Prior (ecclesiastical)
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Prior (or prioress) is an ecclesiastical title for a superior in some religious orders. The word is derived from the Latin for "earlier" or "first". Its earlier generic usage referred to any monastic superior. In abbeys, a prior would be lower in rank than the abbey's abbot or abbess.
Monastic superiors
In the Rule of Saint Benedict, the term appears several times, referring to any superior, whether an abbot, provost, dean, etc. In other old monastic rules the term is used in the same generic sense.[1]
With the Cluniac Reforms, the term prior received a specific meaning; it supplanted the provost or dean (praepositus), spoken of in the Rule of St. Benedict. The example of the Cluniac congregations was gradually followed by all Benedictine monasteries, as well as by the Camaldolese, Vallombrosians, Cistercians, Hirsau congregations, and other offshoots of the Benedictine Order.[1]
Monastic congregations of hermit origin generally do not use the title of abbot for the head of any of their houses, in an effort to avoid the involvement with the world the office of an abbot would entail. As a result, it is not in use for the congregation as a whole. Among them, the equivalent term of 'prior general' is the one used. This applies, e.g., to the Camaldolese and the Carthusians.
The term is also used by various
Compound and derived titles
The
- the claustral prior
- the conventual prior
- the obedientiary prior
The Claustral prior (Latin prior claustralis), called
In many monasteries, especially larger ones, the claustral prior is assisted by a sub-prior, who holds the third place in the monastery. In former times there were in larger monasteries, besides the prior and the sub-prior, also a third, fourth and sometimes even a fifth prior. Each of these was called circa (or circator), because it was his duty to make the rounds of the monastery to see whether anything was amiss and whether the brethren were intent on the work allotted to them respectively. He had no authority to correct or punish the brethren, but was to report to the claustral prior whatever he found amiss or contrary to the rules. In the
The Conventual prior (Latin prior conventualis) is the independent superior of a monastery that is not an abbey (and which is therefore called a "priory").[1] In some orders, like the Benedictines, a monastery remains a priory until it is considered stable enough and large enough to be elevated to the rank of an abbey. In other Orders, like the Camaldolese and Carthusians, conventual priors are the norm and there are no abbots. (The superior of the major houses of Camaldolese nuns, however, is called an abbess.)
This title, in its feminine form prioress, is used for monasteries of nuns in the Dominican and Carmelite orders.
An Obedientiary Prior heads a monastery created as a satellite of an abbey. When an abbey becomes overlarge, or when there is need of a monastery in a new area, the abbot may appoint a group of monks under a prior to begin a new foundation, which remains a dependency of the mother abbey until such time as it is large and stable enough to become an independent abbey of its own.
A Prior Provincial is the regional superior of certain Orders, such as the
Among communities of friars, the second superior is called the sub-prior and his office is similar to that of the claustral prior in the Benedictine Order.[1]
Chivalric orders
In the medieval order of St. John (also known as the
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Prior". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- ^ Carmelite Friars. The British Province of Carmelites, 5 July 2017. Retrieved on 8 June 2018 from carmelite.org
Bibliography
- O'Neill, Elizabeth (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 22 (11th ed.). pp. 359–360. .
External links
Media related to Priors at Wikimedia Commons