tonsure

Tonsure is the shaving of the scalp, especially as a religious rite. The term derives from the Latin tonsura, from tonsus meaning shaved. In Christian contexts, tonsure has long been used as a sign of religious commitment and, at times, clerical status. There have been several forms. In the Roman (Latin) tradition, a circular patch on the crown of the head was shaved, leaving a ring of hair around the edge. In the Celtic or Irish tradition, the frontal portion of the head was shaved, leaving the rest of the hair to grow long. The rite was typically conferred when entering a monastic community or the clergy and was associated with vows of humility and renunciation.

In the Catholic Church, tonsure and the related minor orders were historically prerequisites for certain clerical offices. The reforms of the 20th century, culminating in the 1972 Code of Canon Law, removed clerical tonsure as a requirement and reorganized the path to ordination. Today, the practice persists in some religious communities as a voluntary sign of profession or tradition, but it is no longer required for priestly ordination.

Outside of medieval Western Christianity, similar hair-cutting rituals appear in other religious traditions as expressions of renunciation or commitment, notably in Buddhist monastic practice, where shaving the head is a common sign of renunciation. Overall, tonsure remains a historical and symbolic practice tied to ideas of humility, devotion, and religious identity.