Areligious sister (abbreviated:Sr.)[1][2] inChristianity is a woman who has taken publicvows in areligious order dedicated to apostolic works, as distinguished from anun who lives a cloisteredmonastic life dedicated to prayer and labor, or acanoness regular, who provides a service to the world, either teaching or nursing, within the confines of the monastery. Nuns, religious sisters and canonesses all use the term "Sister" as a form of address. Religious sisters are found in various traditions of Christianity, particularlyCatholicism,Evangelical Lutheranism andAnglicanism.[3]
In the Catholic Church, religious sisters are associated with areligious institute. TheHarperCollins Encyclopedia of Catholicism (1995) defines "congregations of sisters [as] institutes of women who profess the simple vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, live a common life, and are engaged in ministering to the needs of society."[4]: 1194 As William Saunders writes: "When bound by simple vows, a woman is a sister, not a nun, and thereby called 'sister'. Nuns recite theLiturgy of the Hours or Divine Office in common [...] [and] live a contemplative, cloistered life in a monastery [...] behind the 'papal enclosure'. Nuns are permitted to leave the cloister only under special circumstances and with the proper permission."[5]
Until the 16th century, religious orders in theWestern world made vows that were perpetual andsolemn. In 1521,Pope Leo X allowedtertiaries of religious orders to takesimple vows and live a more active life dedicated to charitable works.[6] This provision was rejected byPope Pius V in 1566 and 1568. Early efforts by women such asAngela Merici, founder of theUrsulines (1535), andJane Frances de Chantal, founder withFrancis de Sales of theOrder of the Visitation of Holy Mary (1610), were halted as the cloister was imposed by Church authorities.[4]: 1194
Into the 17th century, Church custom did not allow women to leave thecloister if they had taken religious vows. Female members of the mendicant orders (Dominicans,Augustinians,Carmelites, andPoor Clares) continued to observe the sameenclosed life as members of themonastic orders. The work of religious women was confined to what could be carried on within the walls of amonastery, either teaching boarding students within the cloister or nursing the sick in hospitals attached to the monastery.[7]
Mary Ward was an early proponent of women with religious vows living an active life outside the cloister, based on the apostolic life of theJesuits.[8] There was to be noenclosure, no common recitation of theLiturgy of the Hours, and noreligious habit. In 1609 she established a religious community atSaint-Omer and opened schools for girls. Her efforts led to the founding of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary orSisters of Loreto (IBVM).[9] Her congregation was suppressed in 1630, but continued to exist in some countries in various forms.[7][10]
Other women's congregations with simple vows continued to be founded, at times with the approval of local bishops.[6]Vincent de Paul insisted that theDaughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul, which he founded, would have no convent but the hospital, no chapel but the parish church, and no cloister but the streets.[4]: 1194 They renew their vows annually.[11] The 19th century saw the proliferation of women's congregations engaged in education, religious instruction, and medical and social works, along with missionary work in Africa and Asia.[4]: 1101 After nearly three centuries, in 1900Pope Leo XIII by his constitutionConditae a Christo gave his approval to these congregations with simple vows.[12][13]
The1917 Code of Canon Law of the Catholic Church reserved the term "nun" (Latin:monialis) for women religious who took solemn vows or who, while being allowed in some places to take simple vows, belonged to institutes whose vows were normally solemn.[14] They lived under cloister, "papal enclosure", and recited the Liturgy of the Hours in common.[5] The Code used the word "sister" (Latin:soror) for members of institutes for women that it classified as "congregations"; and for "nuns" and "sisters" jointly it used the Latin wordreligiosae (women religious).[15] The bishops at Vatican II, in their documentPerfectae Caritatis on the religious life, asked all religious to examine theircharism as defined by their rule and founder, in light of the needs of the modern world.[4]: 1194 Some religious who had led a more contemplative life responded to modern needs of the apostolate outside the monastic walls.[16] Throughout the post-Vatican II documentEcclesiae Sanctae (1967),Pope Paul VI used the word "nun" to refer to women with solemn vows.[17] The1983 Code of Canon Law uses the expression "monastery of nuns".[18][13] The new code did not force traditional orders that were taking on works outside the monastery into uniformity. In response to Vatican II there has been "vigorous discussion among monastics as regards what kinds of work and life-styles are genuinely compatible with monastic life".[4]: 882
InEvangelical Lutheranism andAnglicanism, religious sisters take vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience though they are differentiated from nuns who live a cloistered life in aconvent. Examples include theCommunität Casteller Ring, an order of Evangelical-Lutheran sisters in the Benedictine tradition, as well as theDaughters of Mary, an Evangelical-Lutheran religious order devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary.[19][20] These stand in contrast to Evangelical Lutheran nuns that live in convents, such asIsenhagen Abbey.[21]
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