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Tonsure
The cutting of hair — the rite of entry into the monastic life; death to self-will in the form of a cross.
Tonsure (koura, cutting) is the rite by which a person is received into the monastic life. The cutting of the hair — done four times, in the form of a cross — signifies the voluntary cutting off of one's own will and the offering of oneself to God. There are three degrees of monasticism: the riassophore (mantle-bearer), the stavrophore (cross-bearer, with full vows), and the great schema.