“Nakedness of body is a sign of nakedness of soul”
Everything visible (outward) bears witness to what is within it, and by the invisible (the inward) the visible is known. The body of man is a temple of God, and the heart is the “altar” of the body (the temple); in it are gathered all the qualities of a man, the good as well as the bad. Whatever treasure a man has stored up in his heart, that he brings forth. A seed that a man has buried (sown) in the ground secretly, apart from others, is at first hidden from men, but when a plant comes up from it, then its nature becomes plain to all. From the shoot that has come up in sight we can tell what was sown in the ground. Neither man nor grass was made by God without an outward appearance of its own. The Saviour says in the Gospel: “Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? By their fruits ye shall know them” (Matt. 7:16–20). Every tree is known by its fruit. A vine cannot bear figs or peaches, for that is against nature. So it is with people: whatever seed each one sows in his soul and heart, he will reap the fruit that befits it, which will find its expression in a corresponding appearance and conduct.
A person of any profession or trade — be it a doctor, a singer, a carpenter, a soldier or a sportsman — wears the clothing proper and fitting to his work, a uniform, and often we recognize them precisely by it. A warrior is arrayed in military dress, armour, weapons and so on. The same goes for the doctor, the sportsman and others. It would be laughable to see a warrior in a doctor's clothes, or a carpenter in battle dress. And if dress has such fundamental importance among people of one profession or trade or another, how important is its place in Christianity! That we are children of Christ and are called believers is not enough, for this must show in everything, in our dress as well as in our outward appearance. The subject of dress is very topical today. It concerns above all the representatives of the weaker sex — women. A Christian woman should see in the Theotokos the example of her spiritual and bodily perfection.
The inward is always bound up with the outward, and the other way round. If I love someone with my whole heart, I try in every way to show it by treating them warmly. One cannot keep saying “I love you” and beat someone mercilessly every day. The essence determines the quality and form of the action. So it is in faith too: it is not enough to be a Christian in name only — it must show everywhere and in everything.
The clergy try to imitate Christ in all things and in every way. They wear a beard, a cassock and a cross, for all this is necessary as the outward expression of their inward faith.
A woman who goes about half-naked becomes like a harlot, because she kindles the fire of passion in everyone and drives them toward adultery, so that she herself may not even be aware of it. A harlot does not have “harlot” written on her forehead — it is her dress and appearance that expose her. Outward nakedness is a sign of inward nakedness. It is the property of grace to cover, and of sin to strip bare, to put on show. Why do you not think that you are becoming a cause of stumbling for another, and so reaping a double punishment, as a tempter? The one who is tempted will also be punished, but woe to him by whom the offence cometh: he will receive a double requital. Can a person dressed vulgarly boldly say that they will not become a cause of temptation to another? Nakedness kindles passion, which gives birth to the thought of desire, of adultery, and an adulterous thought is the pledge of its being carried out and of a fall into the corresponding sin.
It is true that before the Fall man was naked, but he had no need of material clothing, for he was clothed in a spiritual garment of grace; after the Fall he felt his spiritual nakedness and clothed himself bodily. They were ashamed before one another, because passion had appeared, and once it had entered mankind, it became necessary to cover the body with material things.
Have people in our day really attained such holiness that they have returned to the first, sinless state and no longer need to cover the body? Clearly this is an utter lie and an absurdity; so there must be another explanation: they carry within them the greatest of passions, which they take with them everywhere and do not want to cover. Some, on the contrary, have even made nakedness a matter of pride and take pleasure in it. They think they become the centre of attention — but whose? The devil's and his servants'. Such people become a cause of stumbling and defilement. If the Fall gave birth to the feeling of shame in the first-created people, today, sadly, it has been lost in us.
A person whose heart is warmed by true faith in God and by love for Him, and whose mind is lit by the bright rays of God's teaching, acts in the faith that he is God's creation, and therefore desires to be in unbroken communion with God and in every way to become like his Creator.
