anordination properly so called, nor atrue order. It is rather a simple ascription of aperson to the Divine service in such things as are common to allclerics. Historically the tonsure was not in use in the primitiveChurch during the age ofpersecution. Even later,St. Jerome (in Ezech., xliv) disapproves ofclerics shaving their heads. Indeed, among the Greeks and Romans such a custom was a badge ofslavery. On this very account, the shaving of the head was adopted by themonks. Towards the end of the fifth, or beginning of the sixth, century, thecustom passed over to thesecular clergy.
As a sacredrite, the tonsure was originally joined to the firstordination received, as in theGreek Church it still is to the order oflector. In theLatin Church it began as a separateceremony about the end of the seventh century, whenparents offered their young sons to the service ofGod. Tonsure is to be given by a candidate's ordinary, though mitredabbots can bestow it on their own subjects. No special age for its reception is prescribed, but the recipient must have learnt the rudiments of theFaith and be able to read and write. Theceremony may be performed at anytime or place. As to themonastic tonsure, some writers have distinguished three kinds: (1) the Roman, or that of St. Peter, when all the head is shaved except a circle, of hair; (2) theEastern, or St. Paul's, when the entire head is denuded of hair; (3) the Celtic, orSt. John's, when only a crescent of hair is shaved from the front of the head. InBritain, theSaxon opponents of the Celtic tonsure called it the tonsure ofSimon Magus. According to canon law, allclerics are bound to wear the tonsure under certain penalties. But on this subject,Taunton (loc. cit. inf.) says: "In English-speaking countries, from a custom arising in the days ofpersecution and having a prescription of over three centuries, the shaving of the head, thepriestly crown, seems, with the tacitconsent of theHoly See, to have passed out of use. No provincial or national council has ordered it, even when treating ofclerical dress; and theHoly See has not inserted thelaw when correcting thedecrees of those councils."
TAUNTON, The Law of ihe Church (London, 1906), s.v.; GASPARRI, De sacra ordinatione, I (Paris, 1893); WERNZ, Jus Decretalium, II (Rome, 1899).
APA citation.Fanning, W.(1912).Tonsure. InThe Catholic Encyclopedia.New York: Robert Appleton Company.http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14779a.htm
MLA citation.Fanning, William."Tonsure."The Catholic Encyclopedia.Vol. 14.New York: Robert Appleton Company,1912.<http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14779a.htm>.
Transcription.This article was transcribed for New Advent by John Fobian.In memory of Donald Thomas.
Ecclesiastical approbation.Nihil Obstat. July 1, 1912. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor.Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
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