Novitiate

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Novitiate

Novitiate, alt. noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a novice
Novice

A novice is a person or creature who is new to a field or activity. The term is most commonly applied in religion and sports....
(or prospective) monastic

Monk

A Monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, the unconditioning of mind and body in favor of the realization of one's true nature, and does so living either alone or with any number of like-minded people, whilst always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose....
or member of a religious order

Religious order

A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practice....
undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether they are called

Vocation

A vocation as defined in a religious environment is an occupation for which a person is suited, trained or qualified. Often those who follow a religious vocation have a inclination to undertake the work, often called a calling....
to the religious life.

A novice is free to quit the novitiate at any time, and the Superior

Superior

Superior may refer to:*Superior : something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind...
is free to dismiss them with or without cause. During the novitiate, the novice is often clothed in special clothing which, while distinct from secular dress is not the full habit

Religious habit

A religious habit is a distinctive set of garments worn by members of a religious order. Traditionally some plain garb recognisable as a religious habit has also been worn by those leading the religious Hermit and Anchorite life, although in their case without conformity to a particular uniform style....
worn by professed

Profession (religious)

For Profession of faith , see Creed.The term religious profession is defined in the 1983 Code of Canon Law of the Roman Catholic Church in relation to members of religious order as follows:...
members of the community.

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Encyclopedia

Monk

Religious order

Vocation

Superior

Religious habit

Profession (religious)

Canonical hours

Canonical hours are divisions of time, developed by the Christianity Christian Church, serving as increments between the prescribed prayers of the daily round....
, manual labor, and special classes designed to instruct the novices on the religious life they are preparing to embrace. Spiritual exercises and tests of humility are a common feature of the novitiate. Many communities encourage frequent confession

Confession

The confession of one's sins is a religious practice important to many faiths, e.g., Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy....
and reception of Holy Communion by their novices.

A Superior will often appoint an experienced member of the community to oversee the training of novices. This may be a single novice master who is responsible for the training of all novices, or an individual elder

Elder (Christianity)

An elder in Christianity is a person valued for his wisdom who accordingly holds a particular position of responsibility in a Christian group. However, elders exist throughout world cultures....
may be appointed for each novice.

Different religious communities will have varying requirements for the duration of the novitiate. Often one must go through a postulancy before entering the novitiate. In the Eastern Orthodox Church

Eastern Orthodox Church

The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian communion in the world with an estimated 225 million members worldwide. It is considered by its adherents to be the Four Marks of the Church established by Jesus Christ and his Apostles nearly 2000 years ago....
, the novitiate is officially set at three years before one may be tonsure

Tonsure

Tonsure is the practice of some Christianity churches, mystics, Buddhist novices and Bhikkhus, and some Hindu temples of cutting the hair from the scalp of clerics, devotees or holy people as a symbol of their renunciation of worldly fashion and esteem....
d a monk or nun, though this requirement may be dispensed

Economy (Eastern Orthodox Church)

In the Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Churches and in the teaching of the Church Fathers which undergirds the theology of those Churches, economy or oeconomy has several meanings....
.

The term novitiate also referes to the building or complex within a monastery

Monastery

Monastery , a term derived from the Greek language word ???ast?????, neut. of ???ast????? - monasterios denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of Monk, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in Cenobium or alone ....
or convent

Convent

A convent may refer to a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or it may refer to the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion....
which is devoted exclusively to the needs of novices (sleeping, training, etc.).

Novitiate

See also