Religious order
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A religious order may mean any of the following:
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[edit] Buddhist tradition
In Buddhist societies such as Sri Lanka, Thailand, Korea and Tibet, a religious order is one of the strikingly large number of monastic orders of monks and nuns. A well-known Chinese Buddhist order is the ancient Shaolin order in Ch'an (Zen) Buddhism.
[edit] Christian tradition
A religious orderwhich is also called in the Catholic Church an "Institute of Consecrated Life", is an organization of people who live to achieve a common purpose through a form of promised or vowed life to God. Unlike the average Catholic they have vowed to serve God all their lives and so many saints have been monks or nuns. They form a communion with God spending many hours of their scheduled days in prayer and silence. In the Catholic Church the members of such orders, termed religious, are not members of the hierarchy but belong to the laity, unless individuals are ordained priests. Their male members are usually termed monks, whereas female members are referred to as nuns if they live apart from general society, and sing the divine office; or friars or brothers or sisters if they are active in society as teachers, doctors, nurses or in other active social service. Some religious orders have "Third Orders" of associated lay members who have taken promises to an order or taken private vows such as vows of poverty or purity, but who do not live in formal community with them. Religious orders are also distinct from secular institutes and other lay ecclesial movements.
In modern English, the traditional term "nun", a term properly reserved for cloistered women, is often used loosely to describe religious sisters who live in community, but are active in broader society.
Some, but not all, monastic religious orders practice literal isolation (cloistering) from the outside world. The majority of religious orders remain engaged with the world in various ways, such as teaching, medical work, producing religious artworks and texts, designing and making vestments and writing religious instruction books, while maintaining their distinctiveness in communal living. Some Anglican and Protestant orders are "dispersed", that is, living in the world rather than communally. All, however, may be distinguished by the vows (such as poverty, chastity, obedience, stability, and sometimes loyalty), promises or disciplines (such as self denial, fasting, silence) that they undertake as members of their religious order.
Among the best-known Christian religious orders are those which have a variety of life styles including cenobitic-enclosed, mendicant, and apostolic. Famous orders of the Roman Catholic Church include in order of foundation: Benedictines, Augustinians, Carmelites, Dominicans, Franciscans, Jesuits, Salesians, Oblates of Mary Immaculate and the Congregation of Holy Cross.
[edit] Islamic tradition
[edit] Other traditions
A form of ordered religious living is common also in many tribes of Africa and South America, though on a smaller scale.
[edit] See also
[edit] Buddhist articles
[edit] Christian articles
- Consecrated life (Catholic Church)
- Roman Catholic religious order
- Anglican religious order
- Order of St. Luke (Methodist)
- monasticism
- ascetic
[edit] Hindu articles
[edit] Islamic articles
[edit] Other articles
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are self-described 21st century nuns for the gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, lesbian and kink communities who take vows to promulgate universal joy and expiate stigmatic guilt.
[edit] External links
[edit] Buddhist links
[edit] Christian links
- The Capuchin-Franciscan Friars
- The Brothers of the Poor of St. Francis of Assisi, CFP located in the United States, Belgium, The Netherlands, and Brazil, Regular Third Order, official website
- A religious community of Catholic Priests and Brothers
- International Chaplains Association
- Institute on Religious Life - links to many Catholic religious communities
- Vocations Online - directory of men's and women's Catholic religious communities in the USA
- Vision Vocation Guide for Catholic Vocations
- Leadership Council of Women Religious Congregations of religious women
- Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious -religious congregations of women
- Religious Life Catholic Encyclopedia
- Order of Augustinians of the Immaculate Heart of Mary - an Independent Catholic (Non-Roman) Order
- Order of the Franciscans of the Holy Cross - a secular Ecumenical Franciscan Order
- The Carmelite Order - an religious Order of men and women within the Catholic Church
- Legal Information for Religious Orders Legal Information for Religious Orders
- Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary Lutheran order
- Order of Corpus Christi - United Church of Christ
