Note 211 — VII. MONACHISM.
Reading edition
Siricii Epist. 1, c. 6.—A rather curious episode in monastic discipline is a law promulgated in 390 by Theodosius the Great prohibiting nuns from shaving their heads under severe penalties. “Feminæ quæ crinem suum contra divinas humanasque leges instinctu persuasæ professionis absciderint ab ecclesiæ foribus arceantur,” and any bishop permitting them to enter a church is threatened with deposition—Lib. XVI. Cod. Theod. Tit. ii. l. 27.