piercings and tattoo and Orthodox Christianity

[Lily76_]

hi , i have a few tattoos ,unsure if this is allowed in Orthodox Christianity
i also have a nose piercing as well i could remove it but my husband will be kinda mad if i get rid of it as it cost a load of money to get it done . just wanted to ask

 

[JohnTh]

Well, I think that now the best is to dwell in prayer and good deeds (well, now it is the Nativity Fast) and not tremble the waters (read: the others).
In order to concentrate on Christ, we need to have a stable environment around us. When we will grow up then we will see how we will deal with the stronger winds which will come.

 

[rusmeister]

For now, don’t worry about it. If you have a priest you trust, listen to him.
Over time, I think you will come to see for yourself that all things that disfigure or do damage to the body are not what we should desire in life. If you have permanent marks from your previous life, well, that’s life. God accepts all of us wherever we are. We should desire to be the kind of people we ought to become. Everything else will shake itself out in time.

Don’t worry about whatever you spent money on in the past. Just bear in mind that we should desire to be humble and modest, and we learn how to do that over time. People tend to be judgmental; don’t let it bother you too much, but if you’re humble and modest, it’ll be harder for others to start...doing what none of us should be doing. If kind ladies in church give you kind advice when you ask, it might be worth listening to. The main thing is to keep going to church, and remember that other people will always disappoint us, starting with ourselves.

 

[Shrewd Manager]

hi , i have a few tattoos ,unsure if this is allowed in Orthodox Christianity
i also have a nose piercing as well i could remove it but my husband will be kinda mad if i get rid of it as it cost a load of money to get it done . just wanted to ask

Vanity scars.

 

[ArmyMatt]

for now I would not worry about the ones you already have, only try not to get any more.

 

[Lily76_]

Vanity scars.

for you information am self injurer and my scars are not vanity they are from abuse and pain
i got tattoo when i was young going through abuse and there where the only way i could express my pain of what was going on you know nothing about me to call them vanity scars

 

[gzt]

While some people are opposed to tattoos (I'm not really aware of a basis for opposition to piercings, just cultural conservatism, which can be disregarded entirely), I don't think that means one needs to get rid of existing ones.

 

[AMM]

for you information am self injurer and my scars are not vanity they are from abuse and pain
i got tattoo when i was young going through abuse and there where the only way i could express my pain of what was going on you know nothing about me to call them vanity scars

Lord have mercy!

 

[nicholas123]

While some people are opposed to tattoos (I'm not really aware of a basis for opposition to piercings, just cultural conservatism, which can be disregarded entirely), I don't think that means one needs to get rid of existing ones.

Beauty has no describable basis, this is a secular delusion.

 

[rusmeister]

While some people are opposed to tattoos (I'm not really aware of a basis for opposition to piercings, just cultural conservatism, which can be disregarded entirely), I don't think that means one needs to get rid of existing ones.

I would suggest that you may not be aware of a basis because you do not ask yourself WHY people do such things in the first place. Then you should ask yourself if such actions are consistent with humility, modesty, and respect for the image of God. Perhaps then you will begin to see a basis rooted in our theology, and not in “cultural conservatism”.
Understanding that vanity is not a virtue is of considerable help in seeing this.

 

[E.C.]

I have a few tattoos on my forearm that are culturally related to the Navy. Whenever I'm in church I always wear my light jacket or my leather jacket (depending on the climate) to cover them up. I don't want to distract other people.


Don't worry about them too much. No one is perfect. I would just say cover them up as best you can while at church.