Editing Monastery (section)

{{Short description|Complex of buildings}}
{{For2|the settlement in Nova Scotia, Canada|Monastery, Nova Scotia|the 2021 single by Ryan Castro and Feid|Monastery (song)}}
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A '''monastery''' is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of [[Monasticism|monastics]], [[monk]]s or [[nun]]s, whether living in [[Cenobitic monasticism|communities]] or alone ([[hermits]]). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which may be a [[chapel]], [[Church (building)|church]], or [[temple]], and may also serve as an [[Oratory (worship)|oratory]], or in the case of [[Cenobium|communities]] anything from a single building housing only one senior and two or three junior monks or nuns, to vast complexes and estates housing tens or hundreds. A monastery complex typically comprises a number of buildings which include a church, [[dormitory]], [[cloister]], [[refectory]], [[library]], [[Wiktionary:balneary|balneary]] and [[Hospital|infirmary]]  and outlying [[Monastic grange|granges]]. Depending on the location, the monastic order and the occupation of its inhabitants, the complex may also include a wide range of buildings that facilitate self-sufficiency and service to the community. These may include a [[hospice]], a [[Monastic school|school]], and a range of agricultural and manufacturing buildings such as a [[barn]], a [[forge]], or a [[brewery]].

In English usage, the term ''monastery'' is generally used to denote the buildings of a community of monks. In modern usage, ''[[convent]]'' tends to be applied only to institutions of female monastics (nuns), particularly communities of teaching or nursing [[Nun|religious sisters]]. Historically, a convent denoted a house of [[friar]]s (reflecting the Latin), now more commonly called a ''friary''. Various religions may apply these terms in more specific ways.