Editing Religious vows (section)

==Christianity==
=== In the Western Churches ===
Since the 6th century, [[monk]]s and [[nun]]s following the [[Rule of Saint Benedict]] have been making the Benedictine vow at their public [[Profession (religious)#Religious profession|profession]] of obedience (placing oneself under the direction of the abbot/abbess or prior/prioress), stability (committing oneself to a particular monastery), and "conversion of manners" (which includes celibate chastity and forgoing private ownership).<ref>Rule of St Benedict, ch. 58:17.</ref>

During the 12th and 13th centuries [[mendicant orders]] emerged, such as the [[Franciscans]] and [[Dominican Order|Dominicans]], whose vocation emphasizing mobility and flexibility required them to drop the concept of "stability". They therefore [[Profession (religious)#Religious profession|profess]] ''chastity, poverty and obedience'', like the members of many other orders and religious congregations founded subsequently. The public [[Profession (religious)#Religious profession|profession]] of the [[evangelical counsels]] (or [[counsels of perfection]]), confirmed by vow or other sacred bond, are a requirement according to Church Law.<ref>In the Roman Catholic Church, see canons 573, 603 and 654 of the Code of Canon Law 1983; only the Benedictines continue to make the equivalent Benedictine vow.</ref>

The "clerks regular" of the 16th century and after, such as the [[Jesuits]] and [[Redemptorists]], followed this same general format, though some added a "[[fourth vow]]", indicating some special apostolate or attitude within the order. Fully professed Jesuits (known as "the professed of the fourth vow" within the order), take a vow of particular obedience to the [[Pope]] to undertake any mission laid out in their Formula of the Institute. [[Poor Clares]] additionally profess a vow of [[enclosed order|enclosure]]. The [[Missionaries of Charity]], founded by [[St. Teresa of Calcutta]] centuries later (1940s) take a fourth vow of special service to "the poorest of the poor".

==== In the Catholic Church  ====
{{canon law}}
{{Main|Consecrated life (Catholic Church)}}
{{See also|Solemn vow}}
In the [[Catholic Church]], the vows of members of religious orders and congregations are regulated by canons 654-658 of the [[Canon law (Catholic Church)|Code of Canon Law]]. These are public vows, meaning vows accepted by a superior in the name of the Church,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/cod-iuris-canonici/cic_index_en.html|title=Code of Canon Law: Table of Contents|website=The Holy See|accessdate=Apr 23, 2023}}</ref> and they are usually of two durations: temporary, and, after a few years, final vows (permanent or "perpetual"). Depending on the order, temporary vows may be renewed a number of times before permission to take final vows is given. There are exceptions: the [[Jesuits]]' first vows are perpetual, for instance, and the [[Sisters of Charity]] take only temporary but renewable vows.

Religious vows are of two varieties: [[simple vows]] and [[solemn vows]]. The highest level of commitment is exemplified by those who have taken their solemn, perpetual vows. There once were significant technical differences between them in [[canon law]]; but these differences were suppressed by the current [[1983 Code of Canon Law|Code of Canon Law]] in 1983, although the nominal distinction is maintained. Only a limited number of religious congregations may invite their members to solemn vows; most religious congregations are only authorized to take simple vows. Even in congregations with solemn vows, some members with perpetual vows may have taken them simply rather than solemnly.

A perpetual vow can be superseded by the pope, when he decides that a man under perpetual vows should become a bishop of the Church. In these cases, the ties to the order the new bishop had are dissolved as if the bishop had never been a member; hence, such a person as [[Pope Francis]], for example, has had no formal ties to his old order for years. However, if the bishop was a member in good standing, he will be regarded, informally, as "one of us", and he will always be welcome in any of the order's houses.

There are other forms of [[consecrated life]] in the Catholic Church for both men and women. They make a public profession of the [[evangelical counsels]] of chastity, poverty, and obedience, confirmed by a vow or other sacred bond, regulated by [[canon law]] but live consecrated lives in the world (i.e. not as members of a [[religious institute]]). Such are the [[secular institute]]s, the [[diocesan hermits]] (canon 603) and the [[consecrated virgin]]s (canon 604). These make a public profession of the evangelical counsels by a vow or other sacred bond. Also similar are the [[societies of apostolic life]]. Diocesan hermits individually profess the three evangelical counsels in the hands of their local ordinary. 
Consecrated virgins living in the world do not make religious vows, but express by a public so-called ''sanctum propositum'' ("holy purpose")<ref>CIC, Can. 604 ''Hisce formis vitae consecratae accedit ordo virginum, quae sanctum propositum emittentes Christum pressius sequendi, ab Episcopo diocesano iuxta probatum ritum liturgicum Deo consecrantur, Christo Dei Filio mystice desponsantur et Ecclesiae servitio dedicantur.''</ref> to follow Christ more closely. The prayer of consecration that constitutes such virgins "sacred persons" inserts them into the Ordo Virginum and likewise places them in the consecrated life in the Catholic Church.

==== In the Lutheran Church  ====
{{Further|Category:Lutheran orders and societies}}

==== In the Anglican Communion  ====
{{Further|Anglican religious order}}

===In the Eastern Orthodox Church===
{{Main|Monasticism#Christianity|Degrees of Eastern Orthodox monasticism}}
Although the taking of vows was not a part of the earliest monastic foundations (the wearing of a particular monastic habit is the earliest recorded manifestation of those who had left the world), vows did come to be accepted as a normal part of the [[Tonsure#Christianity|tonsure]] service in the Christian East. Previously, one would simply find a [[Hesychasm|spiritual father]] and live under his direction. Once one put on the monastic habit, it was understood that one had made a lifetime commitment to God and would remain steadfast in it to the end. Over time, however, the formal Tonsure and taking of vows was adopted to impress upon the monastic the seriousness of the commitment to the ascetic life he or she was adopting.

The vows taken by Orthodox monks are: Chastity, poverty, obedience, and stability. The vows are administered by the [[Hegumen|abbot]] or [[hieromonk]] who performs the service.  Following a period of instruction and testing as a novice, a monk or nun may be tonsured with the permission of the candidate's spiritual father. There are three degrees of monasticism in the Orthodox Church: The [[Rassophore#Eastern Orthodox monks|ryassaphore]] (one who wears the [[Cassock#Eastern practice (Orthodox and Eastern-rite Catholic)|ryassa]]{{snd}} however, there are no vows at this level{{snd}} the Stavrophore (one who wears the cross), and the Schema-monk (one who wears the [[Great Schema]]; i.e., the full monastic habit). The one administering the tonsure must be an ordained priest, and must be a monk of at least the rank he is tonsuring the candidate into. However, a [[Eastern Orthodox Church#Organisation and leadership|Bishop]] (who, in the Orthodox Church, must always be a monk) may tonsure a monk or nun into any degree regardless of his own monastic rank.