Cilice
{{Short description|Coarse garment important to Christianity}}
{{hatnote group|
{{About|a garment|the material itself|Sackcloth}}
{{Distinguish|Chalice}} }}
{{Infobox clothing type
| name = Cilice
| image_file = Christian_Hairshirt.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = A hairshirt belonging to a Christian, with a set of prayer beads hanging off a belt loop used to hold the girdle that tightens the garment around the waist
| type = Undergarment
| material = Coarse cloth or animal hair
| location = Cilicia
| introduced = Post-Exilic period
}}
File:Maria-Magdalena-Valladolid.jpg in cilice. Polychrome wood carving by Pedro de Mena, Church of San Miguel and San Julian, Valladolid]]
A cilice {{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|ɪ|l|ᵻ|s}}, also known as a sackcloth,{{cite book|last=Jeffrey|first=David L.|title=A Dictionary of Biblical Tradition in English Literature|year=1992|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing|language=en|isbn=9780802836342|page=[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofbibl0000unse/page/673 673]|url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofbibl0000unse/page/673}} was originally a garment or undergarment made of coarse cloth or animal hair (a hairshirt) worn close to the skin. It is used by members of various Christian traditions (including the Catholic,{{cite book|last1=Stravinskas|first1=Peter M. J.|last2=Shaw|first2=Russell B.|title=Our Sunday Visitor's Catholic Encyclopedia|year=1998|publisher=Our Sunday Visitor Publishing|language=en|isbn=9780879736699|page=483}} Lutheran,{{cite book|last=Neve|first=Juergen Ludwig|title=The Augsburg Confession: A Brief Review of Its History and an Interpretation of Its Doctrinal Articles, with Introductory Discussions on Confessional Questions|url=https://archive.org/details/augsburgconfessi00neve|year=1914|publisher=Lutheran Publication Society|page=[https://archive.org/details/augsburgconfessi00neve/page/150 150]}} Anglican,{{cite book|last1=Knight|first1=Mark|last2=Mason|first2=Emma|title=Nineteenth-Century Religion and Literature: An Introduction|url=https://archive.org/details/nineteenthcentur00knig|url-access=limited|date=16 November 2006|publisher=Oxford University Press|language=en |isbn=9780191535017|page=[https://archive.org/details/nineteenthcentur00knig/page/n104 96]|quote=Pusey regularly endured a hair shirt as well as self- imposed flagellation and fasting routines.}} Methodist,{{cite book|last=Bergen|first=Jeremy M.|title=Ecclesial Repentance: The Churches Confront Their Sinful Pasts|date=31 March 2011|publisher=A&C Black|language=en|isbn=9780567523686|page=255|quote=In fact, it was scandal of disunity within Methodism that led UMC leaders to address the issue of racism as the underlying cause. ... The petition for forgiveness proceeded on two distinct but interrelated levels. Each of the approximately 3,000 persons in the assemble was called to silent personal confession of the sin of racism before God, publicly symbolized by receiving ... sackcloth ... and the imposition of ashes.}} and Scottish Presbyterian churches){{cite book|last=Yates|first=Nigel|title=Eighteenth Century Britain: Religion and Politics 1714-1815|date=11 June 2014|publisher=Routledge|language=en|isbn=9781317866480|page=87|quote=The Evangelical revival in Scotland encouraged both much stricter conditions being placed on admission to Holy Communion and the maintenance of traditional discipline within the established church. ... Lesser transgressors could be ordered by the kirk session to stand before the congregation for up to three Sundays, sometimes wearing sackcloth, and publicly acknowledge their sins before 'being subjected to a "rant" from the minister'.}} as a self-imposed means of repentance and mortification of the flesh; as an instrument of penance, it is often worn during the Christian penitential season of Lent, especially on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and other Fridays of the Lenten season.{{cite book|last1=Beaulieu|first1=Geoffrey of|last2=Chartres|first2=William of|title=The Sanctity of Louis IX: Early Lives of Saint Louis by Geoffrey of Beaulieu and William of Chartres|date=29 November 2013|publisher=Cornell University Press|language=en |isbn=9780801469145|page=89}}
Hairshirt cilices were originally made from coarse animal hair, as an imitation of the garment worn by John the Baptist that was made of camel hair,{{cite book |last1=Brewer |first1=Ebenezer Cobham |title=A Dictionary of Miracles: Imitative, Realistic, and Dogmatic |date=1884 |publisher=Chatto and Windus |page=56 |language=English}} or sackcloth which, throughout the Bible, was worn by people repenting.{{cite book |title=CSB Study Bible |date=15 June 2017 |publisher=B&H Publishing Group |isbn=978-1-4336-4811-3 |page=1404 |language=English |quote=Sackcloth was worn during times of mourning and repentance, usually while sitting atop ashes (Gn 37:34; 1Kg 21:27; Mt 11:21).}} Cilices were designed to irritate the skin; other features were added to make cilices more uncomfortable, such as thin wires or twigs. In modern Christian religious circles, cilices are simply any device worn for the same purposes, often taking the form of a hairshirt cilice as well as a (spiked metal) chain cilice.{{cite book |last1=Morrow |first1=Jeffrey L. |title=Liturgy and Sacrament, Mystagogy and Martyrdom: Essays in Theological Exegesis |date=13 October 2020 |publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers |isbn=978-1-5326-9382-3 |language=English}}
Etymology
The word cilice derives from the Latin {{lang|la|cilicium}}, a covering made of goat's hair from Cilicia, a Roman province in south-east Asia Minor.{{cite web| url= http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=cilice|title= Cilice|publisher= Online Etymology Dictionary|access-date=2012-06-30}} The reputed first Scriptural use of this exact term is in the Vulgate (Latin) translation of Psalm 35:13, {{lang|la|"Ego autem, cum mihi molesti essent, induebar cilicio."}} ("But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth" in the King James Bible). The term is translated as hair-cloth in the Douay–Rheims Bible, and as sackcloth in the King James Bible and Book of Common Prayer. Sackcloth can also mean burlap, or is associated as a symbol of mourning, a form of hairshirt.{{Cite news |title=The History of Hairshirts |url=https://handwovenmagazine.com/history-hairshirts/ |access-date=2024-03-05 |website=Handwoven |language=en}}
Use
Image:St Aspais Melun - cilice.jpg at St. Aspais Church, Melun, France]]
File:Ivan the Terrible's cilice 02 by shakko.jpg's hairshirt cilice (16th century). The tsar wanted to die like a monk.]]
There is some evidence, based on analyses of both clothing represented in art and preserved skin imprint patterns at Çatalhöyük in Turkey, that the usage of the cilice predates written history. This finding has been mirrored at Göbekli Tepe, another Anatolian site, indicating the widespread manufacturing of cilices. Ian Hodder has argued that "self-injuring clothing was an essential component of the Catalhöyük culturo-ritual entanglement, representing 'cleansing' and 'lightness'."Ian Hodder, "Çatalhöyük: The Leopard's Tale", Thames & Hudson, 2006.
In Biblical times, it was the Jewish custom to wear a hairshirt (sackcloth) when "mourning or in a public show of repentance for sin" (Genesis 37:34,{{Bibleverse|Genesis|37:34|KJV}} 2 Samuel 3:31,{{Bibleverse|2 Samuel|3:31|KJV}} Esther 4:1).{{Bibleverse|Esther|4:1|KJV}} In the New Testament, John the Baptist wore "a garment of camel's hair" as a means of repentance (Matthew 3:4).{{Bibleverse|Matthew|3:4|KJV}}{{cite web |last1=Kosloski |first1=Philip |title=The spiritual symbolism of John the Baptist's unusual clothing |url=https://aleteia.org/2019/08/29/the-spiritual-symbolism-of-john-the-baptists-unusual-clothing/ |publisher=Aleteia |access-date=9 February 2022 |language=English |date=29 August 2019}} As such, adherents of many Christian denominations have worn sackcloth to repent, mortify the flesh or as a penance, especially for sins relating to lavishly adorning oneself (cf. 1 Peter 3:3,{{Bibleverse|1 Peter|3:3|KJV}} 1 Timothy 2:9).{{Bibleverse|1 Timothy|2:9|KJV}}
Cilices have been used for centuries in the Catholic Church as a mild form of bodily penance akin to fasting. Thomas Becket was wearing a hairshirt when he was martyred,{{Cite book|last=Barlow|first=Frank|title=Thomas Becket|publisher=The Folio Society|year=2002|location=London|pages=299, 314}} St. Patrick reputedly wore a cilice, Charlemagne was buried in a hairshirt,{{citation needed|date=February 2020}} and Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Germany, famously wore one in the Walk to Canossa during the Investiture Controversy.{{citation needed|date=February 2020}} Prince Henry the Navigator was found to be wearing a hairshirt at the time of his death in 1460.{{Citation needed|date=July 2007}} St. Francis of Assisi, St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Thomas More and St. Therese of Lisieux are known to have used them.{{citation needed|date=February 2020}} Scottish king James IV wore a cilice during Lent to repent of the indirect role he played in his father's death. In modern times they have been used by Mother Teresa, St. Padre Pio, and Pope Paul VI.{{cite press release| title=Opus Dei and Corporal Mortification|author=Michael Barrett, a priest of Opus Dei| publisher=Opus Dei | date=17 May 2006| url=https://opusdei.org/en/article/opus-dei-and-corporal-mortification-2/}} In the Discalced Carmelite convent of St. Teresa in Livorno, Italy, members of Opus Dei who are celibate (about 30% of the membership), and the Franciscan Brothers and Sisters of the Immaculate Conception continue an ascetic use of the cilice.{{sfn|Allen|2006|pp=165, 169, 171–173}} According to John Allen, an American Catholic writer, its practice in the Catholic Church is "more widespread than many observers imagine".{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=173}}
Some high church Anglicans, including Edward Bouverie Pusey, wore hairshirts as a part of their spirituality.
In the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, influenced by the evangelical revival, penitents were dressed in sackcloth and called in front of the chancel, where they were ordered to admit their sins.
In some Methodist churches in the United States, on Ash Wednesday, communicants, along with receiving ashes, also receive a piece of sackcloth "as a reminder of our own sinful ways and need for repentance".{{cite web|url=http://www.stpaulsrushville.org/2017/03/11/sackcloth/|title=Sackcloth|last=Ice|first=Roy E.|date=11 March 2017|publisher=St Paul's United Methodist Church|language=en|access-date=27 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170327170532/http://www.stpaulsrushville.org/2017/03/11/sackcloth/|archive-date=27 March 2017|url-status=dead}}
In popular culture
In Thomas Pynchon’s 1997 postmodern historical novel Mason & Dixon, upon arriving at a Jesuit college in Quebec the character Eliza Fields is dressed in a cilice by nuns as a sadomasochistic punishment after having admitted to feelings of sexual arousal during her prior capture by a group of Native Americans.{{cite journal |last1=Phillips |first1=Mike |editor1-last=Alberts |editor1-first=Crystal |editor2-last=Paul Eve |editor2-first=Martin |editor3-last=Freer |editor3-first=Joanna |editor4-last=Pöhlmann |editor4-first=Sascha |title=Nose-gaping: The Smells of Mason & Dixon |journal=Orbit: A Journal of American Literature |date=2019 |volume=7 |issue=1 |doi=10.16995/orbit.768|doi-access=free |url= https://orbit.openlibhums.org/article/id/768/}} The spiked form of cilice, fashioned from a rose plant, that Pynchon’s character experiences appears to be based on those used by the 20th century Opus Dei. The cilice has been interpreted as a deliberate narrative device to muddy the historical accuracy of the novel and point to the relevance of historical slavery in the contemporary United States.{{cite journal |last=Madsen |first=Deborah Lea |title=Captivity without Redemption: Pynchon's Allegories of Empire in Mason & Dixon |journal=Pynchon Notes |date=2016 |url= https://access.archive-ouverte.unige.ch/access/metadata/6a2947d5-013c-40f6-b86f-5fbbf7e944ea/download |publisher=University of Geneva}}{{ref|Alpha|α}}
In Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code, one of the antagonists, an albino numerary named Silas associated with the religious organization Opus Dei, wears a cilice in the form of a spiked belt around his thigh. The sensationalized depiction in the novel has been criticized for its inaccuracy in subsequent books and by Opus Dei itself, which issued a press release responding to the movie's depiction of the practice, claiming "In reality, they cause a fairly low level of discomfort comparable to fasting. There is no blood, no injury, nothing to harm a person's health, nothing traumatic. If it caused any harm, the Church would not allow it."{{sfn|Allen|2006|pp=162–163}}
The goat hair of Thomas More, presented for safe keeping by Margaret Clement,{{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia= Catholic Encyclopaedia |title= St. Thomas More| url= http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14689c.htm}}. was long in the custody of the community of Augustinian canonesses who until 1983 lived at the convent at Abbotskerswell Priory, Devon. Some sources, including one from 2004, claimed that the shirt was then at the Martyr's church on the Weld family's estate in Chideock, Dorset.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OpATDQAAQBAJ&q=thomas+more+relics+hair+shirt+Chideock+castle&pg=PT56 |title=Little Book of Dorset |author=David Hilliam |publisher=History Press |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-7524-6265-3}}{{page needed|date=October 2017}}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hjyc9bPITKgC&q=thomas+more+relics+hair+shirt+Chideock+castle&pg=PA42 |title=Shrines of Our Lady in England |author=Anne Vail |publisher=Gracewing Publishing |year=2004 |isbn=0-85244-603-9 |page=42}} In 2011 the shirt was put on public display at Buckfast Abbey, near Buckfastleigh in Devon.{{cite web |url=https://www.thecatholictelegraph.com/st-thomas-mores-hair-shirt-now-enshrined-for-public-veneration/37221|title=St. Thomas More's hair shirt now enshrined for public veneration |author=Simon Caldwell |date=21 November 2016 |publisher=Catholic Telegraph}}
See also
Notes
References
{{reflist}}
- {{Cite book | last=Allen Jr. | first=John | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5jxSf_2HSy4C | title= Opus Dei: An Objective Look Behind the Myths and Reality of the Most Controversial Force in the Catholic Church | publisher=Doubleday_(publisher) | year=2006 | ref={{harvid|Allen|2006}}| isbn=9780385514507 }}
External links
{{wiktionary|cilice}}
- {{CathEncy|wstitle=Hairshirt|volume=7}}
- [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Cilicium.html On the Latin word cilicium] (with photograph of a 16c hairshirt)
- [http://www.religious-vocation.com/redemptive_suffering.html Suffering and Sainthood in the Catholic Church] The importance of Penance and Mortification for those who desire to become a Catholic Saint
Category:Catholic penitential practices