Enclosed religious orders

Enclosed religious orders of the Christian churches have solemn vows with a strict separation from the affairs of the external world. The term cloistered is synonymous with enclosed. In the Catholic Church enclosure is regulated by the Code of Canon Law, either the Latin code or the Oriental code, and also by subsidiary legislation. Enforced in the past with a largely uniform severity, at least in the case of women, it is now practised with a wider variety of custom according to the nature and charism of the community in question.

The stated purpose for such enclosure is to prevent distraction from prayer and the religious life. Depending upon the reason and the length of time, the proper authority (usually the superior gets approval from the local bishop and/or the Holy See) can allow enclosed men or women to leave the enclosure (for study, for medical reasons, for work in the order or in a diocese, or rarely, to care for a relative). More commonly, cloistered individuals are temporarily released from the obligation of enclosure to participate in a major religious event - a papal visit or a bishop's visit, for example. This matter is regulated, within the framework of Canon Law and of the particular statutes approved by the Holy See, by the local ordinary, and by the superior of the order and of the individual house.

Some men and women who are cloistered may have knowledge of certain fields like education or health care, depending on their training during formation or the cloistered life, or prior to it. They can provide for the needs of their community, and, rarely, may be allowed to minister for a time outside the cloister. There are procedures in place for the cloistered to receive the needed utilities, communication needs, and medical needs while keeping leaving the cloister to a minimum.

The fact of being cloistered or not is an external feature which groups orders which often have only the most general kinship of spiritual tradition, beyond those things common to all forms of Christian life.

Enclosed religious orders of men include monks following the Rule of St Benedict, such as the branches of the Order of Saint Benedict itself, the Cistercian Order, and the Trappist Order, but also monks of the Carthusian Order, Hieronymite monks, and some branches of Carmelite friars, along with members of the Monastic Family of Bethlehem, while enclosed religious orders of women include Canonesses Regular, nuns belonging to the Benedictine, Cistercian, Trappist and the Carthusian Orders, along with nuns of the second order of each of the mendicant orders, including: the Poor Clares, the Colettine Poor Clares, the Capuchin Poor Clares, the Dominicans, Carmelites, Servites, Augustinians, Minims, together with the Conceptionist nuns, the Visitandine nuns, Ursulines nuns (as distinct from "federated Ursulines" of the Company of St. Ursula) and women members of the Monastic Family of Bethlehem.

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