Novitiate

For the 2017 film, see Novitiate (film).

A novice is at the left. The habit of a novice often differs from that of the full professed sisters.

The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian novice (or prospective) monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether they are called to vowed religious life. It often includes times of intense study, prayer, living in community, studying the vowed life, deepening one's relationship with God, and deepening one's self-awareness. The canonical time of the novitiate is one year; in case of additional length, it must not be extended over two years. This is a time both for the novice to get to know the community and the community to get to know the novice. The novice should aspire to deepening their relationship with God and discovereing the community's charism. The novitiate in many communities includes a concentrated program of prayer, study, reflection and limited ministerial engagement.

The novitiate, through which life in an institute is begun, is arranged so that the novices better understand their divine vocation, and indeed one which is proper to the institute, experience the manner of living of the institute, and form their mind and heart in its spirit, and so that their intention and suitability are tested.

—Canon Law 646

Conscious of their own responsibility, the Novices are to collaborate actively with their Director in such a way that they faithfully respond to the grace of a divine vocation.

—Canon Law 652.3

Members of the institute are to take care that they cooperate for their part in the work of formation of the Novices through example of life and prayer

—Canon Law 652.3

Novices are to be led to cultivate human and Christian virtues; through prayer and self denial they are to be introduced to a fuller way of perfection; they are to be taught to contemplate the mystery of salvation and to read and meditate on the sacred scriptures; they are to be prepared to cultivate the worship of God in the sacred liturgy; they are to learn a manner of leading a life consecrated to God and humanity in Christ through the evangelical counsels; they are to be instructed regarding the character and spirit, the purpose and discipline, the history and life of the institute; and they are to be imbued with love for the Church.

—Canon Law 652

In some novitiate communities, mostly monastic, the novice often wears clothing that is distinct from secular dress but is not the full habit worn by professed members of the community. The novice's day normally includes participation in the canonical hours, manual labor, and classes designed to instruct novices in the religious life they are preparing to embrace. Spiritual exercises and tests of humility are common features of a novitiate.

A superior should ideally appoint an experienced member of the community novice master or mistress to oversee the novices' training.

Different religious communities have varying requirements for the duration of the novitiate. The novice must complete a postulancy before officially being admitted to the novitiate, this can take from one to three years. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the novitiate is officially set at three years before one may be tonsured a monk or nun, though this requirement may be waived.

A novice is free to leave the novitiate at any time, and in most communities, the superiors are free to dismiss him or her with or without cause. At the end of the novitiate, the novices are either admitted to vows or asked to leave.

The term "novitiate" also refers to the building, house, or complex devoted to the novices' needs.

See also

• Monasticism
• Novice master