Aspirant
A person who hopes to become a Religious and has been in touch with a particular community, but has not yet begun
to live with them.
Celibacy
The commitment to remain unmarried and to refrain from sexual relationships. It is part of the vow of chastity
traditionally taken by Religious. Chastity is a commitment to sexual integrity, a term applicable to fidelity
in marriage as well as to celibacy in Religious Life.
Chapter
The council or meeting of Religious to deliberate and make decisions about the community. In some orders, this
may consist of all the professed members of the community; in others, the Chapter is a group of members elected
by the community as a whole to be their representatives.
Clothing
The ceremony in which a postulant of a community formally becomes a novice, and begins the period of formation
in the mind, work and spirit of the community. It follows the inital stage of being a postulant when the prospective
member first lives alongside the community. The clothing or novicing ceremony is characterised by the Religious
‘receiving’ the habit, or common attire, of the community.
Contemplative
A Religious whose life is concentrated on prayer inside the monastery or convent rather than on social work or
ministry outside the house. Some communities were founded with the specific intention of leading a contemplative
lifestyle together. Others may have a single member or small group living such a vocation within a larger community
oriented to outside work.
Enclosed
This term is applied to Religious who stay within a particular convent or monastery - the ‘enclosure’ - to pursue
more effectively a life of prayer. They would usually only leave the enclosure for medical treatment or other
exceptional reasons. This rule is intended to help the enclosed Religious be more easily protected from the distractions
and attentions of the outside world.
Eremitic
The eremitic Religious is one who lives the life of a hermit, that is, largely on his or her own. Hermits usually
live singly, but may live in an eremitic community, where they meet together for prayer on some occasions during
each day.
Evangelical Counsels
A collective name for the three vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.
Habit
The distinctive clothing of a community. In some communities, the habit is worn at all times, in others only at
certain times or for certain activities. In some communities, the habit is rarely worn, except perhaps for formal
occasions.
Novice
A member of a community who is in the formation stage of the Religious Life, when she or he learns the mind, work
and spirit of the particular community whilst living among its members.
Oblate
Someone associated closely with a community, but who will be living a modified form of the Rule, which allows him
or her to live outside the Religious house. Oblates are so-called because they make an oblation (or offering)
of obedience to the community instead of taking the profession vows. In some communities, oblates remain celibate,
in others they are allowed to be married. A few oblates live within a community house and then they are usually
termed intern(al) oblates. The term oblate is more usually associated with Benedictine communities.
Office/Daily Office/Divine Office
The round of liturgical services of prayer and worship, which mark the rhythm of the daily routine in Religious
Life. Religious communities may use the services laid down by the Church or may have their own particular Office
book. The Offices may be called Morning, Midday, Evening and Night Prayer, or may be referred to by their more
traditional names, such as Mattins, Lauds, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers and Compline.
Postulant
Someone who is in the first stage of living the Religious Life. The postulancy usually begins when the aspirant
begins to live in community and ends when he or she becomes a novice and ‘receives the habit’. Postulants sometimes
wear a distinctive dress or else may wear secular clothes.
Profession
The ceremony at which a Religious makes promises (or vows) to live the Religious Life with integrity and fidelity
to the Rule. The profession of these vows may be for a limited period or for life. The usual pattern is to make
a ‘first’ or simple profession in which the vows are made to the community. After three or more years a Life Profession
may be made, which is to the Church and so the vows are usually received by a bishop. In the Anglican Communion,
Life Professed Religious can usually be secularised only by the Archbishop or Presiding Bishop of a Province.
Religious
The general term for a person living the Religious Life, whether monk, nun, friar, brother, sister etc.
Rule
The written text containing the principles and values by which the members of a community try to live. The Rule
is not simply a set of regulations, although it may contain such, but is an attempt to capture the spirit and charism
of a community in written form. Some communities follow traditional Rules, such as those of St Benedict or St
Augustine, others have written their own.
Tertiary/Third Order
This term is usually associated with Franciscan communities, but is used by others too. A Third Order is made
up of tertiaries, people who take vows, but modified so that they are able to live in their own homes and have
their own jobs. They may also marry and have children. They have a Rule of Life and are linked to other tertiaries
through regular meetings. In the Franciscan family, the Third Order complements both the First Order of celibate
friars and sisters and the Second Order of contemplative Religious.
Vows
The promises made by a Religious at profession. They may be poverty, chastity and obedience. In some communities,
they are obedience, stability and conversion of life.