These vows bind her to the monastic community for the rest of her life. Period of training and preparation that a Christian novice undergoes, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Novitiate&oldid=982695657, Organisation of Catholic religious orders, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 9 October 2020, at 19:09. At the end of the novitiate, the novices are either admitted to vows or asked to leave.

The time of postulancy also lasts for one year. .css-tadcwa:hover{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}Elizabeth Scalia - @media screen and (max-width:767px){.css-ij9gf6 .date-separator{display:none;}.css-ij9gf6 .date-updated{display:block;width:100%;}}published on 07/13/16, A recent Aleteia piece discussing why some religious women wear the habit and others do not prompted a question from a reader, who wondered “What’s the difference between a ‘sister’ and a ‘nun,’ and how are postulants different from novices?”. The canonical time of the novitiate is one year; in case of additional length, it must not be extended over two years. As with monks, a nun’s “work,” aside from what helps to materially support the house, is prayer, which is ongoing throughout the day and offered for the sake of the Church and the world.A “sister” is a religious woman whose apostolic charism is considered “active,” meaning that while she and her community certainly pray, they also assist the church through other means, among them social work, teaching, nursing, pastoral and retreat assistance, missionary work, media work, elder care, etc.

The time of novitiate, which lasts two years, begins when the novice receives the full habit of the Benedictine nun. She is now considered a “junior” or “temporarily professed” member of the community and may work in an apostolate and sign her name using their community abbreviation (i.e., Sister Theresa, fsp; Sister Mary Anna, RSM). After professing their vows, the novices invoke the help of God singing, with hands raised in supplication. The novice then receives her new garments. The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian novice (or prospective) monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether they are called to vowed religious life. Support Aleteia with as little as $1. The Novice then reads the formula of her vows before the abbess and all assembled. This period is marked by a more intense study of the vows as the junior prepares to commit her entire life to Christ through her solemn profession.

This is a time of deeper discernment and integration into the community as she receives the title “Sister” and continues formation classes. A stickler will make a great point of differentiating between the two, but most sisters will refer to themselves as “nuns” and most nuns call each other “sister” so, while there is a difference, most religious women don’t care which term is used. The next step in formation is the novitiate, which begins when the postulant receives the Dominican habit and her new religious name. The rest of the terms and traditions should come with the added proviso, “except when they don’t/it isn’t” because all communities are different. A postulant is someone who has formally moved in and begun to learn to live in community while remaining in the “asking” stage — a period of more intense discernment. At the junior's simple profession ceremony: The abbess first examines the intention of the novice and asks, "My dear sister, by water and the Holy Spirit you have  already been consecrated to God's service. https://monasterygarments.blogspot.com/p/nuns-monastic-habits.html At the novice's clothing ceremony: Before donning th… More to read: Byzantine communities are similar, but different. As you can imagine, these numbers represent a lot of work. If the community wears a habit and takes names-in-religion (some do both, some do neither and some communities leave the question entirely up to the individual sister or nun) all of that will usually (but not always) happen upon entrance to the novitiate, with the sister taking a white veil. She receives a white veil to indicate that she has not yet professed vows. This usually involves living and working within a designated “enclosed” space, off-limits to all but priests, medical personnel and workmen, and leaving the enclosure only for medical issues or business involving the monastery. Some places call it a “pre-postulancy.”. In some novitiate communities, mostly monastic, the novice often wears clothing that is distinct from secular dress but is not the full habit worn by professed members of the community. After professing their vows, the novices invoke the help of God singing, with hands raised in supplication, "Uphold me, O Lord, according to your word and I shall live, and let me not be confounded in my expectation." The novitiate is in any case a time both for the novice to get to know the community and the community to get to know the novice. Spiritual exercises and tests of humility are common features of a novitiate. At the novice's clothing ceremony: Before donning the habit, the abbess cuts the hair of the newly received novice and prays: "O God, you called us to turn away from the vanities of the world, its desires, cares and ambitions. During the novitiate, the novice’s first duty is to deepen her friendship with Christ to whom she will be vowed at the end of this period. A novice is free to leave the novitiate at any time, and in most communities, the superiors are free to dismiss him or her with or without cause. Read more:What Is the Difference Between a Friar, a Monk and a Priest? The stage of postulancy begins when the aspirant, having received acceptance into the community, lives in the monastery and follows the life of the community. Here is the formation process for our community—the process, if you will, of becoming a nun. Because the novitiate is still considered part of discernment, a novice is free to leave the community (or may be asked to leave) at any time. During the novitiate, the novice’s first duty is to deepen her friendship with Christ to whom she will be vowed at the end of this period. The belt is symbolic of obedience and purity of heart. She professes her vows for three years and then renews them annually up to the completion of five years. The most typical style of habit that you see is that of the Franciscan nuns, while the sisters of St. Anne usually wear a necklace upon which is attached a large silver cross. why some religious women wear the habit and others do not, Byzantine communities are similar, but different, 20 million users around the world read Aleteia.org every month, Aleteia is published every day in eight languages: English, French, Arabic, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, and Slovenian, Each month, readers view more than 50 million pages, Nearly 4 million people follow Aleteia on social media, Each month, we publish 2,450 articles and around 40 videos, We have 60 full time staff and approximately 400 collaborators (writers, translators, photographers, etc.