My dictionary is pretty crappy, and I’m trying to figure out the distinctions between the following terms for Roman Catholics:[ul][li]Monastery[/li][li]Abbey[/li][li]Convent[/li][li]Priory[/li][li]Cloister[/li][li]Nunnery[/li][li]anything else I’m forgetting[/ul]Nunneries are strictly for nuns (obviously), monasteries are generally (but not always?) for monks and convents are generally (but not always?) for nuns.[/li]
And abbeys are governed by abbots or abbesses while priories are governed by priors or prioresses, but what’s the difference between an abbot and a prior?
I think I need some sort of Venn diagram…
IANAC but know a little about religious orders, so here’s some help:
A cloister has two distinct meanings – one, the open area bounded on at least three sides by church buildings (sometimes with the fourth walled off as well) and usually gardened, and two, a house for religious (monks or nuns) who are completely shut away from the world.
An abbot is the head of a given order or a given house of an order; a prior is his Executive Officer. In orders with only one abbot, or in cases where one chapter of monks has more than one monastery, the prior is the head of the local house.
Remember that nun technically means the cloistered, contemplative/intercessory woman, with Sister (in the specialized meaning) for the ones that teach school, nurse, and such.
Convent is legitimately for any house of a religious order but modern usage means specifically one for women.
Don’t forget that friars and sisters of mendicant orders live in friaries.
What you want, my friend, is the Catholic Encyclopedia. More than you could ever want to know about Catholic terms, canon, doctrine, people, events, etc.