Brothers, priests and monks?

[mlz]

Can anyone please explain the difference between these?

Thank you,
mlz

 

[JGMendes4049]

You’d probably get a faster, better, and more concise answer if you posted this in the Vocations subforum. The moderators will likely move this.

 

[ConstantineTG]

Priests = ordained. can say Mass/Liturgy, minister Sacraments, confer blessings
Brothers = members of religious orders who not all may be priests. There are religious orders of priests so they’re all “Father”. There are religious orders of brothers who most are not priests. Some may have priests but still are called “brother” by the other brothers.
Monk = monastics who usually live a life of isolation or separation from the rest of the world. Can also be brothers and priests.

 

[Ross54]

And, to further add to the question (and answer) what of Friars? Friars travel. Friars are priests, usually of an order such as the Franciscans or Dominicans while Monks remain within the monastery where they took their vows (or priestly Holy Orders).

 

[ConstantineTG]

And, to further add to the question (and answer) what of Friars? Friars travel. Friars are priests, usually of an order such as the Franciscans or Dominicans while Monks remain within the monastery where they took their vows (or priestly Holy Orders).

Friars are brothers. They live in service of a community rather than cloistered like a monk. Not every friar is a priest.

 

[Ross54]

And, should we not add that Friars are most commonly–though not always–of the mendicant persuasion-- seeking goodwill offerings of others for their sustenance?

 

[Dale_M]

Friars are brothers. They live in service of a community rather than cloistered like a monk. Not every friar is a priest.

And if I understand Br. JR correctly, every Franciscan friar is a brother, even if they are a priest. I’m not sure about Dominicans

Monks remain within the monastery where they took their vows (or priestly Holy Orders).

Generally speaking, yes. However, there are exceptions. Sometimes they serve elsewhere, either as a student or to fill a pressing need of the Church. For example, the archbishop of Dubuque, Iowa (Jerome Hanus, OSB) is a Benedictine monk who belongs to a monastery in Missouri (Conception Abbey.)

 

[Ocarm]

And if I understand Br. JR correctly, every Franciscan friar is a brother, even if they are a priest. I’m not sure about Dominicans.

The members of many mendicant orders can be properly referred to as brothers in the general sense, even though many may take the title ‘father’ if they are ordained. (Dominicans who are priests are, in fact, referred to as ‘father’. ).

That probably sounds a little confusing (!) but what I mean is that even those men who are priests and referred to as ‘father’ are often, properly speaking, considered to be religious brothers: for instance in my own Order of Carmelites our constitutions contain a clause to the effect that we are ‘brothers first, and priests second,’ meaning that irrespective of title all men are part of the brotherhood of the order. The role - and the vocation - of a mendicant priest is superimposed upon, but properly should not supplant, the vocation to religious brotherhood; and the fact that it has sometimes been thought to be otherwise has been problematic in the last couple of centuries.

 

[Friar_David_O.Carm]

And, should we not add that Friars are most commonly–though not always–of the mendicant persuasion-- seeking goodwill offerings of others for their sustenance?

Actually all friars are from the mendicant orders.