Nun

In general, a nun is a female ascetic who chooses to voluntarily leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent. The term "nun" is applicable to Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Anglicans, Lutherans, and Buddhists, for example. The male equivalent of a nun is a monk.

Roman Catholic

In Roman Catholicism a nun is the term for a female monastic regular, equivalent to that of a male monk.

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In the Catholic tradition, there are a number of different orders of nuns each with its own charism or special devotion. In general, when a person enters a convent she has a trial period (Noviciate) that lasts a number of years. Upon completion of this period she may take her vows. In the various branches of the Benedictine tradition (Benedictines, Cistercian and Trappists) nuns usually take formal vows of stability (that is, to remain a member of a single monastic community), obedience (to an abbess or prioress), and "conversion of life" (which includes the ideas of poverty and chastity) while in other groups like the "Poor Clares" (a Franciscan order) and cloistered Dominicans the three-fold vows of chastity, poverty and obedience are used.

Related Topics:
Franciscan - Dominicans - Chastity - Poverty - Obedience

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Nuns observe "papal enclosure" rules and their monasteries typically have walls and grilles separating the nuns from the outside world. The nuns rarely leave, though they may have visitors in specially built parlors that allow them to meet with outsiders. They are usually self-sufficient, earning money by selling jams or candies or baked goods by mail order, or by making liturgical items (vestments, candles, bread for Holy Communion). They sometimes undertake contemplative ministries – that is, a monastery of nuns is often associated with prayer for some particular good: supporting the missions of another order by prayer (the Maryknoll order has both missionary sisters and cloistered nuns; and the sisters of Daughters of Saint Paul are supported in their media ministry by the nuns of Daughters of Divine Wisdom), prayer for a diocese, etc.

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Technically, a convent is the home of a community of sisters – or, indeed, of priests and brothers, though this term is rarely used in the U.S. The term "monastery" is usually used by communities within the Benedictine family, and convent (when referring to a cloister) of certain other orders.

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A nun who is elected to head her monastery is termed an abbess if the monastery is an abbey, a prioress if it is a priory, or more generically may be referred to as the Mother Superior. The distinction between abbey and priory has to do with the terms used by a particular order or by the level of independence of the monastery.

Related Topics:
Abbess - Mother Superior

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Distinction between nun and religious sister

In the Roman Catholic Church, "nun" and "religious sister" have distinct meanings. Women belonging to orders like the Sisters of Charity, Franciscans or Dominicans are religious sisters, not nuns. Nuns and sisters are distinguished by the type of vows they take (solemn vow vs. simple vow) and the focus of their good works. The type of vow that one must take to become a member of a religious community is decided by the Roman Curia upon the approval of the community. The religious community of a nun is referred to as a "religious order" while the religious community of a sister is referred to as an "institute" or "congregation". Nun and sister are mutually exclusive religious paths.

Related Topics:
Sisters of Charity - Simple vow - Roman Curia - Religious order - Congregation

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To be a nun, one must

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• a) live in a cloistered community or monastery;
• b) have taken the solemn vows of poverty, chastity and obedience (as opposed to the perpetual simple vows of poverty, chastity and obedience taken by sisters); and
• c) recite the Liturgy of the Hours or other prayers together with her community.

Nuns are restricted from leaving the cloister, though some may engage in limited teaching or other vocational work depending on the strictness of enforcement. Visitors are not allowed into the monastery to freely associate with nuns. In essence, the work of a nun is within the confines of her monastery, while the work of a sister is in the greater world. Both sisters and nuns are addressed as "Sister".

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In common usage however, "nun" can be used to mean both nuns and religious sisters (as defined by the Roman Catholic Church), with "cloistered nun" used to refer to those who live in cloistered communities.

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